“Krunal + Priyanka hired us as their Chicago wedding photographers to document two days of their Hindu Indian wedding weekend festivities. ( Make sure you see all of their wedding weekend’s photo posts… this is the third of three blog image posts on our Chicago wedding photography blog. )

 

We learned that for typical Hindu Indian weddings, beyond the ceremony and reception, there are MANY events that take place on both the bride and groom’s side both on, and for several days leading up to the actual wedding day. It’s a week long celebration!! Krunal + Priyanka decided to book our photography services for not only their ceremony + reception, but also for Friday the day before their wedding day. Friday’s events and photos featured above included in the morning the Pithi ceremony and later in the evening the Garba Raas which are the photos we featured above.

 

For the Pithi ceremonies, each family gathered separately and beyond worship and prayer, the Pithi was the act of rubbing of a yellow paste on the bride and groom’s skin. ( Described as a beautification treatment, the paste when rubbed on is excellent for the skin and evens out skin tone preparing the bride and groom for the wedding. ) Family members and friends had fun getting the bride and groom completely covered in the yellow paste. In the evening, both Krunal + Priyanka’s families celebrated together at India House Banquets in Schaumburg along with family and friends for the Garba and Dandiya Raas dances. This was a night of high-energy dancing and music. Priyanka started the circular dancing, and soon group by group, the entire room eventually joined in on the choreographed dance. We loved how vibrant with color the room was… Priyanka looked stunning and all of the women wore a rainbow of colors in their traditional Indian dresses, sparkling jewelry, and the room’s lighting and decor created an amazing festive room.

 

Depending on the skill level of the dancers in each ring, the room was moving in different paces and very fast… some of the girls we’re highly advanced dancers able to synchronize some very complex and intricate steps. We learned that the garba dance is symbolic… in the revolving large circular rings around the room symbolized “as the cycle of time revolves, from birth, to life, to death and again to rebirth, the only thing that is constant is the Goddess, that one unmoving symbol in the midst of all of this unending and infinite movement.” The second dance incorporated dandiyas sticks which is a playful mock fighting dance also called ‘The Sword Dance’.

 

Krunal + Priyanka we had an amazing time, thank you in including us in on your garba and pithi celebrations. Documenting the garba was such a great experience… hope you enjoyed our captured colorful pictures, moments of the day, and the fun you two were having with your friends and family. Enjoy.”

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to view all of our four blog photo posts of Krunal + Priyanka.
The photos above are Krunal + Priyanka’s Pithi and Garba at India House Banquets in Schaumburg

> Post 1: Krunal + Priyanka’s Wedding Ceremony at Waterford Banquets in Elmhurst

> Post 2: Krunal + Priyanka’s Wedding Reception at Waterford Banquets in Elmhurst

> Krunal + Priyanka’s Chicago engagement photo session in downtown Chicago