Day 2 of 3 - Vania (Ceremony)
The second day of this assignment with Jody Nay Photography started back at the hotel. Today was the Nikta, which I believe translates to the Muslim marriage ceremony (someone correct me if I'm wrong!). I started in the room with Irfan the groom and his buddy Seef, who was his best man (or Muslim equivalent).
While I spent a lot of time with the groom and his best man, I also had a chance to head over to the women's room to document them getting ready as well. Out of respect for their customs, you will only see a few selected photos here from the women's side. With that in mind, I only spent a limited time with the women and stayed in the room with Irfan and Seef.
I was able to get to know Irfan and Seef better as I spent time being in the same room with them, interacting on the odd occasion but more often than not just observing and really immersing myself in those moments. While there were long periods of waiting, I was always on the lookout for a photographic moment and would snap the occasional photo as I saw something come together.
I later on find myself in an Islamic temple for the first time in my life. Jody Nay was on the other side with the women and I was with the men, documenting the ceremony as it was taking place. The ceremony was quite different than most of the weddings I had previously attended because in this instance the vows and the "I Do's" were said in separate rooms with the guys on on end and the girls on the other. After the formalities, ceremonies and prayers had been completed, I soon found Jody on the other end and the bride and groom finally came together.
