Radhika and Shilpin’s Portland Art Museum wedding was pretty much a dream within a dream. Pinks that ignite your eyes and blues that make you drown in wonder. “Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa.  Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman is a dancer when she walks to the shop at the corner. For them, food is the music inside the body and music is the food inside the heart. ‘Amore’ or ‘Pyar’ makes everyone a poet.”  Gregory David Roberts.

After 20 hrs of non-stop action and 18 thousand photos for this Portland Art Museum wedding we realized our energy was fueled by the adrenaline high of euphoric laughter, joyous tears, captivating emotions, and rhapsodic dancing. “Faith! Hope! Love!” reads the tattoo on Radhika’s right ankle, and after experiencing their authentic love and joy we feel closer to the depth of Indian traditions.

Emee Pumarega with EJP Events brilliantly planned Radhika and Shilpin’s wedding at The Portland Art Museum located in the heart of Portland’s cultural district. Everything flowed flawlessly. This venue was perfect. It’s is the oldest art museum in the Pacific Northwest and internationally recognized for some of the world’s finest private collections. Dedicated to preserving great art for the enrichment of future generations and a premier venue for education in the visual arts. What better setting to have for the rich colors, Indian traditions and awe-inspiring love shared between Radhika, Shilpin and 350 friends and family. The location of The Portland Art Museum was ideal for their large group. The Portland Park Blocks provided Shilpin’s Bharat procession with the perfect path to parade through the streets and circle back to the entrance of the museum and enough room for everyone to freely celebrate. And wow! Radhika’s ceremonial entrance into the Field’s Ballroom stopped all the clocks!  Having their reception in the Kridel Grand Ballroom with its soaring ceiling heights and dramatic architectural details felt like something between being inside the Louvre and a killer night club.

The dynamic of this wedding demanded our full team working together simultaneously capturing every moment possible. Inspired by being ambassadors for Master Lighting + Off-Camera Flash with SLR Lounge and MagMod we had 3 photographers and a dedicated lighting assistant to help capture all the moments with creative and dramatic light. We made extensive use of MagMod’s awesome lighting modifiers. The strength of working as a team allowed us to divide and conquer. Some of us were in the bridal suite capturing Radhika getting ready while the others were capturing the fast action of the Bharat (the groom’s wedding procession). Radhika and Shilpin had the largest bridal party we’ve ever seen with 26 people! All of us worked together to quickly captured a unique photograph of the entire bridal party on Portland’s iconic Hawthorne bridge. The complexity of taking a photo like this can get tricky. Aside from the technicalities, one of the biggest challenges can be keeping everyone engaged. So we came prepared with our favorite Superfeel invitations to kept everyone relaxed and having fun. On the dance floor, we triple-teamed up to capture radical angles lit-up with dramatic off-camera flash for fast-moving moments. It’s not always easy to access the inside of a swarm of passionate dancing and not get trampled! Sometimes we crawled on the floor on our backs to capture fleeting moments. Other times we reach high up over everyone tiptoeing on chairs to catch clean compositions. Our trusted HoldFast Gear freed us up to move anywhere with our cameras.

For their “wedding premiere” we put together a trailer of 115 of their best photos stretching over 4 songs. This experience made for a spectacular “date night” and the most meaningful way to relive their wedding day. We are beaming with happiness for Radhika and Shilpin.

Bride and Groom dancing under Portland architecture during their Portland Art museum wedding.Creative portrait of Indian bridal party preparing for the Sangeet dance party the day before their Portland Art museum wedding. Bride and groom laughing during the Sangeet the day before their Portland Art museum wedding. Super creative photo of Indian bride and groom laughing while parents perform during the Sangeet before their Portland Art Museum wedding. Beautiful Indian wedding getting ready for her Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom riding white horse in the Baraat during a Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groomsmen dancing while in the baraat during a big Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom riding on groosmens shoulders at a big Indian Portland Art Museum wedding Indian wedding mother clapping and celebrating at Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom entering into wedding ceremony at Portland Art Museum wedding Indian bride entering ceremony at Portland Art Museum wedding Beautiful Indian bride laughing during Indian wedding at Portland Art Museum wedding Indian wedding ceremony at Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom during Portland Art Museum wedding Indian bride and groom dropping flower pedals into a bowl during their Portland Art Museum wedding Indian bride and groom laughing during their Portland Art Museum wedding Indian bride and groom portrait at big beautiful Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom getting ready for his Portland Art Museum wedding Indian groom getting ready for his Portland Art museum wedding. Bride getting ready before her Portland Art museum wedding. Bride and groom dancing along Portland water front during their Portland Art museum wedding.Extremely creative wedding party portrait of an Indian wedding in Portland at Portland Art Muesum near Hawthorne Bridge.Fun and laughter of an India bride and groom on their way to their Portland Art museum wedding. Bride and groom laughing and dancing into their Portland Art museum wedding. Comical bridesmaid speech during an Portland Art museum wedding. Epic dancing photo of Indian bride and groom during their Portland Art museum wedding. Epic dance photo of Indian groom and his mother during a Portland Art museum wedding. Exciting photo of an Indian bride and her father dancing during a Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride during her Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride during her Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride and groom during her Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride riding on groomsmen shoulders during her Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride and groom during her Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride and groom exiting their Portland Art museum wedding. Ecstatic dancing photo of an Indian bride and groom exiting their Portland Art museum wedding. Extremely creative photo of an Indian bride and groom near fire flames at their Portland Art museum wedding.

Accolades:

The gorgeous details of Radhika’s shoes won an international award in the Spring 2020 ISPWP contest.  The last photo in this series won an international wedding award photo in the Winter 2020 ISPWP contest. Radhika & Shilpin’s creative bridal party portrait was featured by Fearless Photographers listing their favorite “wedding group” portraits.

Photographers: JOS & TREE
Event Coordination: EJP Events – Emee Pumarega
Associate Photographer: Juliana Patrick Photography
Lighting Assistant: Andrew Larkin
Sangeet: District East | Wedding Venue: Portland Art Museum
Dress: Chandan Fashion (in Toronto Canada) | Groom’s Sangeet outfit: Herringbone and Sui (in india)
Groom’s Tux: Ted Baker | Other Indian Attire: Your Designer Wear
Getting Ready: Marriott | Officiant: Tigard Temple
Mandap: Geranium Lake
Transportation: Beaverton Air Porter | Cake: Jaciva
Hair & Makeup: Blossom and Beauty  | DJ: Kyle DePinna (Neofresco)
Flowers: Geranium Lake | Catering: Chennai Masala and Devils Food
Rentals: Bridgewood

Ambassador Affiliates: MagMod | Holdfast Gear | Visual Flow Lightroom Presets | SLR Lounge
Superfeel | Fundy Designer | DVLOP