Indian Weddings

Gary J. Walker · January 13th, 2008, 04:41 PM

I've shot many Indian weddings here in Arizona, including one for $940000 (thats the right number of zeros!)....Good luck, they are most demanding....

Alan Craig · January 13th, 2008, 05:21 PM

Gary I have to ask are you saying you charged nearly one million$ to shoot a wedding and they paid it?

Alan

Dave Blackhurst · January 13th, 2008, 06:23 PM

yeah, I think that would inspire all of us to raise our rates, or ask to 2nd/3rd cam for ya?!

Jon Omiatek · January 13th, 2008, 07:56 PM

One suggestion, charge by the hour when it comes to traditional indian weddings. They are different that an american wedding, be it catholic or any other wedding. Most of the traditional indian weddings cover more than one day.

Good luck.

Andre Tira · January 14th, 2008, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary J. Walker

I've shot many Indian weddings here in Arizona, including one for $940000 (thats the right number of zeros!)....Good luck, they are most demanding....

Yes Gary, could you explain this $940000 wedding more?

Gary J. Walker · January 14th, 2008, 10:15 AM

DON'T I WISH!!!!...The wedding cost 940000, When I factored in the time and aggravation I'll rethink my next one. Gry

Akbar Ukani · January 16th, 2008, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary J. Walker

DON'T I WISH!!!!...The wedding cost 940000, When I factored in the time and aggravation I'll rethink my next one. Gry

Hey Gary...I heard about this wedding in Az....as a matter of fact I was covering a wedding here in Atlanta...Indian Wedding Of course...and the Maharaj who conducted the ceremony was from Atlanta...He actually told me about it because he went there to conduct the main ceremony..apparently, If I am not mistaken this wedding had a few thousand guests correct!....

Dave Blackhurst · January 16th, 2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary J. Walker

DON'T I WISH!!!!...The wedding cost 940000, When I factored in the time and aggravation I'll rethink my next one. Gry

AHHH, wedding budget 1M, video budget $500...

Sarcasm... but sometimes it feels like that.

David Mathew Bonner · January 17th, 2008, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre Tira

But I offered them 40% OFF my package because I didnt have any experience. S.

ouch
40% off for a wedding that will be more than twice your normal amount of work...
on the positive side - do a good job and you will be busy for years to come just from word of mouth
more bad news - everyone they send might ask for 40% off..

Here is a highlight video I did for an Ethnic wedding- the cool thing about it was the day was packed with half a thousand people it seemed - yet, in this video I made them look so alone and intimate

http://www.dmbvp.com/video/lovesong.wmv

Paul Dhadialla · January 30th, 2008, 06:15 AM

Hey guys, I do mainly Indian wedding - have been doing so for 15 years.
I'm not that old - just started early :)

Here is the typical routine at a Indian (Hindu) wedding. Hope it helps.

Bride's Home
-get shots of the bride's dress, jewellery (lots worn by bride), parents, family and yes get everyone - they like quantity.
-you'll probably capture about 15-20 minutes of raw footage
-get the bride coming out of the house and walking into the limo

Groom's Home
-there is usually a ceremony - a small prayer cermony held by a priest for about 15-20 minutes
-the groom is ready - but they typically put on the final touches like the turban, garlands etc just before heading out
-sometimes the groom will mount a horse on leaving or upon arriving at the horse. In india this is standard - here they just do it for custom. Sometimes they do a bit of dancing - all that will catch you about 30 mintues of footage

Meetings
-the groom's family and bride's family will meet and greet each other in something called a 'milni' - which is basically translates into meeting
-that is about 15 minutes - this happens just before the ceremony

Ceremony
-guests come in
-groom comes in
-bride comes in
-couple gets married - usually about 60 minutes - prayers and rounds around the fires
-guests come and meet the couple - 20 minutes

Departure - AKA Doli
-the bride - usually form the place of ceremony and sometimes from home will have a quick final meet with the parents and immediate family and say bye
-typically just a lot of crying
-couple gets in the car and leaves
-this is about 1 hour with roughly 10-15 minutes of footage

Reception
-like any other reception
-entrance, cake cutting, first dance, some indian dances/performances
-dancing
-expect 2-3 hours of footage here

Other tips:
-Footage wise - don't be surprised to catch 5-6 hours or more.
-Be patient - indian wedding can be loud and fast - don't panic if you miss something in the chaos - it is understandable
-During the ceremony things can get smokey - because there is a fire involved (at Hindu weddings that is - there are other types of indian wedding too)
-Lights are not too much of an issue - they like dim but not too dark
-Colors are always bright and vivid - HD video looks spectular
-Music is very loud - watch your audio levels :)
-Things are not rehearsed so expect some delays
-watch some indian bollywood movies - they like those kinda shots
-music wise - get the couple to select some songs if you are not familiar with the songs
-they always want 5-10 copies of the videos to send to family - sometimes more so maybe work that into your package
-It is more work than a christian/catholic wedding - so charge accordingly.
-Going rates in NA range from $2000-$3500 depending on what you can sell

Best of luck
Paul

Andre Tira · January 31st, 2008, 11:09 AM

Thank you Paul,

That really helps me for the upcoming wedding.

January 13th, 2008, 04:41 PM	#16
Gary J. Walker Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gilbert Arizona Posts: 96	I've shot many Indian weddings here in Arizona, including one for $940000 (thats the right number of zeros!)....Good luck, they are most demanding....

January 13th, 2008, 05:21 PM	#17
Alan Craig Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Warrington England Posts: 143	Gary I have to ask are you saying you charged nearly one million$ to shoot a wedding and they paid it? Alan

January 13th, 2008, 06:23 PM	#18
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	yeah, I think that would inspire all of us to raise our rates, or ask to 2nd/3rd cam for ya?!

January 13th, 2008, 07:56 PM	#19
Jon Omiatek Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 755	One suggestion, charge by the hour when it comes to traditional indian weddings. They are different that an american wedding, be it catholic or any other wedding. Most of the traditional indian weddings cover more than one day. Good luck.

January 14th, 2008, 10:15 AM	#21
Gary J. Walker Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gilbert Arizona Posts: 96	DON'T I WISH!!!!...The wedding cost 940000, When I factored in the time and aggravation I'll rethink my next one. Gry

January 30th, 2008, 06:15 AM	#25
Paul Dhadialla Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 143	Hey guys, I do mainly Indian wedding - have been doing so for 15 years. I'm not that old - just started early :) Here is the typical routine at a Indian (Hindu) wedding. Hope it helps. Bride's Home -get shots of the bride's dress, jewellery (lots worn by bride), parents, family and yes get everyone - they like quantity. -you'll probably capture about 15-20 minutes of raw footage -get the bride coming out of the house and walking into the limo Groom's Home -there is usually a ceremony - a small prayer cermony held by a priest for about 15-20 minutes -the groom is ready - but they typically put on the final touches like the turban, garlands etc just before heading out -sometimes the groom will mount a horse on leaving or upon arriving at the horse. In india this is standard - here they just do it for custom. Sometimes they do a bit of dancing - all that will catch you about 30 mintues of footage Meetings -the groom's family and bride's family will meet and greet each other in something called a 'milni' - which is basically translates into meeting -that is about 15 minutes - this happens just before the ceremony Ceremony -guests come in -groom comes in -bride comes in -couple gets married - usually about 60 minutes - prayers and rounds around the fires -guests come and meet the couple - 20 minutes Departure - AKA Doli -the bride - usually form the place of ceremony and sometimes from home will have a quick final meet with the parents and immediate family and say bye -typically just a lot of crying -couple gets in the car and leaves -this is about 1 hour with roughly 10-15 minutes of footage Reception -like any other reception -entrance, cake cutting, first dance, some indian dances/performances -dancing -expect 2-3 hours of footage here Other tips: -Footage wise - don't be surprised to catch 5-6 hours or more. -Be patient - indian wedding can be loud and fast - don't panic if you miss something in the chaos - it is understandable -During the ceremony things can get smokey - because there is a fire involved (at Hindu weddings that is - there are other types of indian wedding too) -Lights are not too much of an issue - they like dim but not too dark -Colors are always bright and vivid - HD video looks spectular -Music is very loud - watch your audio levels :) -Things are not rehearsed so expect some delays -watch some indian bollywood movies - they like those kinda shots -music wise - get the couple to select some songs if you are not familiar with the songs -they always want 5-10 copies of the videos to send to family - sometimes more so maybe work that into your package -It is more work than a christian/catholic wedding - so charge accordingly. -Going rates in NA range from $2000-$3500 depending on what you can sell Best of luck Paul

January 31st, 2008, 11:09 AM	#26
Andre Tira Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 83	Thank you Paul, That really helps me for the upcoming wedding.