The Rotunda Building, Oakland CA - Gurdwara Sahib (El Sobrante Sikh Temple), El Sobrante CA

Sheetal Singh and Jesse Chima
July 4, 6, and 7, 2007

I was excited about this wedding from the beginning, first of all because I love shooting Indian weddings, and second because of the locations! The Sikh Temple in El Sobrante is HUGE, you can see it from the freeway, and it looks beautiful just on the outside, which is all I'd ever seen of it as you can't get in without being invited. The Rotunda is a completely open, circular building with a glass roof, right next to city hall; the bottom floor is where private events are usually held but they close the whole place down when that happens--the spectacle of having this whole building to yourself is really something. Indian weddings are almost always incredibly opulent, colorful events, and I knew that this one would be no exception, but more than that what makes them so enjoyable to shoot is the crowd: large and generally very lively, they don't tend to hold back for the camera and truly enjoy being photographed.

This was a three day shoot--the first day of shooting took place on the Galaxy Commodore, as it sailed under the Bay and Golden Gate bridges on the fourth of July. Sheetal and Jesse exchanged rings on the top level of the ship just before sunset, and then everyone enjoyed dinner and dancing for the rest of the evening, as the boat made its way west. It was cold, but I managed to get Jesse and Sheetal outside for some cuddling shots during the fireworks.

The second day started for me at Sheetal's hotel room at 7AM, and continued at the Sikh Temple where the couple was officially married. I had the pleasure of having my good friend and wedding photographer Chris Sommers as second shooter with me on this day. Sikh weddings are incredible, full of meaningful rituals and beautiful symbols. After seperate preparation rituals, the groom rides a horse up to the temple with his family walking beside him, this is called the Barat. They are greeted by the bride's family (the bride is hidden inside) during the Milni, which involves introductions and tokens of appreciation between the families and then group prayer outside the temple. Tea and snacks are then served, which is eaten while sitting on the floor.

The main wedding ceremony, called Anand Karaj, begins with the groom and bride greeting each other just outside the main temple hall, then the groom processes down to bow and sit in front of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS), the Sikh Holy Book, which is also considered the embodiment of the last living Guru of Sikhism (the word "guru" meaning spiritual guide or teacher). The bride and her family do the same, so that the bride and groom are sitting next to each other surrounded by family, with the men on one side and the women on the other.

The ceremony continues with the singing of hymns and prayer, followed by the bride and groom walking clockwise around the SGGS four times at intervals. Once they complete the fourth round, they are considered married, and flower petals are thrown over them. Then they sit again, and their families and the rest of the congregation take turns individually blessing them and giving gifts as group photos are taken (with 300 guests you can imagine how long this takes....:) ). Finally sweet pudding is given to everyone by the temple devotees and lunch is served.

The wedding ends with the Doli--the groom rides his horse away from the temple followed by the bride who rides in a small covered carriage, carried by four men. The Doli can be an emotional moment as it marks the passage of the bride from her birth family to being a member of the grooms'. The bride throws rice behind her as she leaves, symbolizing her hope for prosperity for her relatives even as she leaves them and becomes a part of her new husband's family. You can read more about Sikhism and Sikh weddings on Sikhiwiki.org.

The third day was the wedding reception, complete with first dance, cake cutting, etc...and it just happened to be scheduled for 7/7/07, the most popular wedding date of this year. When Jesse and Sheetal contacted me back in May, I let them know right away that although I was free for the other two days, I was already booked for the third day (and had been for almost a year). With their consent we decided to go ahead with the booking anyway, with the understanding that I would have a trusted colleague substitute for me on the third day. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use Chris--luckily she was free. She was excited to shoot a Sikh wedding and I thought it would be good if the second photographer on Friday and the primary photographer on Saturday could be the same person--that way the couple would be comfortable with her in advance. This was the first time I've entrusted one of my couples to another photographer, and I must admit it was a little nerve wracking (like most photographers I'm a total control freak)...but Chris did a fabulous job and made me very proud to have her on my team, if only for the one day. :)

My "other" 7/7/7 wedding ended at 9PM that day, so since it was on my way home I decided to stop by the Rotunda to check out the last hour or two of Jesse and Sheetal's reception... to see how their party was going and maybe grab some more of that yummy Bombay Garden food. I didn't think Sheetal could look more beautiful than she did on Friday, but she found a way--her reception outfit was a combination of subtle rose colors and earthtones, it was hand-covered in rhinestones and other jewels and it reflected the subtle lighting in the venue everywhere she went.

I knew that planning the wedding had been very hard on both Sheetal and Jesse, so it was really nice to see them cut loose a bit at the reception, finally able to relax and enjoy themselves. Both Chris and I had a chance to see and capture a more playful side of their relationship that had been almost invisible the other two days, and I was very glad I'd stopped by.















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