Keralite weddings or as we love to call them temple weddings, because they typically take place in a temple, are beautiful and challenging both at the same time. They could easily be the two minute instant noodle version of weddings in general. Short, quick and without a moment’s pause.
Earlier this year Bharti and Prashant tied the knot in a quaint temple in the far corners of Goregaon, Mumbai. It was a congregation of close family members and friends. Being the candid wedding photographers for their wedding we loved the fact that the whole affair was so personal and that the nuptials were being held in a temple, which is so different from a wedding mandap. Keralite weddings are simple, short but highly impressive. Right from the temple ambience, to the beautiful decorations of flowers, palm fronds and banana stalk to the bountiful notes of the nadaswaram, the entire ceremony is beautifully rustic and a walk down the culturally rich corridors of India. However with all this came challenges. The biggest challenge of shooting Bharti & Prashant’s temple wedding was the short span of time. 15 mins tops is how long it takes for a keralite couple to be declared husband and wife. And like a theatre performance there are no repeats. Within such military conditions it was then for us as candid wedding photographers to step up and take charge of the situation. With two of us and a vigilent assistant we fired away like any dutiful jawan would. If you ask us to narrate those 15 mins nothing we say will ever recreate those moments but like they say ‘a pictures speaks a thousand words’ we would simply like to share our experience through our pictures.
Click here to read about the four biggest challenges of shooting a temple wedding or as Rupesh likes to call them divine challenges.
