Dunwin is one of few early established gurdwara for Sikh sangat to get married in Mississauga and the GTA. The gurdwara was earlier a commercial building and later converted to a gurdwara. The gurdwara sahib has the capacity of hosting large gatherings. We have been blessed with the opportunity to photograph weddings at Dunwin Gurdwara many times. We wanted to list the challenges and benefits as a photographer we face photographing weddings at Dunwin Gurdwara.
Reasons why Dunwin Gurdwara Sahib is Preferred for Sikh Weddings
- Capacity – Dunwin Gurdwara sahib has a capacity of about 900 guests and sangat in the main hall . Even hall number 2 can easily host weddings of over 400. This makes the gurdwara sahib preferred choice for Sikh weddings with large expected attendance. Gurudwara sahib has nearly renovated a huge parking area which should never be an issue for large gatherings attending the Sikh wedding at this temple.
- Segregated Langar halls – If there are multiple weddings happening on the same day at Dunwin gurdwara, the langar hall is usually segregated so both wedding parties have their own space for breakfast. That is not the case in some other Sikh temples.
Challenges of Photographing Weddings at Dunwin Gurdwara
- Lighting – Dunwin Gurdwara sahib main hall has only few windows bringing natural light directly to the main hall. The main hall is a huge hall with pockets of ceiling light lighting up the hall. We can add additional lighting to brighten up the images; however, wedding images are more dramatic and warmer at this Gurdwara. It is definitely challenging to get the bright and airy tones in the images at Dunwin Gurdwara sahib.
- Ceiling Height – The entrance of the main hall and where gurudwara sahib is established in Dunwin gurdwara is about 20ft height whereas rest of the gurdwara sahib is about 9ft high. Architecturally lower ceiling height makes it difficult to add more dimension to light and it can make the space look smaller than it is.
- Popularity – Dunwin Gurdwara is one of the first Sikh establishments in GTA therefore on a wedding day there maybe sangaat who will be coming to offer prayers. Sometimes its to ask the devotees to wait to pay their respect after the ceremony is complete
Where to go for pictures after the Dunwin Gurdwara Sikh Wedding
After the Sikh wedding at Dunwin there are lot of options for pictures near the gurdwara. Location of the post wedding shoot really depends on where brides house is and how much time we have. We can go some city parks of Mississauga, UofT mississauga campus or Kariya park in Square one area or Meadowville park. This wedding was during the fall time therefore it was really essential for us to photography the beautiful Canadian fall. Here are some of the images which were done about 20 mins away from the Dunwin Gurdwara.
We are blessed by Waheguru to share our experience of photographing at Dunwin gurdwara. Every gurudwara sahib has its own photography challenges and we wanted to just share our knowledge and experience. Gurdwara is the house where Guru Granth Sahib’s gurmat wisdom resides and we have utmost respect for all the religious places. Our intent is to educate and not offend any person or entity. Check out our blog with all the gurdwara in GTA – LINK Here is link to the Gurdwara Management for bookings – LINK