Koda Kodi - The aim of the game is to find the ring first, using one hand. It is fun to watch and can get quite intense as it’s said that the winner of the several rounds rules the relationship.
When Khrisha and Mayur’s venue double booked, they decided to hold their wedding in a marquee at the bride’s family home instead. Initially, they were planning to invite more than 100 guests but with the venue change, they kept it to immediate family members only. Considering the typical Indian wedding is usually 300 + guests, shooting an Indian wedding with just 12 guests was not something I had experienced before. The wedding was a traditional Gujarati Vedic Hindu ceremony. The ceremony was really intimate and I felt this during the Kanyadaan where the bride’s father takes his daughter’s hand and places it into the groom's hand - this marks the beginning of the ceremony of giving away the bride. This effectively kicks off the ceremony. The ceremony included Pheras, where the bride and groom walk around a holy fire (Agni) reciting specific vows each time family members shower them with flower petals. All the family members present played a key part in the ceremony and were involved in blessing the couple and helping them tie the knot. The ceremony included wedding games such as Koda Kodi.
For the couple’s portrait session, I decided to take most of the photos inside the bride’s house, where she grew up all her life before she leaves what she called home and moved in with her husband to start the next chapter in her life. I used several spaces including the staircase, the living room wall which had a painting hanging, and parts of the marquee that was decorated.
My favorite part of an Indian wedding is the Vidhai since it is usually the most emotional part of the day, where the bride bids a bittersweet farewell to her family and also witnessing a magical live painting of the ceremony by Stephanie Struth come to life.
