Aanya and Vikram booked three days at The Leela Palace — haldi at home, the wedding in the Royal Ballroom, and a reception under the central atrium the following evening. This is what actually happened, hour by hour, and what we'd tell any couple planning a palace-hotel wedding.
The haldi stayed small on purpose
Aanya's family kept haldi to under thirty people in their own home in Vasant Kunj, which meant we could shoot close and loose — no stage, no formal seating, just the turmeric paste going everywhere it shouldn't. These are usually the frames couples print largest, because nobody is performing for a camera.
The Royal Ballroom needed a different plan than our usual banquet setup
The Leela's domed ceiling and gold detailing are genuinely beautiful, but they also absorb a surprising amount of light. We ran two off-camera flashes bounced off the side walls rather than the ceiling, which kept the architecture visible in every wide shot instead of blowing out to white.
The atrium staircase is the frame everyone asks for — and the hardest to get right
Guests naturally gather at the base looking up, which means a ground-level shot loses the descent entirely. We shot Aanya's staircase entrance from the mezzanine on a longer lens, which is not obvious until you've worked the space before.
Two crews, one for each side of the family
Vikram's baraat assembled at a separate hotel fifteen minutes away. We split into two teams for ninety minutes so both families were fully covered rather than one side getting a handful of phone-quality frames while the photographer was elsewhere.
The venue gave us the backdrop. What made the gallery was refusing to let two hundred guests dictate where we stood.
If you've booked The Leela Palace or a venue like it, our full Leela Palace venue guide has more detail on lighting and timing.
