Sydney Murugan Temple wedding photos: Felice and Praz stand in flower garlands on the lawn below the ornate carved tower under a blue sky, Sydney
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Real wedding · Mays Hill, Sydney

Sydney Murugan Temple Wedding Photos: Felice & Praz

Sydney Murugan Temple · 217 Great Western Hwy, Mays Hill NSW · Sydney

Cultural & Traditional Wedding · City: Sydney · Venue: Sydney Murugan Temple

A carved canopy in turquoise, pink and gold glowing on the hall stage, a change from royal blue into red and gold, and a row of friends in teal, orange and pink swinging their skirts beneath the temple tower. Felice and Praz’s Sydney Murugan Temple wedding in Mays Hill moved from the stage out into bright summer sun and big white clouds, then back inside to celebrate with everyone they love. We were right beside them all the way, and we loved every minute.

The gallery
Praz sits beneath a carved turquoise, pink and gold canopy on the stage of the cultural hall at Sydney Murugan Temple
The celebrant passes Praz a coconut as he sits on the stage in a white jacket, red trousers and striped headdress
Two women in teal and plum silk lean over brass vessels to place offerings beside the celebrant on the stage
Felice grins as she walks down the aisle in royal blue with red and white roses, a loved one in red at her side
Felice and Praz sit under the painted canopy at Sydney Murugan Temple as family stand round and a musician plays at the side
Loved ones in teal, blue and plum silk stand in a half circle as a man in white crouches beside the couple
An older man in cream leans down to Praz under the canopy while friends in cream jackets watch barefoot nearby
A woman in blue reaches over to rest her hand on Felice's head as loved ones gather on the stage
An older man in cream and a man in white share a warm moment in front of Felice and Praz
A woman in pink silk rests her hand on Felice's head beneath the carved canopy while others look on
The celebrant gathers Felice's and Praz's hands together between his own as family and friends watch from the stage
Felice and Praz sit alone in red and gold with red and white garlands under the canopy at Sydney Murugan Temple, Mays Hill
Felice and Praz stand on the stage in red and gold with four loved ones in pink, cream and blue
A wider family group with Felice and Praz in front of the carved horses and painted columns of the canopy
Felice and Praz pose under the painted canopy with a woman in a blue silk and an older man in cream
Felice and Praz stand on the patterned rug with a woman in pink silk and a man in cream with a gold trimmed shawl
Felice and Praz stand barefoot and smiling in heavy flower garlands before a tall peach door covered in square rosettes
Felice and Praz touch foreheads and hold hands in front of the peach rosette door, both smiling
Felice and Praz walk hand in hand past carved pillars and the tall peach door at Sydney Murugan Temple in Mays Hill
Felice lines up on the lawn with four friends in teal, green, orange and blue silk against a cream wall
Felice stands in the middle of six friends in crimson, teal, green, orange, pink and blue against a carved door surround
Felice and Praz line up against the cream wall with friends in bright silks and a man in a navy blazer
Friends in teal, crimson, blue, orange and pink swing their skirts out beneath the carved tower of Sydney Murugan Temple
Felice and Praz stand on the grass between carved pillars with a man in white and two women in pink and orange
Felice and Praz stand on the corner of the lawn with the tower and side wall of Sydney Murugan Temple in western Sydney behind
Felice stands against a cream wall with an older man in cream, a woman in blue and a young woman in purple
Felice smiles beside an older man in a cream jacket in front of a carved door surround on the lawn
Felice stands between an older man in cream and a smiling woman in a bright blue silk
Felice stands between a young woman in purple and orange and a woman in bright blue below the carved doorway
Felice and a young woman in purple and orange silk smile together on the grass under a carved doorway
Felice and Praz stand in the forecourt between two tall lamp posts at the front of Sydney Murugan Temple, Mays Hill
Felice and four loved ones in purple, cream and blue line up barefoot beneath the carved eaves
Felice and Praz embrace and gaze at each other inside the carved doorway surround at Sydney Murugan Temple in Mays Hill
Felice rests her hand on Praz's cheek as they stand close against a pale wall in their flower garlands
The wedding story

Our Sydney Murugan Temple wedding photos: a painted canopy on the stage, garlands of red and white and swinging skirts under the tower

The cultural hall stage · Felice’s walk in · Hands joined under the canopy · Red and gold · Family on the stage · Portraits around the temple tower

Read the full story

A painted canopy on the stage

Our morning began in the cultural hall behind the temple, where a carved canopy in turquoise, pink and gold filled the whole stage. Praz sat beneath it in a white jacket, red trousers and a red and white striped headdress, with two friends in cream standing barefoot beside him. Brass lamps, flowers, fruit and coconuts covered the patterned rug in front, and the priest passed Praz a coconut to hold. The hall has black curtains and warm downlights, so we exposed for the canopy and let the background fall quietly to dark.

Loved ones at the offerings

Before Felice arrived, the stage was already busy. Two women leant in over the brass vessels, one in teal and one in plum silk, placing offerings with the priest seated beside them, while the men in cream stood watching. Moments like this happen at floor level and they happen fast, so we kept low at the edge of the rug, close enough to read hands and faces without stepping into anyone’s way. A longer lens let us stay back and still fill the frame with gold, flowers and concentration.

Royal blue and red roses

Then the hall turned around. Felice came down the aisle in a royal blue dress with gold at her neck and wrists, holding red and white roses, with a loved one in red and maroon walking at her side. She was grinning, and the guests in the white chairs twisted round to see her. This end of the hall is bright, with white walls, tall windows and pale curtains, so we walked backwards ahead of her and used that soft window light on her face rather than the stage lights.

Hands joined under the canopy

Felice took her place beside Praz under the canopy, and a musician at the side of the stage started playing a long wooden wind instrument that carried through the whole hall. Family and friends stood in a loose half circle around them. When the priest gathered Felice’s and Praz’s hands together between his own, we were already square on to the stage with a wide lens, because the canopy is part of the story and it is too beautiful to crop. Wide and centred is the way to photograph a stage like this.

A hand on her head

One by one, loved ones stepped up onto the stage. A woman in blue reached over to rest her hand on Felice’s head, then a woman in pink silk did the same while the others looked on. An older man in cream and a man in white met in front of the couple and shared a warm moment of their own. We moved around the edges between each one, swapping angles so every person got a clear frame of their face with Felice and Praz in it, not the back of a head.

Red and gold under the arch

When Felice came back onto the stage she had changed into a red and gold dress, with flowers pinned through her hair, and both of them now wore heavy garlands of red and white flowers. For a moment they sat on their own beneath the canopy, and we took the simplest frame of the day: dead centre, the couple framed by carved horses and painted columns, the whole stage laid out around them. Symmetry suits a set this ornate. It lets the colour do the talking and keeps the couple at the heart.

Family groups on the stage

We did the family groups right there, while the canopy and the warm lights were still in place, then took everyone outside. Family and friends rotated through in silks of pink, turquoise and orange beside the cream jackets. On a stage, groups go quickly if one person calls the names and everyone waits close by, and we line people along the front edge so nobody is hidden behind the flowers. It also gave Felice and Praz a few minutes to breathe before the portraits.

A peach door and carved pillars

Outside, the pavement was still wet, then the sun broke through big white clouds. We started in the shade of the colonnade, where carved pillars run alongside a tall peach door covered in square rosettes. Felice and Praz walked hand in hand along the path, then stopped against the door and touched foreheads, both smiling. Pale stone like this bounces light back into faces, so even at midday the shade gave us soft, even skin and those rich reds and golds without any squinting.

Swinging skirts under the tower

Then the friends took over. Felice lined up against a cream wall with a row of women in teal, orange, pink and crimson silk, and later, on the corner of the lawn, the women swung their skirts out for us under the carved tower. We went low with a wide lens to stand the tower up against the clouds. Our Sydney Murugan Temple wedding photos finished with family groups against a carved doorway, Felice and Praz at the front of the temple, and Felice’s hand resting on Praz’s cheek.

Photographer's venue notes

Sydney Murugan Temple, Mays Hill: a canopy on the hall stage and summer portraits in the shade of the pillars

Read the venue notes

From the stage to the forecourt

Felice and Praz kept almost everything within a few steps. The ceremony unfolded on the stage of the hall behind the main building, with Felice walking in from the bright end of the room, and the family groups followed right there under the painted canopy. Once the formal part was done, everyone moved outside together: first the shaded walk beside the carved pillars, then the cream walls and the lawn for friends and family, and finally the forecourt between the two tall lamp posts at the very front of the grounds.

Two kinds of light inside, a change of weather outside

Inside the hall we balanced two very different looks. The canopy end sat in warm downlights against black curtains, while the far end was bright and white, so we set up separately for each rather than splitting the difference. Outside, a wet pavement told us rain had only just passed, and then the clouds opened up to bright summer sun. That gave us strong light and deep blue sky for the wide frames of the tower, and we kept faces in the shade beside the building for anything close.

The spots we chose for Felice and Praz

For the couple, the tall peach door with its square rosettes was the clear favourite: a single block of colour behind them that made the reds and golds of Felice’s second look sing. The carved door surrounds along the cream walls suited smaller family groups, framing two or three people at a time. For friends, the corner of the lawn let us fit the whole row and the tower together, and the forecourt between the lamp posts gave a symmetrical finish that echoed the centred frames we had made on the stage.

Tips for a day like this one

Keep the afternoon flexible, because portraits begin whenever the stage is finished rather than at a set hour. If you change outfits midway, do the family groups after the change so those photos show your final look. Ask your friends in their brightest colours to stay for the lawn portraits; a row of swinging skirts under the tower brings more energy than any posed line. And if you plan to go barefoot outside, have someone check the paths first, since they can be hot or wet underfoot.

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