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Indian + Punjabi WeddingsWeddings

Sonia and Reyhan’s Sikh Wedding

By 24/01/20144 Comments

It has been a while since I last photographed a Sikh wedding. I love the wonderful details that colour cultural weddings like these. It makes me really happy. :) Sonia and I used to be colleagues years ago. She was a really good project manager and is a really detailed person. It really showed in her wedding, because she had wrapped and labelled all her items needed for the wedding… placed in bags for when she needed them. Row upon row, she detailed everything in her excel sheet. She also had an emergency kit for the day which included an umbrella, drinks, food, toiletries, and even a Rubik’s cube! (I think the Rubik’s cube was for the driver in case he was bored! haha).

Reyhan completes Sonia by being her solid rock. He’s patient and kind, one of the traits that attracted Sonia to him in the first place. What amazed me was that he used to drive all the way from his home to hers to send her to work even though it was an hour off his route to work! That’s dedication and love!

Reyhan and Sonia’s wedding was really memorable because they are really sporting and fun people. So many different expressions, lots of laughter, silly faces, and amazing dancing! No Punjabi wedding will be complete without dancing! We had heaps of fun photographing their Sikh temple wedding and then a church wedding the day after.

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Sonia and Reyhan says:

We’ve known for a few years now that we would love for you to photograph our wedding day. We’re grateful that we were able to book your time on the 13th and 14th of December! Thank you for all your hard work over those two days in taking all those lovely photos for us and preparing them for the slideshow at dinner.

We appreciate that you guys woke up at insanely early hours to come over to our homes to take photos of us getting dressed. Grace, I was yawning away during my makeup and hair session on the 13th so it was awesome when you arrived and helped wake me up with your chirpiness.

Thank you for your creative input throughout the events. We have had at least 15 guests tell us that your slideshow at dinner was amazing. And we agree wholeheartedly! Some of the feedback we received was from people whose photography styles we ourselves look up to, so it was really very exciting for us to hear from them. One person said that you took unique photos and expressions that they have never seen before and another told us that it was so beautiful, they nearly cried.

Thank you for your patience with us when we ate into your portrait time as we kept getting caught by guests! And thank you also for your patience with some guests who got in your way while you were working.

Diane, thank you for all the preparation work and for your prompt communications in the months prior to our wedding. Of all the vendors at our wedding, Stories gave us the best experience from asking the right questions to being patient with us when we had delays in responding to you.

All in all it has been a wonderful experience working with you.

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Looking really smart, Reyhan! That beard looks good on you!

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The person below is Dalveen. Reyhan’s cousin Anil and Sonia’s friend Dalveen introduced Reyhan and Sonia to each other. 8 years down the road, Anil and Dalveen are married and Reyhan and Sonia are also married within a month of each other.

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Love this moment. It also speaks of the blend of cultures and acceptance. Reyhan’s family is Punjabi, but Sonia’s dad is Eurasian. Two daughters helping their dad to wear the Sikh turban for the first time.

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How interesting to note that in many cultures, money is somehow exchanged between the couple and family members during a wedding. Usually as a payment / token from the groom to allow him to see his bride.

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The Gurdwara Sahib in Petaling Jaya.

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The highlight of the Sikh wedding ceremony involves the bride and groom walking around the Holy book a few times. I didn’t really know the meaning, so I googled. According to Wikipedia, the ceremony serves to provide the foundational principles towards a successful marriage and also places the marriage within the context of unity with God.

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Woohoo, married the Sikh way!

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Sonia has her glamour moments…. andwell, her crazy moments.

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The lunch reception was held at The Club in Bandar Utama.

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There were Christmas carols sung by Sonia’s uncle (who’s really talented by the way, since he also did the decorations that day!), and also Portuguese settlement dancers from Malacca! What fun!

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And look at that first dance! It was super fun and hilarious! (by the way, you wouldn’t think that these people would be dancing the way they did at 3pm in the afternoon… but yeah, that’s what they did!) These people really know how to paaaarty!

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Congratulations Sonia and Reyhan! It was a truly spectacular experience for everyone. Too bad we didn’t get to take a shot together with our bandanas on! May you continue to dance the night away…with lots of new adventures coming your way!

Credits:

Photographers: Grace, Weiming & Nigel
Ceremony location: Gurdwara Sahib, PJ
Lunch Reception: The Club, Bandar Utama
Make up & hair: Vickram Rai, Make Up Mantra

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