When we were putting together our Dream Wander List at the beginning of 2017, we put "attend an Indian Wedding" on the list, as something we had always to experience - not having any idea when that would ever happen. When one of Brandon's best friends from college invited us to his wedding in Dehradun, India just a few months later, we immediately said YES OF COURSE! We had no idea how we were going to get there or what our schedule was going to be for the end of the year, but we knew there was no way we could miss this one. Not only do we both just love weddings - this was one undoubtably going to be unlike anything we had ever experienced before. 

As the year went on, we managed to build our schedule around attending this event, and even fit in a Film with Andaz New Delhi to the same trip. We met up with the bride and groom, and their friends in New Delhi, for sight-seeing and shopping a couple of days before the wedding, and then met everyone up in Dehradun, a small town way up north, at the foothills of the Himalayas for the 3 night wedding extravaganza! The whole event was filled with so much light and vibrance, music and dancing, drinks and rich, amazing Indian food - and we tried our best to participate in every moment of it.

The Bride's Mehendi Begins!

Drying Henna and keeping warm by the firepits.

The Grooms parents preformed a synchronized dance for us all.

The morning of the wedding, we took a trip to a Hindu Temple inside a cave nearby.

Admiring the archway built out of palm and flowers - people started building this at dawn that morning, and by the afternoon it was finally ready. I was so excited to get to buy and wear an authentic Saree - and of course needed an Auntie of the groom to drape and pin it up for me. When we met up with the wedding party and friends in Delhi before heading up to the mountains, the groom's family took us all shopping in a formalwear store - we had so much fun trying everything on and picking out our outfits. Brandon and I were trying on on separate floors, and both picked out matching gold outfits without knowing it!

The groom!

The decorated horse that the groom rides into the ceremony on - we took a few minutes to say to him before the wedding festivities started.

The wedding procession begins!

Before entering the hall for the ceremony, we joined into a dance party around the groom that seemed to last forever. I believe this was called the Baraat - and the bride watches this from an upstairs window. 

The bride and groom during the many wedding traditions and ceremony!

Leading the Bride into the wedding hall after the ceremony had finished. 

Details of the Sarees and Brandon's Achkan

And portrait time! this was one experience I am so glad we got to experience and took the time to shoot as well as partake in as much of the tradition and culture as we could.