Tara and Rahul's Elegant Vibiana Wedding in Downtown Los Angeles
I felt like Tara and Rahul's wedding weekend in Downtown Los Angeles was like a family reunion for me and such a colorfully elegant event to remember! You may remember Rahul from Aarti and Dev's wedding that I shot in the past. Since he is family, there were so many familiar faces at this wedding and even Aarti was the MC of the wedding and she rocked it!
The first evening was the Sangeet at the DoubleTree DTLA. It was held in the Kyoto Garden which is adorned with waterfalls and trees and a view of downtown. The evening began with a cocktail hour outdoors, where all the guests and family trickled indoors to begin the dancing and speeches, followed by....more dancing!
The next day, the day of Tara and Rahul's wedding began in the bridal suite at DoubleTree (super convenient because it's right around the corner from Vibiana, where the wedding ceremony and reception are to be held).The Vibiana is one of my favorite venues, because it is this whitewashed, gorgeous former church from the 1800's, so it is like having a blank canvas to be able to create whatever you want in. Which was why working with their coordinator, Priyan Chandraratna of Alfred House Productions was such a dream. It was incredible how he transformed the inside into a gold art deco wonderland with gold trees in a purple and blue light washed setting. It was truly spectacular!
I LOVE shooting Indian weddings, not just because the culture and their traditions are so beautiful, but because they're also just SO incredibly COLORFUL! It also didn't hurt that our bride, Tara, was so freaking gorgeous too!!! The bride and groom First Look took place in the Kyoto Gardens where the Sangeet was held the night before. We only had about 5 min to execute this because the space was being set up for a different event, but this was THE best to do it and I'm so grateful we made it work.
The Ceremony was held inside of Vibiana, one of the best venues to shoot any event in. From the main hall to the teal bridal suite upstairs, it's hard to take a bad photo in these walls! The event coordinator did such a beautiful job on the ceremony details. Gold and teal-painted plants with crimson red roses and florals, all perfectly complementing one another. It was a little serendipitous that the florals matched Tara's sari AND the bridal suite wall colors upstairs. After the ceremony, the main hall transformed into the reception space and became a violet wonderland with gold accents. Tara and Rahul made their official entrance as husband and wife, went right into their first dance and then opened up the dance floor for their guests. During dinner, the parents, their MC's, and their closest friends all made their speeches which had the room erupt in a wonderful mixture of tears and laughter. It was especially sweet to hear Tara and Rahul's parents say the sweetest things about one another. After the speeches and once the dessert bar opened (BEST maple bacon donuts EVER, by the way!), the evening concluded with the guests dancing the night away, celebrating such a memorable and gorgeous day. Congratulations to Tara and Rahul!
