raj & swetha: philadelphia wedding

having grown up in north carolina, i am never as worried about hurricane weather as i probably should be... so i wasn't terribly apprehensive about getting up to philadelphia for raj and swetha's wedding the weekend of hurricane irene, in spite of all the hype.still, it had its impact - rain all day, and a good chunk of the lovely couple's guests were unable to make it at the last minute. but let me tell you... nothing could dampen the spirit of the guests who remained, or dim the obvious joy of raj and swetha themselves as they celebrated the last of their wedding events. raj and swetha got married earlier this summer, also in philadelphia, in a traditional hindu ceremony photographed beautifully by zoshia minto. this reception that i had the honor of joining was held at the hilton city avenue, and included a traditional religious ceremony as well as a reception replete with performances and speeches that drew admiring applause, laughs and tears alike from everyone present (i'll always remember the john locke shirt!) raj and swetha, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your day - and for making me feel so welcome and taking care of me too :) hope the images below bring back some wonderful memories for you and your families! also, several of the images shared below were shot by my second shooter marcella treybig, whose support, energy, talent and creativity were an incredible help to me the whole weekend - thank you for everything, marcella!