I was honoured to be invited to shoot my first Indian wedding, which took place at an exotic destination, the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Neera and Amal, an Indian couple from London, wanted to start their common path on this paradise island famous for its alluring beaches, spices, tropical fruits and seafood delicacies. For such a venture organization was quite a challenge, but all in all the experience was just crazy. I spent 7 days with them whereas the wedding ceremonies lasted for 3 days. Their traditions and rituals are quite different from ours. It is a powerful celebration, packed with symbolism and other details that are quite foreign to us. Everybody wore colourful clothes. It is typical for Indian brides to decorate and paint their hands and feet with henna. The bride and her friends chatted and had lots of fun while applying and drying the beautiful patterns and I managed to capture some of them in my lens. All the food was vegetarian and very little alcohol was served. But the air was packed with awesome energy. I took a stroll with the newlyweds along the heavenly beach where the Indian Ocean pampered us with its kitschy colours. With the easygoing energy of the bride and groom fantastic wedding portraits were created. Remembering this amazing wedding, images simply come alive. Heavenly.
