Hard Rock, Everything went perfect this Indian Wedding ceremony
Morning of the Hindu ceremony was a beautiful day. Boho theme Mandap was being dressed by the canal floating over the water on a glass stage. It was +27C in Punta Cana with light clouds and Toronto weather was -18 C on the wedding day. Trust me there is a reason why couples plan for a beach wedding in Punta Cana or Cancun. The weather is ideal almost throughout the year in the Dominican Republic. Toronto or New York have a limited Indian Wedding season. May to October is peak wedding season in the East Coast and November to March is the Indian Destination wedding season.
While the Hard Rock team was working on the decor with Destawed on the Canal, we started our day with the bride and groom around 1pm. Evergold Beauty, one of the famous makeup artists and influencers, had the bride almost ready for her Hindu Ceremony. When we are photographing Indian wedding ceremonies in these beach destinations, we want to incorporate the element of the tropical environments. The idea is when you look at your wedding images from the Dominican Republic, it should remind you of the ambiance.
We took a pocket knife and cut a tropical tree leaf which was the main accent for the bride getting ready images. A tint of green was a perfect addition for Bhavya’s Indian bridal getting ready images. On the other side, the groom’s getting ready images were set outdoors in the tropical backyard of the groom’s hotel room.
Bride Bhavya was looking stunning in her beige wedding lengha with a soft glow makeup by Everygold Beauty. Bridal outfit had a touch of the peach which is a perfect color for Beach Indian weddings. Groom was ready on the other side wearing a nice custom turban and beige sherwani and peach palla.
First look at the Indian Wedding at Hard Rock Hotels, Punta Cana
Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana has so many beautiful locations to take pictures. We wanted the first look to have a variety of backgrounds and also somewhere not with high traffic of guests so the bride is not seen by anyone before the ceremony.
We highly recommend planning 15 mins for first look before your Hindu or Sikh wedding ceremony; so if during the ceremony, your makeup and hair takes a hit, we at least have already done your couple’s wedding portraits when you are at your most fresh-ess from a hair and makeup perspective. There is also a chance of sindoor spilling on the bride’s forehead after the ceremony or hair taking a hit with all the ladies blessing the couple after the Hindu Ceremony. It is definitely worthwhile to plan a portrait session or at least 15 mins first look before the beach Indian wedding ceremony.
Keep in mind when you are finalizing hair and makeup artists for Indian beach weddings, that Sikh or Hindu wedding ceremonies last about an hour; from our experience, only skilled makeup artists can have that flawless application of makeup endure the impacts of the warm humid environments such that your hair and makeup stay intact. You will see in the post-wedding images how the makeup stayed fresh even after the ceremony for the bride.
It was a beautiful moment as the bride and groom saw each other for the very first time on the day of their Indian wedding at the Hard Rock Hotels, Punta Cana. You could see the excitement in the eyes of this couple. We, as wedding photographers or vendors, are so blessed to be part of such loving energy. It is an honor to travel to these destinations and capture these intimate moments between the couple that even families are not even part of. We had a couple spend some time together and embrace each other for that moment before we started their portrait session.
We had a couple of places in mind where we can photograph at the Hard Rock Punta Cana property. One thing as a photographer we have to keep in mind is to not position the bride and groom in direct sun for too long at beach indian weddings:
- We do not want to the bride’s makeup to melt for being in sun for too long
- Second with direct sun heat the couple will get tired, dehydrated and give you less time to photograph their portrait session
With over 9 years of experience photographing Indian weddings around the world, we are always mindful of these things which help us get the most out of the Indian weddings.
Thanks to Destawed, we had access to a golf cart which is a must for Indian weddings at Hard Rock, Punta Cana. This is a huge property and we were quickly able to jump in the golf cart to bring the couple from the tropical jungle to the white sand beaches. If we did not have the golf cart, there was no way we could have the couple walk 15 mins for a couple of portraits by the beach.
The bride did not eat much on the morning of the wedding so she was getting a bit uneasy. We somehow found a chef by the lobby who got us some fries and chicken nuggets quickly to get the couple’s energy up.
PRO TIP – Always eat something before you start your makeup on your Indian wedding. Lack of hydration or food will eventually get your energy down. If you are not a morning breakfast person you need to push yourself to eat something. Remember Indian weddings are long and beach weddings are hot.
Here are some portraits from this Indian wedding by the beach at Hard Rock Punta Cana. You can also see the beautiful property of Hard Rock.
Baraat for the Indian at Hard Rock Hotels, Punta Cana
Shera bandi was in the main lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel. All the groomsmen alongside dhol were ready to dance in celebration. Hard Rock offers this open batman vehicle perfect for the baraats so the groom can dance while being part of the baraat. The smoke bombs added a pop of color to the sky as the groom, his family and friends danced their way to the ceremony location on the canal.
After a very competitive milni and it was time to start the wedding ceremony. The guests not only from the wedding but from the whole resort were excited to see this Hindu ceremony. People stood from various viewpoints from the bridge or from the balconies to get a glimpse of this epic Indian wedding ceremony.
First, the bridal party made their entrance with music and very high energy. Next, the groom and his parents walked to the mandap. Then, Pandit ji started this Indian wedding at Punta Cana with a vaar pooja and invited the bride. Brothers of the bride were ready with their flower sheets to bring their sister, beautiful bride Bhavya, to the ceremony.
You could see everyone’s head turn mezmerised looking at this beautiful sight. Even though the groom had seen the bride you can see emotions from his eyes as he watches his bride walking down the aisle towards the Mandap.
Pandit ji invited both parents to start connecting this couple in the bond of marriage. Our priest for the day was very fluent in English and explained everything in English during the ceremony. The guests were engaged throughout the ceremony. Guests sat on both sides of the canal under the tented area enjoying fresh coconut water with couples names stamped on it. Like we said, Hard Rock Hotels took care of every small detail with Destawed to make sure nothing was missed.
As the sun was about to set in Punta Cana, you can see the sky getting that warm glow. It was definitely beyond perfect to see the mandap floating on the water as the couple went around the holy fire with a perfect sun-setting backdrop.
The guests stood up from their chairs cheering for the couple as Pandit ji announced this couple as husband and wife as per Hindu vedic tradition. Couple quickly did their family photos and we quickly did a few images with their bridal party. It was the perfect time to go to the beach before it got dark. Aiksimer from Destawed alongside Anu from Anu Sandhu Films took us to the beach with the couple. We did a few post-wedding portraits for 15 mins. Sunrises and Sunsets are jaw dropping on the beaches of Punta Cana and you can see how beautiful this couple looked on their wedding day.
Reception at the Indian Wedding at Hard Rock Hotels Punta Cana
Hard Rock Hotel is known for its vibe and Punta Cana Hard Rock has an actual on-site casino. We wanted to do a pre-reception shoot at the casino at the Hard Rock Hotels but unfortunately we did not get the permission.
Bride was dressed in a beautiful Shyamal Bhumika lehenga and the groom was looking dapper in a blue suit. We wanted these images to be more dramatic showcasing a bit of this beautiful property therefore we added colors to make these images more fun. Here is a link to other Destination resorts – Link 2
We want to thank the whole wedding team for making this wedding so much fun. Bhavya and Eshaan were so easy to work with and with very little posing tips this couple really learned how to pose well for the camera.
Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana is a wonderful palace in the Dominican Republic, your Indian destination wedding. Let us know if we can help you in any way to take your Indian destination wedding experience to another level. Here is link to destawed – Link