Dipasha and Prabal came to me earlier this year and asked about me photographing their wedding. They wanted a photographer for whom the experience would be new to them. We spoke for some time about their life in England, America, and India, and began to sew an idea about their wedding in the UK and it’s importance in reflection to other celebrations they would have in India. Dipasha wanted me capture the wedding in a way that impacted on me as it happened; and to use much of my inexperience, or as I felt “ignorance” of tradition to come up with a set of photos that avoid reappropriating the work of photographers who specialise in Indian weddings, but didn’t stray into the obscure.

Despite equal amounts of excitement and trepidation, the day was an utterly tranquil and calming experience. In contrast to the boldness of colour, I felt utterly at peace with how delicate the ceremonies unfolded around me, and the tenderness of the emotion on display. There was a sea of calm that filled every space. Pressures contained and communicated to one another through the most gentile and tactile of touch, and words of love whispered like the smoke of the insense hovering in the pavilion in which the Panigrahana took place.

Thank you Dipasha and Prabal for all your love and trust.

Photographs by James Allan

JAMES ALLAN WEDDINGS

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A tranquil Hindu wedding ceremony