Tara and Julien had a destination wedding in Calgary…. well, not really. They both live and work in Fort MacMurray, but decided to have their Indian wedding here in Calgary. Their wedding was a very fun one. I have never seen a groomsmen party more tight than these guys. As soon as I started with them you could tell something was different. They were all the same. Happy, excited for Julien and loud. Usually wedding parties are mixed with people from different groups of friends. But these guys were all friends from childhood and all grew up together. It was wild just hanging out with them and watching all the shenanigans. As usual we started the wedding photography coverage with the groom, Julien, and his boys at Hilton Garden Inn in northeast Calgary. Tara and her girls were also there, but on different floors, so we got to spend a lot of time shooting both parties.
The ceremony and reception were held at The Magnolia in NE Calgary. The ceremony was a traditional Hindu ceremony. I love the Hindu traditions. Julien arrived with his boys to beating drums and dance. Soon after his feet were washed before he entered the Magnolia. Tara came in with even more style while being carried by 4 men in a decked out Indian litter. The words that are spoken during the ceremony are very poetic. Throughout the ceremony, the priest always explained all the different customs and why it was done that way. It really is very beautiful and spiritual.
During our pre wedding meeting, Julien asked if it was possible to have some pictures of him and his groomsmen playing basketball. They are all huge basketball fans so he thought this would be fun and quite personal for them. Of course I was more than happy to oblige. We headed to one of Calgary’s newest neighborhoods, Skyview Ranch, where I found a basketball court and a cool location for some photos. It had rained earlier during the day so we had a lot of puddles everywhere. Sometimes you just gotta take advantage of what’s been given to you and make the best out of it. We definitely used the puddles and made a lot of reflection shots!
Congrats Tara & Julien! I finally know someone who lives in Ft. Mac! You guys are the picture perfect couple and a huge pleasure to work with. I hope our paths cross again soon so we can catch up. Stay warm!
great use of the reflection, Johnny. keep on kicking some butt.