The Windy City
Last year we were brought out to the “windy city” aka “chi-town” aka Chicago – home of the best deep dish pizza! We were invited to document Stephina and Anish’s wedding in Chicago towards the end of summer last year. Just before the wedding we had a short day to explore the city and if there’s one thing that I can say – the pizza is deeeeee-licious!
Going into the day of the wedding ceremony and reception – it was a beautiful experience. Both Stephina and Anish are Malayalee and they are also apart of the same community of Christians that belong to the Malankara Church. For any readers out there that aren’t so familiar with the different groups of Christians that exist, the Malankara Church in particular is the Church of St. Thomas Christians that is made up of a community of Christians rooted in Kerala, India. Now before I dig myself into any deeper of a history lesson, one thing that separates Malayalee catholic ceremonies apart from other Catholic or Christian ceremonies – the couple and the majority of the priests officiating the ceremony are not facing the audience seated. Initially we were a little stumped but after a few minutes we re-adjusted ourselves and everything worked out. That aside, the cultural traditions during the ceremony were beautiful and it was definitely one of the few ceremonies over our 2015 wedding season that I enjoyed watching + shooting. Shortly after the ceremony, I remember quite vividly getting drenched in the rain with Isuru, as we made our way back to our hotel and then back to the reception hall.
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The reception was great! Both Stephina and Anish come from large families. Many of them, friends and others were in attendance from all over the world. The reception started out very normal and nothing out of the ordinary until their respective cousins, aunts and uncles started to kick off multiple 10 minute carefully choreographed dance performances – that’s when the real fun began. I definitely forgot to mention that one of my favorite photographers whose work I’ve been following for years now, was the photographer for the day – the oh so famous and popular Nate Mathai based out of Chicago, Illinois. Once upon a time my earlier and humble beginnings were rooted in still photography and I remember reaching out to Nate seeking some feedback on some of my work. Now years later, I found myself working along side with him. Check out the images from the wedding here folks!
The ceremony was peaceful, very serene and very personal while the reception was full of high energy and big moments all around. I decided to go in a different creative direction while editing this trailer and chose a song that was dramatic but full of build ups and dramatic cues to help me bring out the best of the morning ceremony and reception without sacrificing any creative juices. Take a look at Stephina & Anish’s wedding trailer folks!
