.:ann & rakesh:.

I cannot tell you how stoked Brian & I were to shoot Ann & Rakesh's wedding in St. Louis. Hello? Colors, variety, texture, non-white people? (Some of you may know that Brian and I's biggest hangup before we got married is that we were marrying another white person. Weird, huh?) We drove up to St. Louis a few weeks prior to their wedding to check out Sheldon Concert Hall, where their wedding and reception would be held. It was the first time we met Ann, who was, comfortingly, just my height! She was kind, laidback, and loved to laugh. She said she and Rakesh just enjoyed one another and that's what she wanted to capture. Well, that, along with their stellar Indian wedding.

Ann's whole family geared up for the wedding by learning all about the traditional Indian ceremony (which normally includes several DAYS of celebration and several clothing changes throughout the celebrations!) and were stoked when Rakesh's mom brought back traditional Indian garments for them to wear for the wedding. (By the way, an Indian Sari uses draw strings, which I have never seen incorporated in western dress in such a classy manner... can someone tell the fashion industry this would be a lifesaver to all of us, especially during the holidays?). Indian weddings do not have a rehearsal so they were dependent on videos of other Indian ceremonies and the many fantastic friends and family of Rakesh who helped coach them throughout the day. Ann's mom had a huge grin on her face the entire day and her dad was such a great sport! The ceremonies are not in English and, thus, when Ann's father had to do all of his responses in another language, more than once he had to ask the priest to repeat his words so he could say it.

Seriously, Westerners, why do we not know how to celebrate like this? From the clothing changes to the massive party to the multi-day celebration to the friends and family from all over the continent... a wedding is a day to rejoice! When I was sitting at one of the tables during the meal for the reception, a young woman next to me said for Hindu weddings your date & time was often set according to the stars. The Hindu priest kept referring to "this auspicious time and this auspicious day" because it was holy. She also said she once attended a wedding at 7:00 in the morning because that was what the stars said. We take so much for granted.

I will say that the day went so well in large part because of Sabrina and her assistant Cassie, their incredibly talented wedding planner (check out their website at proposingdreams.com) who were there the whole day and took care of everything. I arrived to hear Sabrina say to Ann, "Don't let Rakesh worry about anything. I know he loves lists and crossing things off, but he's not to worry about any of it today. I have it covered." Seeing the relief and comfort on Ann's face was fantastic. As a result of Sabrina being there, Ann & Rakesh had to do nothing but relax and enjoy their celebration together! Before we started doing wedding photography, I thought that wedding planners were silly. However, after seeing the same pattern over and over the day of the wedding (sleep-deprived brides, family feuds brought on by reception decorations, cellphones that run out of juice halfway through the day from use, frantic last minute trips to wal-mart, scrambling to finish the programs the day before, hemming bridesmaids dresses the day of...) and then being at the few weddings with wedding planners... what a HUGE difference they make. With wedding planners around the relatives and bridal party are calm and relaxed and have all slept the night before. Peace of mind is so totally worth it!

I think I'm already writing a book, so I'll just shut up and let you see their gorgeous pictures. I need an editor because I just didn't have the heart to narrow the photos down any further. If you really enjoy these, make sure to check out January's St. Louis Magazine, where these two will be featured in the Unveiled Bridal 2010 section. They deserve it.



Click below for a slideshow of my favorites from the day: