Some weddings are memorable because of the venue. Others because of the details.
Sanjana and Christian’s wedding is one we’ll remember because of the way two cultures, two families, and so many traditions came together throughout their celebration.
Their multi-day wedding beautifully blended Hindu and Mexican traditions, creating a celebration that felt completely personal to them. From the colors, traditions, and energy surrounding their Hindu ceremony at BAPS to their Mexican celebration at Mt. Palomar Winery, each part of the wedding had its own personality while still feeling like one story.
For our MKEshoots team, weddings like this are exactly why we love photographing multicultural celebrations. There’s always something happening—a tradition, a family reaction, a tiny candid moment—and our job is to anticipate those moments without turning the wedding into one long photoshoot.
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Hindu Wedding Ceremony at BAPS Chino Hills
Sanjana and Christian’s Hindu wedding ceremony took place at BAPS in Chino Hills, surrounded by their families and the traditions that made this part of their celebration so meaningful.
South Asian wedding ceremonies are incredibly visual, but photographing them well goes far beyond capturing the obvious moments.
While the ceremony unfolds, we’re constantly watching what’s happening around the couple too—the parents watching from nearby, family reactions, laughter between ceremonies, meaningful details, and those split-second interactions that can easily disappear unnoticed.
Understanding the flow of a Hindu wedding also helps us anticipate what’s coming next instead of reacting after the moment has already happened.
That allows us to document the traditions respectfully while still creating the candid, emotional photographs that tell the bigger story of the day.
South Asian Wedding Portraits Without Missing the Wedding
One thing we hear from couples all the time is that they want beautiful portraits—but they also want to actually experience their wedding.
We agree.
Our approach combines candid storytelling with what we call a Candid-Prompt-Posed style.
Sometimes we simply document what’s happening. Sometimes we’ll give the couple a little direction or movement. And when the moment calls for it, we’ll slow things down and create the editorial portraits that deserve a place on the wall.
The goal isn’t hundreds of photographs that all feel posed.
It’s a gallery that reminds you what your wedding looked like and felt like.
From a Hindu Ceremony to a Mexican Celebration
One of the most beautiful parts of Sanjana and Christian’s wedding was watching the celebration transition between cultures while still feeling completely like them.
Christian’s Mexican heritage became another important part of their wedding story, bringing another layer of family, tradition, and personality into the celebration.
And that’s something we think matters when photographing a multicultural wedding.
Neither culture should feel like an “extra.”
Both families, both backgrounds, and both sets of traditions are part of the story.
Our job is to photograph the wedding that actually happened—not force every celebration into the same wedding photography template.
Wedding Celebration at Mt. Palomar Winery
The celebration continued at beautiful Mt. Palomar Winery in Temecula, giving us an entirely different backdrop for the next chapter of Sanjana and Christian’s wedding.
The vineyard setting, open landscape, and warm California light gave us plenty of opportunities to mix documentary moments with more intentional portraits.
With a multi-day wedding, we don’t want every event to look identical.
Different locations, outfits, traditions, and lighting give us an opportunity to create something visually different while keeping the photography consistent enough that the final gallery still feels like one complete story.
Photographing South Asian & Multicultural Weddings
Multi-day South Asian weddings require a very different approach from a traditional single-day wedding.
There can be multiple ceremonies, outfit changes, large family portraits, important religious traditions, different venues, and hundreds of moments happening simultaneously.
That’s where experience matters.
The MKEshoots team has photographed South Asian, Hindu, Muslim, Persian, Arab, and multicultural weddings throughout California. We take time before each wedding to understand the timeline, traditions, family dynamics, and the moments that matter most to our couples.
For families with modesty or privacy considerations, we can also provide a female photographer when requested.
And because we’re a photography team, multi-day celebrations can be planned around the needs of the wedding rather than trying to force everything into a one-size-fits-all package.
Most importantly, we want couples and their families to enjoy the celebration.
We’ll handle the photography.
Planning a South Asian or Multicultural Wedding?
If you’re bringing two cultures together—or planning a multi-day South Asian wedding—we’d love to hear the story behind your celebration.
Every family approaches traditions differently, which is why we take time before the wedding to understand what’s important to you rather than assuming every Hindu, Muslim, Indian, Pakistani, Persian, or multicultural wedding follows the same timeline.
Our approach combines candid storytelling, natural moments, family photographs, and editorial portraits to create a gallery that feels like your wedding rather than simply a collection of pretty pictures.
MKEshoots photographs South Asian and multicultural weddings throughout Los Angeles, Southern California, and beyond.
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Want to see another multicultural celebration? Take a look at Sabrina & Mehrdad’s Persian and Pakistani wedding at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu.