Lauren and Kunal's Hindu and Christian Wedding in Northern Virginia!

Jun 7

It's finally here! Lauren and Kunal's jam-packed wedding day complete with two incredible ceremonies: one Hindu and one Christian! Yay!I've already gushed about Lauren and Kunal in their super cute engagement session and their wedding sneak peek, but I may just have to gush some more! I just love them! Lauren and Kunal were married (twice!) at the Fairview Park Marriott in Falls Church, and man did we have a good time. To start the day, Lauren and Kunal got ready in their respective rooms, but I spent most of the time with Lauren as she really went through quite a transformation with her makeup, jewelry and sari! After we took some photos with both groups, Kunal had to get ready for the baraat, the Hindu wedding procession in which the brides parents welcome the groom. I love the milini where Lauren's mom welcomes Kunal by blessing him with a tilak, or mark on his forehead. So cool! The rest of the Hindu ceremony was just beautiful and I thought Lauren looked absolutely stunning throughout the whole thing! My favorite part of the ceremony was the charthurthi karma when Lauren and Kunal fed each other four times for nourishment of the bone, muscle, skin and soul. It was clear they were both a little hungry and were happy to eat! :)

After the Hindu ceremony, there was as quick of a change as possible into the attire for the Christian ceremony! The Christian ceremony was held in the same space as the Hindu ceremony, and Courtney of A Sweet Soiree Evenets did an awesome job with the turnaround of that process! You could tell that Lauren and Kunal were super happy during the ceremony, and particularly Kunal at the end! With the stress of two ceremonies, it's always nice to be done with the second one and officially married! After the Christian ceremony we went back outdoors for some group photos that everyone happily participated in. I really love the photograph of Lauren with some of her flower girls, as it's just adorable! I swear, the kids in attendance at this wedding could not get any cuter! :D

The reception following the ceremonies was absolutely beautiful and I loved how there was so much color in the room! It did not take long for everyone to relax, eat a ton of Indian AND Louisiana-inspired food (think fried chicken and mac & cheese!), and dance the night away. One of my favorite shots of the evening though was at the very end, where I took Lauren and Kunal out into the hotel lobby with...you'll never guess...a fish tank! Yes, there was this awesomely lit fish tank in the hotel, which just so happened to match the color of Lauren and Kunal's reception. I shot through the fish tank for some end-of-the-night photos and could not be happier with the results.

I want to thank Lauren and Kunal for having me photograph their amazing wedding day, and also thank their family and friends for being so great to work with! I'd also like to thank Courtney Swierczek of A Sweet Soiree Events and Matt Buerhaus of Buerhaus Design for being so helpful throughout the day. More vendors at the bottom! :) Enjoy!