Felt like the shortest 4-Day Indian Wedding

/

We know it is so easy to brag about our brides, they are all beautiful, they are all in love… but when it comes to Chhavi, she was unique! She is the kind of bride that thanked us every time we snapped a photo of her. It’s families like this that make a 4 day weekend feel too short, because we just can’t help it but want their celebration to continue for the entire month!

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Mendhi -5.jpg

Mendhi

Day 1

Chhavi had her Mendhi and their Pithi celebrations at their own home. And if these photos aren’t any sample of their happiness, I don’t know what would tell you how much these two lovebirds love each other! Having intimate events is sometimes the way to go… you actually get to enjoy and spend time with each of your guests without feeling rushed.

When your groom does anything to keep you entertained during your loooong hours of your henna! ;)

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Pithi-7.jpg

Pithi

Day 2

Well… this is one way to clean you up after a Pithi ceremony! having fun and making memories is all that matters… our cameras getting wet, not so much! lol

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Sangeet --105.jpg

Sangeet

Day 3

We always try to start our Sangeet nights with a mini session of the bride and the groom. Then, we hop into family formals at the stage and the celebration begins from there….

Not to be biased, but when your Uncle is the owner of Mantra Catering Chicago, what’s there to expect other than AMAZINGNESS! Not only the food was delicious all throughout their wedding weekend, but the setups and displays were such a work of art.

The program at Sangeet brought quite the surprise to our Bride. Our Groom not only showed off his dancing skills, but also with his sweet voice, he performed a special song for his Bride! and of course, the night isn’t over if not all 300 guests join the dance floor with some epic moves!

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Getting Ready --11.jpg

Getting Ready

Day 4 (AM)

So about rain in Chicago… yesssss… I know it’s a bummer, but when you have these many balloons ready for a First Look, any background does the job for such a romantic scene!

Not feeling to kheen on reading your letters out loud! Bummer!!!!

Chhavi and Sumeet were our brave couple to actually read their love letters to one another, outloud and with microphones none the less! I can’t tell you how many of us were tearing up in the middle of their letters… Their voices not only narrated their wedding video, but also set the romantic tone for their wedding photo session (in the middle of the rain!) rain had never been this romantic before! These two are so so sweet!

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Baraat --35.jpg

Baraat

day 4 (AM)

Did we say Smoke Boms at your Baraat??? heck yeahh!!!!

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Detalis Ceremony --5.jpg

Wedding Ceremony

Decor by Dream Occassions

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Ceremony --40.jpg

Hindu Ceremony

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Vidai --15.jpg

VIDAI

An sweet and emotional goodbye to the Bride and Groom

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Reception Creatives -29.jpg

Creatives

Chicago City

Not fair! Traffic in Chicago cut our session in half, but it’s okay… with couples like these two lovebirds, it is easy to rush through a session and still get their love and personalities in pretty pictures :) It’s either that or my husband Jon is a ninja photographer! lol

Le Cape Weddings - Sumeet and Chavi - Reception Dinner Buffet -2.jpg

RECEPTION

and Cocktail Hour

Literally, we all get chills when the doors open and the bride and groom enter for the first time! What a magical moment to see all that you’ve been planning for a full year, all there in front of you! These weddings make me want to re marry my husband and do it all over again! not fair for us who got married before Pinterest!

It’s so fair to say that we did not want the weekend to end. Sumeet + Chhavi, you two are wonderful people and have an amazing HUGE family that you made us feel a part of! Congratulations and seriously thank you for letting us capture your wedding weekend. Of course, this wedding wouldn’t have been the same without all these amazing vendors that were a huge part of their dream wedding. Here is a list of vendors for all of our upcoming brides to grab the phone and book them all! (specially the caterer, two thumbs up!)*

Cinematography & Photography: Le Cape Weddings

Venue: Westin Itasca, Grand Ballroom

Event Planner: JD Jankhana Desai | jd@abricoe.com | www.abricoe.com

Event Decorator: Dream Occassions Decor Info@dreamoccasions.com

Make up & Hair: Appease Inc. | Neela 630-915-8969

DJ: Shaadi Entertainment with DJ Krush

Caterer: Mantra Chicago | kasia@mantrachicago.com

Horse Rental: Maharaja Farm | info@maharajafarm.com

When romance hits the dance floor!

/

We just have to share at least two images from this past wedding at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. This couple literally stole our hearts forever!

Swati + Ankur

/

Indian Weddings are known for their rich rituals and extravagant parties. Both the bride and her groom wear very gorgeous clothes during each of the events. Their guests attending the wedding are often dressed up to the nines too! Brides usually wear red colors for their Wedding Ceremony, but for the other events, there is no rules as far as colors go. 

One of their most important events is the Hennah day, where all the ladies get to participate and get Henna patterns all over their hands, or arms if they desire. Swati began her wedding celebrations with Pithi, in which she wore a vivid yellow and orange outfit... her lashes were definitely a point of distraction for me as a photographer... look how beautiful she looked!

Later on that same day, we got to celebrate another one of her events, her Grah Shanti. This is an event that prepares her and her family members spiritually for the big day, and this time she wore blue and red as the rest of her family. 

Then on the second day, we started the day very early in the morning, to catch her on her last couple of make up touches. It's more often than not, that our couples have a First Look before the wedding ceremony begins. For Swati + Ankur, they weren't too lucky with the weather as you can tell from this first picture. So we decided to have their First Look at their ceremony room. We really loved the feeling of re enacting that moment, when he first sees her walking down the isle. There was no one in the room, so it felt like an intimate moment for the two of them. It was rather special and a great idea for a rainy morning. 

Look at the gorgeous mundap.. it was just the perfect scenario to have their First Peek to each other.

Their bridal party made sure the rain didn't stop them from having fun on their wedding day. These guys were the reason why we had such a great time with this couple! 

Fair enough.. the rain stopped in the afternoon, and we got to photograph sneak out of their Cocktail Hour with these two for a couple of pictures under a beautiful sunset. 

Congratulations to our beautiful Swati + Ankur! We are so so thankful to have couples like you in our book of memories! 

xoxo

Ishani + Sidhart

/

Indian weddings are rich in culture and traditions. Most Indian weddings are big in size, and have several events throughout the week of their wedding celebration. There are so many traditions depending on where the couple was raised, whether it was in the North part of India, or the South, East or West. But most of them have similar ceremonies, where the couple walks around the sacred fire, they exchange garlands and some exchange rings as a part of their marriage ceremony. Ishani and Sidhart had a more intimate wedding, bringing families from all sort of places of the world. We met people from India, Pennsylvania, California, and a number of states. 

One of our favorite moments of Indian Weddings is the early morning ceremonies that welcome the groom to the brides family. In one way or another, the groom tries to impress the guests and the family with a big entrance at his arrival.  

While most couples these days like to have a "First Look" before the ceremony, Sidhart preferred to keep it more traditional, by seeing his bride for the first time at their ceremony. Sidhart's uncles carried her on a Dolly, as she covered her face with some leaves. 

In the afternoon, we got to document these two lovelies getting ready for their wedding reception... we took them out for a super short session as the sun sat, and we dove into cocktail hour and straight into the program. Some of their relatives surprised them with special performances and super heart melting speeches...