Indian Wedding

This is the first wedding I've ever covered. So far it has been completely overwhelming, but very cool. Today I got to see some of the pre-wedding ceremonies that take place. Aidan's mom (Pastor Jan) is the pastor at my church and will be the one performing the ceremony. It is a mix between traditional Indian and traditional Christian wedding ceremony.

Aditya was born and raised in Mumbai, India. He and Aidan met at college in St. Louis, and now live in California together. The couple has family and friends that have flown in from everywhere, including Mumbai, Chicago and L.A.

I walked out onto the back porch to take pictures of Aditya's friends, and one of them grabbed my camera and put me in the middle so I could take a picture with them!

Aidan was told she didn't look Indian enough, so Aditya's mother gave her the jewels to put on her forehead.

Aidan has traditional mehndi applied. The henna designs cover her hands and feet, and will last about two weeks. Somewhere in the design, the mehndi artist hides Aditya's name that he must later find.

Aditya's mother had a ceremony where she was "upgraded" from a mother to a mother-in-law.

Aditya after the Groom Ceremony (haldi). A mixture of olive oil, flour and turmeric was smeared over his face, chest, hands and feet in order to cleanse him. Members of his family took turns covering him in the paste and dipping blades of grass into olive oil to sprinkle on him.