The Wedding - Julie Rogers

Ameena n Nishad Wedding 15.04.2012

Honeymoon in Manali

Manali is one of the popular honeymoon destination of north India. Manali means the 'Home of Manu'.

In Hindu mythology, when world was drowned in flood, manu came to manali to recreate life. Manali is situated at an altitude of 2050 meters above sea level and is 280km from Himachal’s capital Shimla. Manali’s Temprature remains mild in summers and falls in winters. If you want to experience snow fall, then visit manali in December-january.Being a popular tourist destinations, manali is well connected. Manali has a small airport names – “Bhuntar”. The closest railway station is – “Jogindernagar” which is 135km away from main town of manali. It is easily reachable by road too. There are daily tourist busses from Delhi or you can hire a taxi from delhi to manali.

Basic Facts About Manali 

State:	Himachal Pradesh
District	Kullu
Famous For	Hill Station
Languages	Pahari, Hindi, English
Best Season:	Oct - May
Pincode	175131
Places to visit	Hidimba Temple Vashisht Rohtang Pass Heli Skiing Hidimba Devi Temple Gadhan Thekchoking Gompa Gulaba Camp Malana Valley Manali Sanctuary Temple Of Manu Nehru Kund

Places to visit in Manali

Hidimba Temple:

Hidimba Temple

This temple believes to be from Mahabharata time and devoted Hidmibi Devi. This temple is located in the Van Vihar forest. This forest gives a beautiful view while going to temple. A major festival is held here in the month of May. The temple is noted for its four-storeyed pagoda and exquisite wooden carvings. 

Manu Temple

Vashisht Temple

Rohtang Pass

Vashisht (3 kms)
Himachal tourism sulphar baths are major attractions. This little village is famous for its hot sulphar springs. It also has many old temples which are believed to be in existence from Ramayana era.

Manu Temple (2 kms)
As the name suggest Manu Temple is dedicated to manali’s founder – Manu. Manu Temple gives a beautiful view of manali. 

Rohtang Pass
Rohtang Pass is located at the height of 3980m and gateway to many districts like Lahaul. Rohtang Pass is open from June to November and remain clode sue to snow fall in this area. Rohtang Pass is quite popluar among adventurous people for trekking.

Tibetan Temple

Tibetans have a base in Manali too. There is a large modern Tibetan temple to the South of the bus stand and also a small handicrafts center.

Old Manali: At a distance of 3 km of Manali is Old Manali, And is famous for its orchards and old guesthouses. There is ruined fort here by the name of Manaligarh. There is also the Manu Maharishi Temple, to sage Manu. Solang Valley (14 kms) Solang Valley is just 14 kms from Manlali and is famous for adventure sports like trekking, paragliding etc. HPTDC organises ski packages during winter. Solang valley offers the view of glaciers and snow capped mountains and peaks. It has fine ski slopes. The Mountaineering Institute has installed a ski lift for training purpose.

Manali Sanctuary Manali sanctuary is spread over an area of 3,180 hectares. It is located in District . The sanctuary was notified on 26th February 1954, under the Punjab Birds and Wild Animals Protection Act, 1933. Naggar Naggar is a beautiful village ,situated on a hill surrounding by forest. The region have various monuments ,which shows its glorious past.

Places to visit in Manali	Distance in Km
Arjun Gufa	4
Club house	2
Hidimba Devi temple	2.5
Jagatsukh	6
Kothi	12
Manu temple	3
Mountaineering Institute	3
Nehru kund	5
Rahala water falls	16
Rohtang pass	51
Solang valley	13
Tibetan monasteries
Vashisht hot water springs and temples	3
Mandi	110
Keylong	120
Trilokinath	152
Kaza	200
Kangra	240
Shimla	260
Chhatru (L&S)	81
Batal (L&S)	110
Kunzum Pass	122

How to reach to manali

By Air The nearest airport to Manali is Bhuntar, which is 52-km from Manali. From Bhuntar one can take a taxi or a bus to reach Manali.

From Thiruvananthapuram by taxi*

* Fares are subjected to change as per petrol / diesel price 

Chandigarh To Kochi (Cochin) Trains

Train No.	Train Name	Origin	Dep. Time	Arr. Time	Days Of Run
					M	T	W	T	F	S	S
12218	KERLA S KRANTI	Chandigarh	09:00	10:20	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N

source :honeymooninindia.com

photos : Google

Wedding Photography

A 1942 wedding with bride in traditional long white wedding dress.

Wedding photography is the photography of activities relating to weddings. It encompasses photographs of the couple before marriage (for announcements, portrait displays, or thank you cards) as well as coverage of the wedding and reception (sometimes referred to as the wedding breakfast in non-US countries). It is a major commercial endeavor that supports the bulk of the efforts for many photography studios or independent photographers.

Like the technology of photography itself, the practice of wedding photography has evolved and grown since the invention of the photographic art form in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. In fact, an early photograph, recorded some 14 years after the fact, may be a recreation for the camera of the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. However, in the early days of photography, most couples of more humble means did not hire a photographer to record the actual wedding itself. Until the later half of the 19th century, most people didn’t pose for formal wedding photos during the wedding. Rather, they might pose for a formal photo in their best clothes before or after a wedding. In the late 1860s, more couples started posing in their wedding clothes or sometimes hired a photographer to come to the wedding venue.

Due to the nature of the bulky equipment and lighting issues, wedding photography was largely a studio practice for most of the late 19th century. Over time, technology improved, but many couples still might only pose for a single wedding portrait. Wedding albums started becoming more commonplace towards the 1880s, and the photographer would sometimes include the wedding party in the photographs. Often the wedding gifts would be laid out and recorded in the photographs as well. At the beginning of the 20th century, color photography became available, but was still unreliable and expensive, so most wedding photography was still practiced in black and white. The concept of capturing the wedding "event" came about after the Second World War. Using film roll technology and improved lighting techniques available with the invention of the compact flash bulb, photographers would often show up at a wedding and try to sell the photos later. Despite the initial low quality photographs that often resulted, the competition forced the studio photographers to start working on location.

Initially, professional studio photographers might bring a lot of bulky equipment, thus limiting their ability to record the entire event. Even "candid" photos were more often staged after the ceremony. In the 1970s, the more modern approach to recording the entire wedding event started evolving into the practice as we know it today, including a more "documentary" style of photography.

Technology :

Photographer rehearses taking a critical wedding photo, using her assistant here as a model, in later light on Morro Strand State Beach, Morro Bay, CA.

During the film era, photographers favored color negative film and medium-format cameras, especially by Hasselblad. Today, many more weddings are photographed with digital SLR cameras as the digital convenience provides quick detection of lighting mistakes and allows creative approaches to be reviewed immediately.

In spite of diminishing film use, some photographers continue to shoot with film as they prefer the film aesthetic, and others are of the opinion that negative film captures more information than digital technology, and has less margin for exposure error. Certainly true in some cases, it should be noted that exposure latitude inherent in a camera's native Raw image format (which allows for more under- and over- exposure than JPEG) varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. All forms of RAW have a degree of exposure latitude which exceeds slide film - to which digital capture is commonly compared.

Currently, it is fair to say that many professional labs have a greater capacity to provide services in post-production for film compared with digital, such as quickly generating adequate prints in the event of some over- or under- exposure. This should change over time, with manufacturers like Kodak announcing a commitment to further develop streamlined services in the area of professional digital lab output.

Technology has evolved with the use of remote triggers and flashes. Wedding photographers are now able to take advantage of traveling light and having the ability to use creative lighting.

Approaches :

Bride and groom photo session at sunset

A photojournalistic wedding image capturing the drama of a bride tossing her bouquet of flowers.

There are two primary approaches to wedding photography that are recognized today: Traditional and Photojournalistic. Traditional wedding photography provides for more classically posed images and a great deal of photographer control interaction on the day of the wedding. A Photojournalist style of wedding photography takes its cue from editorial reporting styles and focuses more on candid images with little photographer interaction. These are two extremes and many of today's photographers will fall somewhere in the middle of these two styles.

A third style that is becoming more popular is a fashion-based approach. In contemporary/fashion-based wedding photography, photojournalist will combine candid images of the events of the day with posed images that are inspired by editorial fashion photography as would be found in magazines like Vogue or Vanity Fair. This style often involves more innovative and dramatic post-processing of images.

A fourth style that is popular in Asian countries, especially in China, is wedding studio photography (Chinese: 婚纱摄影; pinyin: hūn shā shè yǐng). Typically, couples will select a studio in a similar manner as western couples select a wedding photographer. They will then make an appointment with the studio for either in-studio or location shoot, which is becoming popular in recent years, to do "glamour wedding shots". In attendance will be a hair stylist and make-up artist in addition to the photographer and the couple. The couple will go through many changes of clothing and backgrounds in a similar manner to the fashion based approach.

Wedding photography with a photojournalistic approach. There is an emphasis on conveying an emotion within one's wedding day. Bride has thrown her bouquet and the catch was captured with bridesmaid in mid air. Verdi Club Fresno, CA.

The term contemporary wedding photography is used to describe wedding photography that is not of a traditional nature. The emphasis in contemporary photography is to capture the story and atmosphere from the day, so the viewer has an appreciation of what the wedding was like, rather than a series of pre-determined poses. This term can be mistaken for meaning any photograph that is not posed or formal. The advent and advancement of digital cameras (and increased use of the internet) means that many people can offer their services as a wedding photographer, but contemporary wedding photography is more than taking informal photographs and involves the use of composition, lighting, and timing to capture photographs that have a strong visual appeal.

There is some uncertainty over what constitutes contemporary and how this differs from other forms of wedding photography. The PSA Journal, March 1994, records a debate on this subject. This highlights the difficulty with the word contemporary when defining photographic expression, as some feel this term is not sufficiently defined. For example, is photojournalism contemporary or is it different? Photojournalism is easier to define, as the term infers the photography is by its nature similar to journalism, where the emphasis is upon reporting and recording events in a newsworthy manner, whereas contemporary may include an element of photojournalism but is not exclusively that style of photography.

However, the landscape of Wedding Photography has constantly evolved, it is a creative discipline and those proponents at the leading edge of the industry are constantly feeding new ideas into the photographic community. As a result trends will develop, mostly based around the core elements discussed. Some will be transitory while others will remain a traditional part.

Album, Prints and other Products :

A bride arriving at the venue, with her father also in the car. The black and white texture, together with her expression, and the composition of the photograph make for a picture that evokes some of the emotion from the day.

A contemporary wedding photographer will usually provide some or all of the following:

• Indoor photography at a church, temple, or other private venue during the ceremony and reception.
• Outdoor photography (often at a park, beach, or scenic location on the day of the wedding and/or for engagement photos).
• Both posed and candid (photojournalistic) shots of the wedding couple and their guests at the religious or civil ceremony, and the reception that follows.
• Formal portraiture in the studio (for either the wedding and/or the engagement photos).
• Digital services, such as digital prints or slides shows.
• Albums (either traditional matted albums or the more contemporary flush mount type of album).

The range of deliverables that a wedding photographer presents is varied. There is no standard as to what is included in a wedding coverage or package, so products vary regionally and from across photographers, as do the number of images provided.

Most photographers provide a set of proofs (usually unretouched, edited images) for the clients to view. Photographers may provide hard copy proofs in the form of 4x5 or 4x6 prints, a "magazine" of images with thumbnail sized pictures on multiple pages, an online proof gallery, images on CD or DVD in the form of a gallery or a slideshow, or a combination of the above. Some photographers provide these proofs for the client to keep, and some photographers require the client to make final print choices from the proofs and then return them or purchase them at an additional cost.

A sample two-page spread from a contemporary flush mount wedding album.

There are a wide variety of albums and manufacturers available, and photographers may provide traditional matted albums, digitally designed "coffee table" albums, contemporary flush mount albums, hardbound books, scrapbook style albums, or a combination of any of the above. Albums may be included as part of a pre-purchased package, or they may be added as an after-wedding purchase. Not all photographers provide albums; some may prefer to provide prints and/or files and let clients make their own albums.

Most photographers allow clients to purchase additional prints for themselves or their families. Many photographers now provide online sales either through galleries located on their own websites or through partnerships with other vendors. Those vendors typically host the images and provide the back end sales mechanism for the photographer; the photographer sets his or her own prices and the vendor takes a commission or charges a flat fee.

Some photographers are also including high resolution files in their packages. These photographers allow their clients limited rights to reproduce the images for their personal use, while retaining the copyright. Not all photographers release files and those who do will most likely charge a premium for them, since releasing files means giving up any after wedding print or album sales for the most part.

The owner of the pictures' copyright is often explicitly stated in the contract for photographic services. Without such explicit statement, the owner of the pictures' copyright will depend on the country involved as copyright laws vary from country to country. Photographers who do not retain copyright of the images often charge more for their services. In these cases, the photographer provides the client with the digital images as part of the wedding package. The client then has unrestricted use of the images and can print any that they may desire.

Profession :

A bride and groom are posed for this location shot using available lighting during the pre-twilight moments of the day due to the desirable soft lighting effects.

The wedding photography industry is home to some respected names within the photography industry, some of whom were listed in PopPhoto's Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World. These figures represent the historical rise of wedding photojournalism, fashion, couture-style portraits, and all digital work-flow.

As a wedding is a one-time event, the photographer must be prepared for the unexpected. Shooting a wedding is both exhausting and invigorating as the photographer is constantly looking for good angles and opportunities for candid shots. Communication and planning time-lines before the event will alleviate many of the stresses associated with photographing a wedding. The ability to tactfully take charge also helps - particularly when photographing large groups or families - a common expectation after the ceremony. Having a run list with all of the expected shots is also a useful tool. A photographer may work with an assistant who can carry equipment, arrange guests, and assist with clothing adjustments or holding of reflectors.

Some wedding photographers have an office or studio which can double as a retail photography studio. In bigger cities, one might find dedicated wedding studios that only shoot weddings and may have large studios equipped with make-up, hair, and gowns ready for the bride to wear. Other wedding photographers work out of a home studio, preferring to photograph on location.

Professional Organizations :

Organizations such as the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC), Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) support the art and business of wedding photography. WPJA awards an annual Photographer of the Year Award to recognize the best in wedding photojournalism. The most recent winners include: Carlo Carletti (2009), Franck Boutonnet (2008) and Ben Chrisman (2007). Standards and requirements for professional organizations vary, but membership often indicates a photographer is insured (if they should lose or ruin a large number of images, they can compensate such errors for their clients). Professional organizations offer training, professional competition, and support to members, as well as directory services to help with marketing. In the UK the main governing bodies of wedding photography are The National Photographic Society, British Institute of Professional Photographers, the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers and the Master Photographers Association.

source : wikipedia.org

Wedding Dress

A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western culture brides often choose a dress of white to symbolize purity of the soul, and the dress may form part of a bride's trousseau. In eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.


Western Culture :

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk.

The woman to the far right is wearing a typical wedding dress from 1929. Until the late 1930s, wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day. From that time onward, wedding dresses have traditionally been based on Victorian styles.

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status—always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests. Today, there are wedding dresses available in all price ranges, and Western traditions have loosened up to include a rainbow of colors and variety of lengths, which are now considered acceptable. Women may purchase ready-made gowns, wear a family heirloom, or they may choose to have a dressmaker create one for her. In addition, today many bridal salons have samples of wedding gowns in their stores where the bride selects a certain style and orders one to be made to fit.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Lowering wedding costs by selecting a second hand wedding dress rather than purchasing a new one is a growing trend.

Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine in 1406.

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.

The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia. Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. They are a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls making their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths  to follow these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.

Eastern Culture :

Many wedding dresses in China, India (wedding sari) and Vietnam (in the traditional form of the Ao dai) are colored red, the traditional color of good luck and auspiciousness. Nowadays, many women choose other colors besides red. In modern mainland Chinese weddings, the bride may opt for Western dresses of any color, and later don a traditional costume for the official tea ceremony.

Qing dynasty styled traditional Chinese wedding dress with phoenix crown (鳳冠) headpiece still used in modern Taiwanese weddings. 

In modern Taiwanese weddings, the bride generally picks red (following Chinese tradition) or white (more Western) silk for the wedding gown material, but most will wear the red traditional garmet for their formal wedding banquets. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol (specifically called "xi-jiu," confusingly the same as what the wedding banquet itself is called) consumed during both banquets. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a symbolic gesture of "thanks" and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles) and those who will continue to be there to help the bride and groom in the future. Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, color options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colors have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well.Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

Japanese formal wedding dress still used today.

At Japanese weddings, brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and colour dress combination being popular. White is used, because in Japan it symbolizes death—in this case, the bride becomes dead to her family. The bride will eventually remove her white kimono to reveal another colored one—usually red—to symbolize her rebirth into her husband's family.

The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik.

In the Philippines, variations of the Baro't saya are considered to be wedding attire for women, along with the Barong Tagalog for men.

Native American Culture :

The indigenous peoples of the Americas have varying traditions related to weddings and thus wedding dresses. A Hopi bride traditionally would have her garments woven by the groom and any men in the village who wished to participate. The garments consisted of a large belt, two all-white wedding robes, a white wedding robe with red stripes at top and bottom, white buckskin leggings and moccasins, a string for tying the hair, and a reed mat in which to wrap the outfit. This outfit also would serve as a shroud, since these garments would be necessary for the trip through the underworld.

A Pueblo bride wore a cotton garment tied above the right shoulder, secured with a belt around the waist.

In the traditions of the Delaware, a bride would wear a knee-length skirt of deerskin and a band of wampum beads around her forehead. Except for fine beads or shell necklaces, the body would be bare from the waist up. If it were a winter wedding, she would wear deerskin leggings and moccasins and a robe of turkey feathers. Her face would be painted with white, red and yellow clay.

The tribes of Northern California (which include the Klamath, the Modoc and the Yurok) had a traditional bridal dress woven in symbolic colors: white for the east, blue for the south, yellow (orange) for the west; and black for the north. Turquoise and silver jewelry were worn by both the bride and the groom in addition to a silver concho belt. Jewelry was considered a shield against evils including hunger, poverty and bad luck.

source : wikipedia.org