I had been looking for a Sikh and Muslim wedding for a while to see how they combined both cultures and ceremonies. As they are rare weddings, I’m really glad that I stumbled upon it on weddingdocumentary.com. Jackie and Hani had a three day event at the luxury 5* Fairmount hotel in San Jose - San Francisco.
The first day took place at the bride’s house for the Vatna or Haldi ceremony, where yellow paste made of Tumeric and mustard oil is applied to the skin to make the bride more beautiful and radiant for her wedding day. This is also known as the mayian. Following this, the mehndi night begins where mehndi (henna) is applied to the bride’s hands and feet. The darker the henna the better it looks so it is kept on usually for most of the night.
The next evening was a Sangeet night at the Golden Peacock in Hayward. The night consisted of both families coming together for a party that consisted of dancing, speeches, food and of course more dancing.
Vijay from weddingdocumentary.com said - “This is a great time for us as photographers because we get to meet the families and learn who everyone is. We can easily tell the most important people to the bride and groom on both sides and then when we see them the following day at the wedding, they are already familiar with us which is really nice when it comes to building repore with our subjects.”
The third day of celebrations was the actual wedding and reception. The groom came to do the Baraat, the procession of his family to where the ceremony is being held. He arrived on a white horse and then the two families did the Milni. This is where they exchanged garlands, as it is a symbol of the two families joining.
The couple had a traditional Sikh wedding at a local Gurdwara followed by the Muslim wedding ceremony at the hotel. This was a great way to combine both of their religions equally for their perfect multicultural wedding. Following that, the couple had a cocktail hour before the reception which was a beautiful Margi Gras theme!
Event coordination and decor for Sangeet and Wedding - Mita Productions
Photography and Videography - Wedding Documentary