I’ve started to realize my blog post are becoming more and more like diary entries lately and so I’m going to embrace this instead of trying to avoid it! I began this chapter with the intention to break down the various components of an Indian wedding including the super exuberant baraat through the Ganesh Puja and onto the ceremony under the mandap. I wanted to compare and contrast the traditions of South Asian weddings to other cultures and highlight how same they really are; there are loads of parallels including the pre-parties i, mandap to the chuppa, the #bridetribe, etc, etc but I changed course on this entry about halfway through my first draft. Instead, I want to focus not on the anatomy, per se, but the extremities that hold together a union, any union in fact.

When I sit down to write, I pause about every 5-10 minutes not only because I have the attention span of a gnat but also so I can review our team’s photo captures to be sure what I am writing is parallel to what we’ve shot. I started to notice many of the shots I chose for our blog post outside of my favorite portraits - face forward captures of people- are shots featuring hands and feet. After taking another break to pontificate about the possibility of a hand or foot fetish, I realized that quite literally, the hands hold the union together and the feet carry it to the next adventure and thus did not edit my photo selections. So, dear diary, I want to divulge my admiration of the ways that we hold onto love and take it to the next level.

That sweet biology based, old Roman idea that rocking your diamond on your left hand was anatomically correct based on that fourth finger’s job to house the one vein directly to your heart is just a little bit outdated and also not entirely correct; as it turns out all fingers have veins that run to your heart! So really one could don wedding rings on any or all of your fingers if it is truly to express a union coming from the heart, right?! Alas, ever the hopeless romantic waiting for my chance to rock a diamond and a big fan of shiny distractions, let’s get back to the topic on hand, shall we?? Hands are, indeed, an extension of our hearts, whether we are speaking anatomically, metaphysically or just as an accessory. We extend our hand to greet one another with handshakes, high fives and even hold hands to show our intimacy with someone dear to us. It seems fitting then that our grip on life, love and all things physical are ‘held close’, be it in the ‘palm of your hand’ or one even could be ‘wrapped around your finger!’. I love all these references to ‘handling’ love and how we have a ‘hand in’ making our own choice in love.

Certainly in Indian culture, choice in your partner is not traditionally the way marriages have been made. Lucky for Veronica + Kapil, their getting together was kismet when the stars aligned them on Coffee Meets Bagel. Her traditional Latin roots paired with his Indian heritage made way for this really unique, cultural fusion of a wedding where East meets West, and you know how we love a good cultural exchange!! Hand in hand, these two made really sweet intentions of unifying their very different families into one big celebration that ultimately showed more similarity than difference. In a time when small variations cause major riffs, it’s so important that we handle the opportunities to come together in the most conscious ways we can. We, too, have a hand in making choices that can lead us forward instead of backward. And our sweet couple did that so perfectly on their wedding weekend! From the pre-party at the mariachi lead sangeet all the way to the wedding reception dance floor where Kapil’s parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary, the spirit of love of was handled so kindly and so perfectly.

And dance they did! There were many sweet moments captured on the dance floor including breaks for samba, bhangra and even some sweet beats from Bruno Mars. I have not soon forgotten about the multitude of good footwear at this awesome wedding. Kapil made certain his crew of dapper groomsmen could stand up for him in comfort throughout the day and gifted all the guys a pair of classic, Air Jordans! After all, #Chicago ya’ll! Even Veronica kicked off her high heels and rocked a pair of her own Nike’s and helped keep the dance floor energy all the way up!!

They say feet are your biggest access point to the rest of your body as the pores on your tootsies are the largest. It is also said that the reflexology which connects your hands and feet to other organs in your body can truly help circulation not to mention your connection to the rest of your body. Obviously, I’m no Dr. Oz but having been a wedding photographer for the last decade, I’ve become very versed in the world of post-wedding foot rubs so I can walk again in the days following. That said, a proper pair of shoes for all night dancing or just for fashion's sake is always a great idea in my book. Again, fashion and function are totally able to live in the same arena and especially if that ballpark has you dancing with your boo! And so far as feet carrying us forward to other amazing adventures off of the dance floor, let’s go ahead and be hopeless romantics together, shall we? I know you clicked on that Bruno Mars link and are singing along. It’s totally cool!

My challenge to you is to do a little hokey pokey this weekend! Put your hand in, put your hand out and shake it all about!! Repeat with the feet and everything in between. I promise, you will feel better afterward and nobody has to know you did it. Orrrrrr you could invite your whole crew over, make a video and post it in the comments on this little Dear Diary entry with #loverosephoto and follow along to me #dancinglikenooneiswatching on IG @rose_kaz and our crew page @rosephoto.official

To Veronica + Kapil, thank you so very much for having the RP crew to document your love story. You know it’s our favorite thing to do and truly an honor to meet your families. Your clever ways of introducing cultures to one another had our team in stitches and we love your love!! Can’t wait for the next chapters!!

love,

Rose + Co