Chicago Hindu Wedding - Jessica & Viral Part 1

My friends, Jessica & Viral's Chicago Hindu wedding celebration weekend was a "prove your photography skills" dream. If you've been following along here on the blog for any amount of time, you should know by now that I didn't always know I wanted to be a photographer. I don't get excited about this black box that freezes things for the sake of the trade skills and equipment. To be honest, if I wasn't photographing weddings and people, I most likely, wouldn't be a photographer. It's because of the people and their stories that I get into giddy school-girl mode. But as is true with any profession you are passionate about, there of course is a deep desire to create something unique.And when you combine a full weekend of family traditions, a room packed with loved ones, gorgeous details that bring it all together and time for me to find (or make!) unique light so it's specific just to these two wonderful people? Yea... The purely equipment skills side of my brain got all kinds of excited! I squeal a little bit every time I look at the gorgeous dramatic light we froze in the split second of time the morning Jessica got ready. But you'll have to scroll down to see those favorites, because first up we have Viral & Jessica's Mendhi & Sangeet. I saw a glimpse at the natural love of dance between these two during their NYC engagement session, and the rest of their loved ones sure didn't disappoint! From all of the smiles and laughter, you would never know that the time between the end of the sangeet and when the ladies started getting read in the morning was not a full 8 hours of sleep. ;-) This light! Just the right touch of drama to bring out all the unique textures and details specific to Jessica's choices for her wedding day. When I first started 11 years ago, I prayed for overcast skies and soft, even lighting. To be brutally honest, it's because I didn't have the knowledge to handle the hard situations. Now I crave this (sometimes harsh) dramatic side lighting. Anyone can document something in a simple setting, but how can we create something different unique to this one day? Not to mention, I'm fairly certain all of the textures of a sarhi and traditional bangles were made to sparkle! If you follow RMP on Instagram, then you already saw this gorgeous portrait of Jessica right after their big day!

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Married! We've only just begun! Stay tuned next week for Part 2. There's more gorgeous details and outfits (Jessica's favorite in fact), not to mention an entire 2nd night of dancing to relive.