A Kolkata Wedding Photography Story: Astha + Akhil, Taj Bengal

A Kolkata Wedding Photography Story: Astha + Akhil at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata 

Astha and Akhil wed earlier this year in Kolkata, amidst much pomp and fanfare. A grand Marwari wedding, the main functions took place in Taj Bengal and The Hyatt, with the poojas and other smaller functions being held in Akhil’s lovely home in New Alipore. Introduced by their parents, they hit it off instantly and found much in common — what with both having lived away from home in boarding school.

We first met them a few months before their wedding, when we flew down to Kolkata to get a few pre-wedding portraits with them. Akhil suggested that we meet at the Kolkata Rowing Club and shoot in and around there and, boy, we were not disappointed! There was a lovely metal bridge behind the club and a semi-public park right outside with an old stone bridge and a swing — all making for some lovely spaces for us to shoot in. Here are a couple of our favourites from that session…

At the end of this session, we felt as if we had known Astha and Akhil forever and we were very excited to return for the wedding. And it was even better than we expected! Everything we heard about Astha from her friends and family confirmed our suspicion that she is everybody’s darling and that she deserved the “best wedding ever”, as she put it. Thankfully for her, Akhil is a perfectionist and can’t help but pay attention to detail – he delivered an amazing wedding, as promised!

Before the main function days, we got a quick sneak peek at Astha’s bachelorette! Of course, we excused ourselves before we saw (or captured) too much…

We managed a good night’s rest before the “serious” stuff began and were stoked to capture the many rituals that make up a Marwari wedding. Akhil lives in a joined family, with 4-5 uncles and their respective families. Their home is always alive with laughter, fun, pranks and overflowing with love and affection. It was such a happy space to shoot in.

The evening ceremonies were (just a tad) more formal because the bride and her family joined in…

The night brought on a party for the younger lot on a barge which floated across the Hooghly river. Yes, you read right. It was a barge party! We realised that we have to cross over a railway track to reach the boat jetty and couldn’t resist this shot…

After which the couple partied the night away with their closest friends and family!

The next day began with the haldi.

We reached the wedding venue a little early to capture some photos of the bride getting ready…

The baraat didn’t travel very far but that, by no means, implies that it was short! Being a very punctual family, Akhil and gang got the venue well before time and danced away until dusk!

Enter the bride, one of our favourite moments at every wedding!

The post-ceremony games with the brand new mother-in-law and sisters-in-law always bring about a whole lot of teasing and leg pulling!

The laughter gives way to the most emotional time of all…

Aaaand, welcome home, Mrs. Bansal.

Some of the games for the newlyweds were carried over to the next morning…

Such a lovely, fun way to induct a new member into the family, don’t you think?

Not to forget the reception+cocktail+sangeet — the last event at this Big Fat Marwari Wedding!

It was such a fantastic wedding — full of love and laughter — and we had the best time! We’ve also been saving the best for the last…don’t forget to check out the trailer for their wedding movie!