Photography by Jacob Arthur and Tanveer Badal

From the moment I got engaged, people were asking me who would shoot my wedding. I didn’t realize I would be shooting part of it myself. I had asked a good friend and wedding photographer, Jake, if he wouldn’t mind taking a few snaps. In fact, I asked him the DAY OF the wedding. I’m not a huge fan of being on the other side of the camera. Besides, my parents had hired some traditional photographer and videographer in Bangladesh so I thought it would be fine. That is, until I actually met a traditional Bangladeshi wedding photographer. I could already see my most precious day’s pictures turning into a Bollywood nightmare, awkward smiles and cheesy poses bathed in hot light, ultimately encompassing the cover of a self-printed DVD box. Luckily, Jake came through.

During one point we were all hanging out on the roof, trying to escape the 500 or so guests that had gathered at the Samarai Convention Center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, right across from the Bashundhara Mall. Jake was taking some snaps of Kelly when I suggested he take a detail shot of her earrings or something. “Actually, do you want to take them?” he asked. Yes. Yes, I did! I didn’t know I was allowed to, but why the hell not? It was my wedding after all. As soon as I put on the camera straps, I already felt way more comfortable than I had the entire day — posing, smiling and shaking hands with distant relatives and, often, absolute strangers. The following is a spur of the moment recap of an incredible day in my life. My most sincere gratitude to the 15 friends and family that made the trek from New York City, Los Angeles, Indiana, and even Germany to be there. My love to all the wonderful relatives and friendly people we met in Bangladesh; my parents for actually planning the entire event so all Kelly and I had to do was show up. And, of course, special thanks to Jake for the everlasting memories.

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I’m about to embark on a big trip to Southeast Asia in a couple of weeks but before I took off, I wanted to recap a special wedding I photographed back in November. It was my final wedding of last year, a Sunday affair, and began at Anna and Jourdan’s apartment in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The ceremony was held on their fabulous rooftop overlooking both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, the BQE, and the entire New York City skyline. The weather couldn’t have been any more pleasant for a November morning. After the ceremony, Anna and Jourdan, along with all 80-some guests walked through the streets of Dumbo, waving at passing pedestrians. We arrived at the East River Ferry dock for a huge group portrait. Anna and Jourdan had purchased tickets for everyone beforehand so we took over the boat and arrived in style to Greenpoint where the reception was to take place.

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Chilling with some Oklahoma natives as they show me their hometown and tell me stories of which “half of them are actually true.”

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After a lovely cocktail hour and a delicious dinner at Juliette Restaurant, the wedding party swarmed the hipsterdom streets of Williamsburg to Larry Lawrence bar a few blocks away. There, we walked up to a traditional Indian mandap (covered structure with pillars) being raised. Brandy had mentioned they cost something like $2K just to RENT so she and her dad went ahead and built it themselves. We launched into a traditional Indian ceremony which captivated the audience from all over the world. Someone at the audience asked me if I shoot Indian weddings all the time. But despite being from Bangladesh, this was my FIRST actual Indian ceremony. (Or at least one I can remember before migrating to this country at age 9).

Meanwhile, in the corner of Larry Lawrence, strobe lights were going off. My photobooth company, Oh Snap! Smile, had set up a photobooth which quickly went into effect after the ceremony ended, and would continue to operate until the lights were shut at 4 in the morning. Never a dull moment as the drinks flowed and the shutter clicked.

Toasts, cocktails, dancing and even late night tacos made an appearance throughout the course of the night. It was truly an epic wedding and my most heartfelt congrats to the happy couple, Brandy and Sudhir!

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Tanveer Badal is a NYC Wedding Photographer in Brooklyn, New York. All content © 2010. Brooklyn wedding photography inquiries: tanveer@tanveerbadal.com. Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha