A couple months ago I had a little baby boy. But before this adorable troublemaker showed up on Earth, I wanted to do a maternity photo shoot that was something special.
A maternity shoot that showed the glitter and culture of India, but also a photo shoot that was more than the classical whimsical.
Being a wedding blogger, I wanted to see fine art meets maternity while maintaining the joyous part of being pregnant happy.
When you’re pregnant, you run around doing everything: shopping baby stuff, sleeping, eating nutella, going to the doctor, rinse and repeat. A pregnancy photo shoot wasn’t at the top of the list to be honest. Because who’s got time to plan that AND sleep (because it’s the last time you’ll ever sleep eight hours straight). But then I realized it would be our last set of photos as a family of two, ever. Plus, the last time I had professional photos taken, I was getting married!
Looking at pretty photos all day of Indian weddings meant of course, spending a lot of time on Pinterest and Google images for inspiration. You could find tons of maternity photos of the classic western preggo mom, but there was just a handful of pregnant Indian women. It was like we had all disappeared from Pinterest when we became pregnant!
I could say a lot about pregnant Indian women and society, but I’m leaving that to another article. For now, I hope these maternity photos inspire you loads whenever you decide to have children (or not).
Our team was an awesome bunch of folks who are from the wedding industry. It was out step out of the box to do something fun and different. Photographer Shhivika Chauhan kicked it out of the ballpark with the photos.
April Foster whipped me up into a maharani and was on call the whole time, fixing my hair, touching up lips, straightening the lengha. When you take wedding photos, make sure you have this included in your makeup package!
Janelle Evans was our event coordinator and styling extraordinaire. Without her, we would still be on Indian Standard Time. The oh so sweet rose garland and the rose backdrop (perfect for wedding ceremony too!) was designed by florist Amy Eimer of Studio Dizon.
Alice Liang of Fleur de Farine created the cake pops (which were totally edible in this shoot) and cake. And if you are dying to know where those gorgeous metallic tattoos came from, it’s Nud Ink in partnership with Darcy Vasudev of Henna Lounge. Yes, that is Darcy’s fantastic belly henna! You can see all our pregnant mehndi photos and baby shower pics.
As for the venue, we found The Lighthouse at Glen Cove in Vallejo. It’s a secret gem with a pier and colonial house that looks *exactly* like Cape Cod. The spot inspired us because it reminded my husband of where he grew up in Sweden.
Okay, enough talking! Grab your chai and I hope you’re truly inspired with these photos.
Hugs and kisses!
PS – Want more inspiration? Check out more belly henna photos with Henna Lounge, adorable DIY onesie ideas, and my elegant whimsical baby shower.
{Vendor Credits}
Model, Clothes, Jewelry: Bindis & Bottles & The Big Fat Indian Wedding // Photographer: Shhivika Chauhan Photography // Venue: The Lighthouse at Glen Cove Marina // Cake and Cake Pops: Fleur de Farine // Shiny Metallic Tattoos: Nud Ink // Floral: Amy Eimer @ Studio Dizon // Style & Design: Creative Collaborations // Hair & Make up: April Foster Artistry // Henna: Henna Lounge