The next wedding in a series of Indian/Hindu weddings this spring was this one in three locations I love shooting at: The St. Paul College Club on Summit Avenue, the Intercontinental hotel on St. Paul’s downtown waterfront and the historic Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul.
I’ve photographed over 600 weddings (25-30 Indian weddings) and this was one of those weddings where everyone seemed to be smiling the entire time. When the bride sent me an email, one of the words that peppered her comments was “joy.” Looking over the highlights, that’s all I see: people having fun and a couple with a great connection, surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family.
This was a south Indian wedding, which has a few different customs. The ceremony is a little longer, and typically starts earlier in the day. The marriage ceremony takes place on the mandap (stage), led by a Vedic priest who chants ancient hymns and verses, recalling the names of three generations of ancestors of both, the bride and the groom before all who have gathered to witness the wedding. The bride and the groom are hidden from each other, then exchange garlands when they are lifted onto the shoulders of their respective uncles.
A little background into the bride and groom: Moulin and Gauthami met in college, taking summer organic chemistry. They were good friends for a long time, then started dating when they were studying abroad in Paris. After college they’ve been following each other from Chicago to Madison to New Haven, finally getting married in St. Paul and now living in Massachusetts. They are both physicians now: Gauthami is in Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship at Yale and Moulin is in Electrophysiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…
To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. I have extensive experience with Indian weddings in Minneapolis, Seattle and even in Rajasthan, Udaipur, India.
