Senseless Attacks

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Earlier this year, my colleagues and I had the pleasure of dining in the beautiful Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel in Mumbai, India. As most of you know by now, this was one of several targets of a coordinated terrorist attack earlier today, and there are many casualities and wounded, as well as hostages. I just wanted to send my heartfelt prayers out to anyone reading this who has loved ones in any of the hotels or targets that were hit this morning. On this day before the Thanksgiving holiday, there is so much to be thankful for, and I truly hope none of my blog visitors' families are touched by this senseless tragedy. To my visitors and friends in Mumbai: My team and I send our prayers, and we are thinking of you.

Labels: Random

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Andrena Interview on Wedding Sutra

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I was delighted when the editors at Wedding Sutra asked to interview me. Wedding Sutra is India's most popular online wedding resource site, so it was an honor to be chosen for a featured spot on the site. Click here to read the interview.

Labels: Random

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Charmi & Sachin

Monday, November 10, 2008

The wedding of Boston-based Charmi and Sachin was a lavish celebration that blended Sri Lankan and North Indian traditions. This was my first experience with a Sri Lankan wedding, and I just loved it. Charmi and her bridesmaids started the day at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, which proved to be a perfect getting ready location. To say that the bridesmaids dresses were gorgeous would be a total understatement. And Charmi's beautiful ivory sari was the perfect complement to the traditional pearls that were given to her as a wedding gift.

After the girls were finished getting ready, they proceeded to beautiful Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu for the wedding and reception. Sachin's baraat included an entrance on my favorite elephant, Tai (who actually remembers me now, since we've worked together so many times). Despite the heat, the relatives engaged in more than an hour of cheering and dancing as Tai slowly walked Sachin down the long path to the ceremony site.

Charmi's processional was preceded by Sri Lankan dancers and drummers, and it was truly a breathtaking sight to behold. She was led in by both her parents, and Sachin's smile nearly broke his face in two when he saw his beautiful bride. A modified Sri Lankan ceremony took place first, with a South Indian ceremony directly after. I truly loved the beautiful orange/peach color of the garlands. After cocktails and dinner, the couple's guests danced past midnight under two canopies of stars (a canopy of white stars in the sky and and a canopy of red stars hanging from wires just above the dance floor), surrounded by beautiful florals and decor throughout.

Coordination by the wonderful Mary Sushinski at Occasions. Dazzling floral artistry by Jill Nomura and the team at M's Flowers. Hair and makeup by my cutie-pie Oscar Naranjo at Ziba Beauty. Elephant rental by Have Trunk Will Travel. Videography by the lovely April and the team at Robles Video. DJ artistry by Parag and the team at Kumba. Lighting by Aspect Lighting. Cake by Erica O'Brien Cake Design. Mini donuts by The Fry Girl. Catering by Manohar's Delhi Palace.

Labels: IndianWeddings

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

Sabina & Ashwin

Sabina and Ashwin were married in a charming Sikh ceremony at the Westlake Hyatt. I feel like I've known Sabina forever, since I met her at the second Indian wedding I ever shot (the wedding of her sister, Payal, to Tarun). There are so many cute things about Sabina and Ashwin, not the least of which being that when my second photographer and I asked them how they met, they both gave us very different answers. Ashwin is also adorable because when I met up with Sabina and him for their engagement shoot, he had forgotten the pants to his suit. So we broke their shoot up into two different days, since everyone thought it might be better for Ashwin to be wearing pants while being photographed. It was wonderful to see so many members of this great Punjabi clan again, since I've now shot several weddings in their family circle. It was also wonderful to see General Manjit Sandhu and his wife, who were kind enough to have me to dinner at their Delhi home while I was visiting India. Vendor information to follow.

Payal and Tarun, whose wedding I shot in 2005

Navi & Symar, whose wedding I shot in 2006

General Manjit Sandhu and his wife, who live in Delhi

Labels: IndianWeddings

Posted by Dina Douglass [+]

The Andrena Photo of the Week

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Been to Disneyland in the last few years? Well, chances are you might have stumbled across the character Jasmine (from the movie Aladdin) as she walked through the park or danced in a parade. And depending on the time of day, or where you saw her, it might have been my beautiful bride Lora. Though this talented dancer recently handed over her Jasmine crown to someone else, she still knows how to turn on the dazzle.