Surya Garigipati Photography and Films photographs Indian weddings in Washington DC and Maryland as part of a regular East Coast season: the Gaylord National, the hotel ballrooms of Bethesda, Tysons and downtown DC, the temples of Lanham and Baltimore’s waterfront rooms. Two photographers and a film team travel from New Jersey; within the DMV travel is included.
The DMV has one of the largest Indian communities on the East Coast, and its weddings have a particular shape: a ceremony at a temple in Lanham or Silver Spring, or on a hotel lawn with the Potomac behind it, then a reception in a ballroom big enough for six hundred. We photograph there as part of every season, three hours down the turnpike from our studio in Flemington, and this guide is for couples in Washington, Bethesda, Rockville, Columbia and Baltimore who want to know how a DC or Maryland Indian wedding photographs and what a photographer coming from New Jersey actually brings.
Where Indian weddings happen in DC and Maryland
National Harbor and the Gaylord
The Gaylord National is the landmark: a glass atrium that holds a mandap under a roof with daylight pouring through it, a waterfront for the baraat and a ballroom for the biggest receptions in the region. The atrium light is beautiful and tricky, bright from above and reflected from the floor, and the ceremony is best in the early afternoon before the sun drops behind the building. We treat the Gaylord as a full weekend venue, with the sangeet, the ceremony and the reception in different rooms and the guests upstairs.
Bethesda, Tysons and the hotel ballrooms
The large hotels along the Beltway in Bethesda, North Bethesda and Tysons host most of the region's big Indian receptions and many of the ceremonies, with a baraat along the hotel drive and a mandap in a ballroom. Hotel ballrooms need the mandap lit before the family arrives and a portrait location planned, because the view from the loading dock is not it; we scout a park or a garden within ten minutes the day before.
The District
Washington itself gives the kind of backdrops Maryland cannot: a couple on the steps of a museum, the Potomac at Georgetown, the monuments at dawn. The hotels downtown and in Georgetown host the smaller, more editorial Indian weddings, and a sunrise portrait session on the Mall before the ceremony is something we plan for a couple who want the city in the album. Permits are needed for some locations; we ask the planner to confirm them.
The temples
The Sri Siva Vishnu Temple and the Murugan Temple in Lanham, and the Hindu temples across Montgomery County, hold many of the region's Telugu, Tamil and North Indian ceremonies, usually in the morning, with the reception elsewhere in the evening. Temple halls are lit warmly from above, and we set our own soft light around the mandap before the family sits down; our Hindu wedding photographer page explains how, and the Telugu and Tamil guide covers the dawn muhurtham.
Baltimore and the Inner Harbor
Baltimore's waterfront hotels and historic halls give a different look, brick and water and a skyline that is not Washington's, and they host a growing number of Indian weddings for families in Howard and Baltimore counties. The light on the harbour in the late afternoon is excellent for portraits.
How a DC Indian wedding weekend usually runs
| When | What | Our note |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Haldi and mehndi at home or at the hotel | We arrive the day before; one photographer with each family |
| Friday evening | Sangeet in the hotel ballroom | Stage lit from the front; two photographers |
| Saturday morning | Ceremony at the temple or the hotel | Mandap lit in advance; baraat with the sun behind the groom |
| Saturday afternoon | Portraits by the water or in the city | Forty minutes, planned the day before |
| Saturday evening | Reception | Floor and stage lit; we stay to the end |
| Sunday | Brunch or a second reception in Baltimore | Added to the collection as one more event |
Our guide to planning a Hindu wedding in Virginia and the DMV goes deeper on the muhurtham and the three-day timeline; this page is about the Maryland and District side of the river.
What a photographer from New Jersey brings to a DC wedding
A fair question, and the answer is the same as for New York or Philadelphia: the same two photographers and the same film team on every day, four hundred South Asian weddings of experience across Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, South Indian and fusion ceremonies, and a studio that delivers sneak peeks within 48 to 72 hours and the full gallery on a published schedule. We arrive the day before the first event, walk the venue with the planner, and we are not learning what a milni is on the morning. Our Indian wedding photographers in the USA page explains how we cover the East Coast, and the portfolio shows the work.
Travel, and what it costs
Travel within the DMV is included in every collection: Washington, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, Baltimore and Northern Virginia are a drive from New Jersey, and we build the night before the first event into the plan rather than charging for it separately. The investment page shows how collections are built around the number of events; our Indian wedding photographer in Virginia page covers the other side of the Potomac.
The light in the DMV, season by season
- Spring (April to early June). The best season: soft light, cherry blossom in the city, and a lawn ceremony at four runs into golden hour.
- Summer. Hot and bright; an outdoor ceremony wants the morning or six in the evening, and the mandap canopy gives open shade at midday.
- Autumn (September to October). Nearly as good as spring, with warm colour on the trees along the Potomac and dry weather for the baraat.
- Winter. Hotel ballrooms, and a short, bright portrait window around three in the afternoon; the museums and the monuments are empty, which is its own gift.
Five things DC couples ask us
- Can the baraat happen at a hotel? Usually along the drive or in a courtyard, agreed with the hotel; a horse needs written permission and most hotels in the District say no, while the Gaylord and the suburban hotels often say yes.
- Can we have a havan in a hotel ballroom? At most, yes, with a contained flame and the fire marshal's sign-off; ask early.
- Will you photograph on the Mall? Yes, for a sunrise or a couple session; some locations need a permit, which the planner arranges.
- Do you film too? Yes, with one team for photography and film; see our wedding films.
- How early do we need to book? Spring and autumn Saturdays at the Gaylord and the big hotels go twelve to eighteen months out, and we book on the same calendar.
A DC wedding gives you the river, the monuments and a ballroom for six hundred. The photographer's job is to make sure the album has all three, not just the last one.
Frequently asked
Do you photograph Indian weddings in Washington DC and Maryland?
Yes. We cover the Gaylord National, the hotel ballrooms of Bethesda, North Bethesda and Tysons, the temples of Lanham and Montgomery County, the District’s hotels and Baltimore’s waterfront as part of every East Coast season, with two photographers and a film team from New Jersey.
Is travel to DC or Maryland extra?
No. Travel within the DMV is included in every collection, and we build the night before the first event into the plan. Only international and far-flung destinations are quoted per event.
Which DC venues are best for an Indian wedding?
The Gaylord National for a full weekend with the ceremony under the atrium; the Beltway hotels for a large reception; the District’s hotels for a smaller, more editorial wedding with the monuments in the portraits; and Baltimore’s harbour hotels for a different skyline.
Can you photograph the ceremony at a temple in Maryland?
Yes. Temple halls are lit warmly from above and we set our own soft light around the mandap before the family sits down, with the priest’s agreement, so the ceremony reads as daylight rather than flash.
Getting married in DC or Maryland?
Tell us your dates and venues. We reply within a day with availability and a collection built for your weekend, with travel to the DMV included.
Check Your Date