It took Reena hours to get ready.  And it’s not because she needs a lot of extra help to become a beautiful bride.  Reena is naturally a beautiful woman, but an Indian bride on her wedding day has a lot of extra make-up and accessories.

This little girl is watching with rapt attention as everything is applied…

…and the final product is truly magnificent!

After spending so much time observing the detailed preparations and the pre -wedding emotions, James admits to getting a little emotional when the stunning bride walked into the ceremony.  It was very sweet to see all of the tension disappear and Reena’s face light up when she saw Ryan.

The ceremony has many traditions, one of which involves rice as you can seee from the below.

This picture is actually from Reena’s sangeet.  In an Indian wedding, the bride has a sangeet a few days before.  It’s like a mini celebration with a lot of traditional dancing and singing.  At her sangeet,  Reena’s hands were painted with elaborate henna, which we found to be fascinating.  The intricate patterns made her hand look like a piece of exotic art!

During the vidai part of the day, the bride says good-bye to her family.  It’s a very touching time and as new parents ourselves, we can definitely understand Reena’s father’s feelings as he hugs his soon-to-be-gone little girl.

According to Reena, “we LOVE the pics… we really are speechless.”  Since last year, we’ve photographed a charity event for Reena’s cousin and the wedding of the same relative’s professor.  And, in 2 weeks, we will be photographing the wedding of another one of her cousins.  Thank you, Reena, for always thinking of us!

To see more photos from the wedding, click below.