The Aarambh, the ceremony that opens the wedding, held on a garden lawn in Baroda and dressed in navy, gold and marigold.
The table was skirted in a navy lotus print and hung with marigold garland swags and fine white mogra tassels. On top of it, brass and silver vessels, white roses, lilies and gypsophila, silver boxes, and a tray of green bananas set around a coconut. Behind it stood a grid backdrop of white and gold framed panels, block printed with lotus and floral motifs, with mogra tassels and a marigold string falling through it and tall green reed planted at its base.
A second setting used navy pleated drape as its ground, with gold laser cut mandala discs raised on stems out of the same green reed. Beside it, a white panel edged in a pink block print carried the family's Gujarati lettering.
Guest seating sat under a striped canopy in gold and navy, hung with discs and marigold strings. Silver low tables and stools were laid out across the grass, each set with a silver plate and a small green parcel, facing a floral wall worked in petals: white and yellow leaf shapes across a dark panel, and a deep red lotus set inside a red diamond.
The ritual details were kept close and small. A bronze Ganesh stood among the reed and gypsophila, and the first invitation was written by hand on a silver tray, with a red tasselled pen.
Aarambh in Frames
