Post titled “Candid wedding photographers Kochi : a Malyalam wedding finally!” by Amrit (including the images).

Candid wedding photographers Kochi

If I had to sum up the story of this wedding, it would be:

• meeting IIT juniors;
• meeting folks working in the same consulting firm that I had left in 2012 – to become a full time wedding photographer;
• my first Malyalam wedding shoot;
• the ‘almost missing’ of my flight back to Goa!
• my taxi driver taking the avatar of Ali from Dhoom

Shubo, a year junior to me at IIT, gave me a call few weeks ago. He was getting married to the love of his wife. In Alleppey, the place famous for its backwaters and houseboats, about 80 Kms from Kochi. He wanted me to create candid images from his wedding. I was more than happy to jump at the opportunity. Although I had shot two weddings in Kochi prior to that, this would be my first Malyalam wedding.

After graduating from IIT, Shubo had joined the same consulting firm that I had. And that’s where he met Simi. Yes, she was (and is) a co-worker. The office romance had finally given way to wedding. Now I have shot weddings of ex-colleagues from my consulting firm before. But this was going to be the first wedding where both the bride and the groom work in the same company where I grew up as a professional. :)

I landed at Kochi airport the evening before the wedding. I had booked a taxi for myself for two days. My driver’s name was Sibi. Alleppey was about 80 Kms from the airport and I reached my hotel in like two hours. I was invited to a dinner function at Simi’s place. And that’s where I got a chance to catch up with another junior from IIT.

He was Shubo’s batchmate. He enquired about my life. And I enquired about his. And then he introduced me to the couple’s gang of friends – mostly working in the same company. ‘Pretty radical shift’, someone commented after listening to my story.

I think I went overboard in explaining the shift. ‘My hourly rates now are probably as high as a partner’s’, was one of the points that I put forth to justify the radical shift. What I of course did not emphasize on was that the total number of hours that I get to work in a year is pretty limited and so eventually the total money that I make is obviously just about the same (or may be even lesser) than my last salary as a Manager in the consulting firm. But money asides, the biggest advantage is the access to a large amount of free time without being financially dependent on anyone. I believed in this two years ago and I believe in this now – if one is not sure what one truly & madly wants from life, one should give himself / herself the adequate amount of free time. We are so busy shifting from college to job to another job or to an MBA and then to another job, that often we simply miss undertaking this extremely important step. And because being a wedding photographer offers me this precious ‘free time to think’, I am a very very happy person. So have I figured out what I want to do with my life with all the free time I have had for the past two years? Kind of yes, will talk more about that later on. For now, let’s shift to the next morning when the wedding took place.

Shubo came dressed up like a prince, was welcomed by the bride’s family and taken inside and made to sit on the altar. Simi then joined him and before you could blink your eyes, the wedding was over. Yes, it was that fast! :) But then that’s how Malyalam weddings are! :)

Candid wedding photographers Kochi 

What followed next was the quick reception where all the guests greeted the couple and had their picture clicked. There were studio photographers for the job but whenever I spotted a moment worth capturing, I captured it.

Candid wedding photographers Kochi

Post reception, Simi went to change to a new Sari – a white one. And as we all waited for her to come back, before we could proceed to lunch, I tried clicking some fun pictures with the gang of friends. And then someone from the gang asked me if I had seen Shubo’s awesome tattoo. And then Shubo showed me the awesome tattoo. Apna Shubo to Saif Ali Khan nikla! :)

All of us had assumed that almost every guest already had a picture of them with the couple taken. And then a new guest turned up. ‘Do you know who that is? a videographer quizzed me,’ ‘No’, I replied. ‘He is central minister‘, the awestruck videographer added to my General Knowledge before rushing closer to the MP. And then I thought, ‘chal mai bhi le leta hoon ek do iski’. :) And by then, Simi was back in her new sari.

Candid wedding photographers Kochi

Because I had been booked only till afternoon, I had my return flight the same evening. It would depart at 0635 pm. It was 0230 pm then. ‘It will take three hours to reach the airport’, Sibi had told me the nth time.  I was sure he was kidding. It had taken me only about 2 hrs to reach the night before. ‘But Kochi’s evening traffic is very bad, so it will take one more hour to return to airport’, he had explained. I ignored his warning. I was sure leaving by 3 pm would be good enough. So I took Simi and Shubo in my car to a nearby backwater jetty where a lot of houseboats were parked.

It was 3 pm already. I had only started shooting them when they both insisted that I should actually hurry back, or else I would miss my flight. And then I thought, may be my Sibi was right. So I wished good luck to Simi and Shubo. And Sibi and I hurried back. And well, I almost missed my flight. Because Sibi was right. Kochi’s evening traffic was bad.

About 30 kilometers before reaching the airport, it became clear that I would miss my flight if we kept moving at the pace at which we were moving. And there was no way we could move at a pace any higher. Sibi was doing the best that he could. And then, he proposed to me a wonderful plan.

Sibi told me he could get his brother to bring a motor-bike somewhere on the main road. And if I was cool with the idea of moving from the car to the bike, he could rush me through the traffic. The way he could never do in the car. Marta kya na karta! I agreed. And he called up his bro immediately.

He stopped the car few Kms afterwards at a signal. His brother arrived on a bike few minutes thereafter. Sibi exchanged his car with the bike. I hopped in. And then he drove like Ali drives in Dhoom movies. And I just made it to the airport. And such is the crazy fun life of wedding photographers like me, I said to myself! Shubo called me up later that evening to check if I had actually made it on time. He was glad to note that I had. ‘Simi was very worried and feeling bad about the delay’, he shared. ‘All’s well that ends well man, hope you like the pictures when I share them with you’, I replied. And life went on! :)

PS: Here is the link to some of the other weddings that I have shot in Kochi: Deepak+Divya Anne+Yannick

PS2: and now let me write an absolutely unnecessary set of sentences to optimize the keyword candid wedding photographers Kochi. I hate doing it, and yet I have to do it once in a while. So here I go: ShaadiGraPher is one of the leading candid wedding photographers Kochi couples can go for. Checking out the pictures and reading the testimonials will convince you of the value that we bring to your wedding. Do share the work with those who might be looking for good candid wedding photographers Kochi!