Laura and I believe in the power of documentary photography—and Megan and Sunny’s Fort St. John wedding provided one of the best chances we’ve had to practice it in a long time. There was simply so much to this story: two worlds coming together, an ultra-supportive group of friends, family, and community, a meticulous attention to detail, the first Sikh wedding in Fort St. John for two decades, and of course two people who love each other to bits.
Not to mention some awesome Bollywood dance moves (more on that later).
But what do we mean when we say documentary photography? Ultimately it’s about telling stories within photographs. Capturing a specific time and place from the point of view of a witness. At it’s least complicated it’s a simple candid moment, but at it’s best, it’s a photograph that tells an entire story within the frame—with nothing extraneous to that story. At every wedding there is the potential for this type of photograph. With so much emotion and action these kinds of moments happen throughout the day. But Megan and Sunny’s wedding had an unusually high abundance of these moments, and we loved capturing every single one.
We had an absolute blast shooting for Megan and Sunny, and were honoured to get a chance to document this one small part of their continuing story. Thanks for having us guys.
The day began with the tying of the turbans…
In an Indian wedding (at least in this Sikh tradition), the groom wears a veil.
As usual, Laura and I split up in the morning, with her photographing the ladies’ prep while I hung out with the guys. We didn’t meet again until we all arrived at the Gurdwara (Sikh temple).
Sunny arrived in real style—on the back of a horse!
In this tradition, the groom had to pay a goodly ransom to proceed past the red ribbon.
It is forbidden to wear shoes in the Gurdwara, and everyone must wear a head covering.
As part of the ceremony, it is necessary for the bride and groom to circle the altar four times.
