Last weekend I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to photograph a traditional Thai Buddhist ceremony at the Wat Thai Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles. The ceremony started with Sandy and Jeff bowing before the image of the Buddha and then reciting Buddhist prayers and lighting incense and candles. They also bowed in gratitude at the feet of their parents and offered gifts to each of the monks, and as the monks chanted I could feel the reverberations in my chest. During the water ceremony, Jeff and Sandy kneeled with their hands in prayer position over a bowl filled with flowers. Their parents placed twin loops of string on their heads to connect them, and each of the guests came up, offered words of good luck, and poured blessed water over their hands so that it trickled down onto the flowers. Such an amazing experience… I can hardly wait for the second part of the celebration at the Universal Hilton later this month!
