Here is a love story. Not the typical girl meets a boy, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. Far from it…

Starcast

I got an email from Shivam asking me about my availability for his wedding. Shortly after I confirmed my availability, he introduced me to his fiancee, Sanmathi. I immediately connected with them, they were super nice, funny, trusting, and everything one could hope for in a client. After a few days, I got a confirmation email from Shivam asking me to cover their wedding photography & cinematography. I was over the moon :))

Sanmathi works in USA and Shivam works in India, so we couldn’t meet up in person before the wedding. I didn’t know about their story, and sometimes it works to get into a shoot without any background info, and that may be ok for an event but not for a wedding. I was a little anxious till I finally got to meet both of them (a day before the wedding). Oh boy, I loved them and their very filmy story (right out of Bollywood)

Jab they met

Shivam was in his first year in engineering, and Sanmathi was in her final year of Engg (both in the same college). The two met through some common friends and took notice of each other (sorry, but it wasn’t love at first sight). Shivam was Mr. popular already because he was a star cricketer. Sports and music always help in getting quick attention, especially in engineering/medical colleges with abysmal female ratios…(been there, done that). Soon enough the cupid struck and struck hard:))

However, it wasn’t long before Sanmathi had to leave for the USA for pursuing her higher education ( a googly they didn’t expect). Most of their friends had written off their relationship, considering how difficult it is to maintain long-distance relationships. But they surprised everyone (including themselves) by not giving up on each other.

I’m so happy that they stuck on because they make an uhmaayyyzzzzing couple. Yes, they’ve been tested but that’s what got them closer. I could feel that amazing chulbuli chemistry between them. Sanmathi is a strong-willed, fun-loving, emotional, and very determined kind of girl. Whereas, Shivam is more relaxed, super chilled, and yet fiercely passionate about the things that are close to his heart (Cricket & Sanmathi). He is one of the upcoming cricketing talents from Karnataka.

Fast forward, Band Baaja Baraat.  (The Reception)

We reached the venue with a team of five.  I was with Rahul, Rajesh, Saj, and Nagesh. To start with, we covered getting ready for both. The lovebirds had written a secret letter to each other (more like a prenup, with a clear demarcation of who does the cooking, cleaning, earning etc)…I’m kidding. The priceless expressions that we got when they read their letters were amazing. Soon we moved to the reception venue. It was super noisy, Shivam and Sanmathi’s cricket and college mates were in full attendance. A special mention about their grand entry, amidst bhangra performers, Shivam’s cricketing buddies had an unbelievable surprise waiting for them, Using cricket bats, they gave a guard of honor to them when they entered the venue. What an unbelievable sight it was. A first for many of us. From then on, it was one big party. After the reception, we sneaked the two out and had a beautiful couple shoot. We packed up at around 1 am and were back at 6 am the next day(with groggy eyes, looking like raccoons) for the wedding.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejaenge. (The Wedding)

On the day of the wedding, we went straight to Sanmathi’s room to capture her bridal makeup. We loved her South Indian (Telugu) wedding attire and took some lovely candid moments of her getting ready. After that, we quickly went to Shivam’s room to take some of his getting-ready shots but guess what??? Shivam was still sleeping… apparently, there was a big bachelors party that went on till the wee hours of the morning. Thank god the party wasn’t in Vegas (Hangover style..lol). His friends were all standing next to his bed, laughing and giggling. Someone pointed to the hand-drawn tattoos all over Shivam’s body, I’m not getting into the graphic details here, censored for obvious reasons ..hehe. Needless to say, I got all my blackmail shots :D…any guesses about who was the real culprit behind the mess? It was Shivam’s best man, Manish (Nayak Nahi Khalnayak hoon main, haha)

Moving on to the wedding. Sanmathi walked into the venue (Royal Orchids, Yelhanka) with her mother, she was wearing a traditional South-Indian saree and looked drop-dead gorgeous. Shivam looked every bit like a prince himself, dressed in a maroon kurta. It was going to be two weddings in one day; the first, was a Telugu wedding, followed by a north Indian wedding in the evening. We shot some fabulous candid and behind the scene moments for both weddings. it was also super fun capturing the Baraat which danced to some mouthwatering Bollywood numbers. Both the weddings were finally over at around 12 am (talk about marathon weddings). After which, we still had the energy to sneak them out for truth or dare kinda rapid-fire interview. We wanted to get into the juicy bits n pieces of their story (I wore the Karan Johar hat). To have the best response from them we ensured their besties were around, a big shout to Manish, Val, Shruti, Priti & Abhinav for hanging in there with us. We all had such a ball of a time during the interviews, we were laughing non-stop, It went on till around 2: 30 am in the morning. That’s when we called it a day. We were all drained but still didn’t want to stop. This was undoubtedly one of the most fun weddings I have shot. Cheers to you guys for a life full of love and happiness.