Punjabi Wedding Photographer – Punjabi weddings are well-known for their vibrant and colorful celebrations. With bright-colored attire, drapes, flowers, and scrumptious cuisine with more colorful drinks and sweets, it would be an understatement to say that a traditional Punjabi wedding is a vivid-hued extravaganza. Put together with their multiple pre-wedding and post-wedding traditions, it becomes a sight to behold.
This is why it is important to hire an authentic Punjabi wedding photographer to capture your big day. Starting from the roka to the reception, every event and ritual in between holds immense significance in the Sikh culture, leaving no room for oversight. Only true professionals can help you translate the bigger as well as the smaller moments from your wedding day into heartwarming wedding memories that you can cherish forever.
To set yourself up for success, you need to communicate your vision along with a list of your must-include shots when you discuss with your Punjabi wedding photographer.
As one of the most experienced wedding photographers in the USA, here we have put together 14 must-capture Punjabi wedding traditions.
Roka and Thaka
The roka ceremony marks the beginning of a colorful Punjabi wedding. It is held a few days before the official engagement and indicates the end of the search for suitable partners for both the bride and the groom. It is an event where the families of the bride and the groom officially agree and approve the union of the couple, and to commemorate the decision they exchange gifts, sweets, and more. They also shower their blessings on the couple. The ceremony is called thaka.
Sagai
The Sagai is the official engagement ceremony, where the bride and the groom exchange rings and celebrate. Some families choose to keep the event private, while some like to have a grand engagement ceremony with family and friends. Guests arrive, offer gifts, bless the couple, sometimes sing and dance with the couple, have a scrumptious dinner, and depart. A dedicated Punjabi wedding photographer will be able to capture some unforgettable moments at the Sagai ceremony.
Mehendi
The mehendi ceremony is held a day or two before the main event. It is a fun tradition where the bride and her close friends and family apply decorative henna on their palms, arms, and legs. Per tradition, the mother-in-law of the bride sends the henna for the event, but modern mehendi events seldom follow it.
Vatna
Vatna is a traditional high-energy Punjabi haldi ceremony, where the bride and the groom are cleansed for purity in their respective homes. A paste of turmeric and mustard oil is applied to the face and body of both the bride and the groom, which signifies that their bodies and souls are cleansed and rendered free from negative energies. Guests including family members traditionally dress up in hues of yellow and engage in song and dance to celebrate the couple’s foray into married life.
Chuda and Kalire
Chuda and Kalire ceremonies take place either on the morning of the big day or on the previous day. It involves the maternal uncle of the bride putting on a set of red and white bangles called chuda on both hands of the bride. These bangles are traditionally made of ivory and purified by dipping in a mixture of milk and rose petals, but nowadays, they can be made of anything including glass.
Small decorative umbrella-shaped adornments called kalire are also attached to the bangles as signs of good luck. Per tradition, the bride’s younger female family members and friends are required to stand in a row while the bride shakes her hands over their heads until the kalire falls on one of their heads. The lucky girl is believed to be next in line to get married in the family. These events present some exciting and unique shots to capture for a Punjabi wedding photographer.
Sehrabandi
Sehrabandi is part of the groom’s getting-ready rituals. It involves a pooja for the groom followed by a family tradition where his male relatives help tie a pagdi, a sehra, which is a decorative adornment with beads covering the face of the groom, and headgear. The family members further shower their blessings on the groom and get him ready to walk down the aisle.
Ghodi/Baraat
The Ghodi and Baraat ceremonies are the most high-energy events in a Punjabi wedding. It involves the groom mounting a mare – the ghodi, and marching ahead in a parade as his entourage sings and dances all the way over to the Gurdwara, or the place where the main event will be held. The mare is fed jaggery and chickpeas before the parade for good luck, and a child, preferably a cousin or nephew of the groom, called the sehbaala is also dressed up and accompanies the groom atop the mare. The procession is called baraat and well-equipped Punjabi wedding photographers come prepared to shoot this hip scene from different angles with drones and cameras.
Anand Karaj
Anand Karaj marks the main wedding event in a Sikh Punjabi wedding. Typically held in a Gurdwara or the holy place of worship of the Sikhs, it is officiated by the Granthi or the priest. The bride and the groom are required to sit before the Guru Granth Sahib or the holy scripture and recite hymns as dictated by the priest. They also exchange wedding vows known as Laavan.
Varmala
After exchanging vows, the couple exchanges floral garlands called varmala to affirm their union and indicate their acceptance of each other. It is a beautiful ceremony that must mandatorily be captured by your Punjabi wedding photographer.
Mangal Pheras
The varmala ceremony is closely followed by the mangal pheras where the bride and the groom vow to love and respect each other for the rest of their lives. The couple hold hands and circumnavigate the fire pit four times, signifying four distinct phases in a marriage according to the Silk culture.
Joota Chupai
Joota Chupais is a super-fun ritual where the bride’s girl gang, involving her sisters, friends, and other family members proceeds to hide the groom’s shoes while the couple is busy performing the wedding rituals. The groom is then required to seek out his shoes as he steps out of the venue, leading to an entertaining round of playfulness and haggling. He is then required to present the girls with handsome gifts including cash and jewelry in return for his shoes.
Vidaai
Vidaai is an emotional event where the bride, after the wedding bids farewell to her parents and leaves her maternal home to her husband’s house. This is when everyone in the bride’s family hugs and kisses the bride and sends her off teary-eyed but wholesomely happy. Per tradition, the bride throws a handful of puffed rice backwards over her head as a thank you to her parents for taking care of her. By all means, this emotion-rich event is a must-capture for a Punjabi wedding photographer.
Griha Pravesh
Griha Pravesh marks the entry of the newlywed couple into their home. Per tradition, the mother-in-law of the bride places a small brass pot filled with rice grains at the entrance of the house, which the bride is required to gently kick and topple over, spilling the rice onto the floor. It is believed to indicate a blessed start to their new life.
Reception
The reception marks the final celebratory event in a Punjabi wedding. It is a semi-formal party and the first official event where the newlyweds arrive as a married couple. Families incorporate different programs into reception parties such as cake-cutting, music and dance performances by family members, the first dance of the couple, and more. There is also typically a grand feast after which everyone parties to their heart’s content and bids the couple goodbye.
Wrapping up
Punjabi weddings are inherently colorful, vibrant, and high-spirited; family members typically love to celebrate the union of the couple in grand ways. At the same time, they are also deeply rooted in the rich Sikh culture. Starting from the roka and thaka to the vidaai and reception party, every event symbolizes important milestones in the lives of the bride and the groom, which is why it is important to capture every one of these 14 events in pictures. It takes a professional and experienced Punjabi wedding photographer to film a traditional Sikh wedding wholesomely. Use this guide to convey your must-capture shots and ensure that you fulfill your wedding vision.
To capture your Punjabi wedding in vivid high-quality pictures, contact Shan Photography.
For more updates follow us on Facebook