A few months back S. called me up to photograph her wedding - we exchanged a few details and decided to meet up. So at this point, all I knew was that it was going to be a Moroccan wedding…I had never been to one before so I had no idea what was in store for me. At the meeting, She told me more about the traditions..but the one thing that surprised and fascinated me the most was how there were going to be 5 dress changes by the bride in one evening..in a matter of 5 hours! I was just stunned….and at the same time…just couldn’t imagine 5 dress changes in one evening. But She seemed so calm and relaxed about it that I figured..if the bride thinks it’s fine..then it must be fine.
In April, I headed over to this beautiful venue in Gatineau for the wedding ceremony. It was on a lake and the snow had finally disappeared. In a Moroccan wedding, the men usually get together at an earlier time and have their party..so the evening party was the ‘women’s party.’ As soon as I got there, I knew there would be a lot of things to photograph…the clothes, the jewelry, the decorations, center pieces, the drums, and just so many colours and details.
The evening started with the bride being carried into the hall on a palanquin by her brothers. The boys paradaded her around for 10-15 minutes in the ‘ameria’ (palanquin). The ameria itself was sooooooo beautiful and when the bride sat in it…She looked like she was royalty….a true princess. She wore a traditional Kaftan and the groom wore a beautiful djillab. (He walked beside her as she was carried in). The jewelry to go with her dress was just as intricate as the detail of work on her dress. She adorned this gorgeous bodice made of pearls…just lovely and there was a matching crown to go with it…in fact she wore matching crowns all evening long with all her dresses.
The last dress for the evening was a White Wedding Dress and the groom had also now changed into a Suit. At this point, they exchanged rings, fed each other dates and also gave each other milk to drink. It was such an unforgettable evening and I guess I had the best seats in the house, as I got to see everything first (the perks of being the photographer). I’ll leave you guys now with some detail shots from the event.
The gorgeous venue:
The intricate details on the brides dress….WOW
Dress #3 (isn’t it just divine???)
…..and finally the ‘White Dress’
Now detail shots from the wedding…
I loved how all the little girls had henna painted on their hands…the henna designs were quite different from the traditional Indian patterns I’m used to.
The most amazing Moroccan food I’ve ever tasted..!!
