Love has many faces: It can be passionate, quiet, and intimate, like Meesha and Ravi’s pre-wedding photoshoot. It’s also steadfast, solemn, and wise – an eternal force that inspires poetry, prayer, and our most profound traditions. Love ties us to the divine, as the Vedic rites of Meesha and Ravi’s Hindu wedding ceremony demonstrated so beautifully. And yet, at the same time, love brings levity and playfulness into our lives. It moves us to laugh, dance, and live in the moment with those we hold dear. At their Indian wedding reception in Cyprus, Meesha and Ravi fully embraced this spirit as they concluded their three-day celebration.
Because Indian weddings are often large and intricate affairs, they require months of thoughtful planning and preparation. During this process, every family member contributes to make sure no detail is overlooked in creating the perfect day. Once this labour of love is over, those involved experience a wave of gratitude and relief. With their hard work at an end, they’re free to relax and simply enjoy the couple’s happiness. This change in mood could be felt palpably during Meesha and Ravi’s reception: Overnight, the formal, reverent attitude of their traditional Hindu wedding had transformed into carefree joviality.
For their first day as a married couple, Meesha and Ravi dressed in gold, accented by glittering beads and bangles. In both attire and demeanour, they embodied the symbolic triumph of light over darkness that’s central to Hindu marriage rituals. Putting their old life behind them, they were ready to enter a future illuminated by wisdom, love, and prosperity.
With a joyful twirl, they made their way to the hotel hosting their Indian wedding reception in Cyprus. Now, after everything their loved ones had done to make their celebration special, they would express their gratitude: At each table, they had thoughtfully placed thank-you notes and gifts, ensuring that everyone felt welcomed, loved, and appreciated. Platters of delicious hors d’oeuvres and drink menus were laid out, enticing guests to relax and treat themselves. As Meesha and Ravi cut the cake together, their friends and family burst into applause – the celebration had begun!
Inside the hotel, I witnessed some of the most vibrant, energetic dancing I’ve seen as a wedding photographer in Cyprus. Completely uninhibited, the guests expressed their profound happiness with waving arms and beaming smiles, moving to the beat of music. Linking hands and moving in unison, Meesha and Ravi’s two families became one through this natural, pure expression of joy. Then, as the evening went on, their emerging bonds were strengthened by kind words, laughter, and toasts. In fleeting moments captured forever by my lens, they found mirth, acceptance, and kinship in each other’s company.
By the night’s end, everyone embraced for my last photos as warmly as if they’d always known each other. Over the three days of Meesha and Ravi’s marriage, a new community had formed, united by faith, loyalty, and love. Like a great tree, they would remain bound by the same roots, no matter how their lives might branch out.
