As a wedding photographer, I’ve had the privilege of capturing the unique beauty of multicultural weddings. They aren’t just about two people tying the knot; they’re a vibrant celebration of diverse cultures, rich traditions, and unique personal stories. They offer a wonderful opportunity to honour both who you are and where you come from.

Why multicultural weddings are special

A multicultural wedding isn’t just about uniting two people; it’s a beautiful fusion of families, traditions, and cultures. These weddings are about much more than mixing races; they celebrate the diverse cultural backgrounds within the same race too. For example, the subtle yet rich differences between Ghanaian and Nigerian customs can add a unique flavour to your day, often sparking playful debates over who makes the best jollof rice. No contest – Sierra Leone!

Planning your multicultural wedding: a step-by-step guide

Respect and celebrate differences: Your wedding should honour and celebrate both cultures. Aim for a harmonious blend of traditions that reflects your shared story, and make it authentic to you.

Family insights: Your families are your link to cultural heritage. Embrace their stories and traditions to bring depth to your wedding day. It’s about reinventing traditions in a way that resonates with your personal style.

Communicate and educate: Use your wedding programme or website to explain the significance of different cultural elements. This is particularly important for guests who may be unfamiliar with some traditions, helping them appreciate the cultural depth of your celebration.

Stay true to yourselves: Remember, it’s your day. Whether you choose to showcase your cultures throughout the day or select specific moments, what matters most is that it feels right for both of you.

Choose empathetic suppliers: Work with suppliers who understand and share your excitement about your vision. Wedding planners with multicultural wedding experience can be invaluable in blending different traditions respectfully and creatively.

Acknowledging and overcoming challenges

Multicultural wedding planning can present unique challenges, such as reconciling different family expectations or navigating logistical complexities. The key is open communication.

Discuss your visions and concerns with your families, finding common ground where possible. The goal is to celebrate your love and heritage in a way that’s meaningful to you both.

Where to incorporate your cultural heritage

Feast for the senses: Your wedding menu is a chance to wow your guests. Think of a fusion that represents you both.

Ceremony with a twist: The ceremony is where your cultural blend takes centre stage. Mix traditions and customs that mean the most to you, creating a unique and heartfelt experience.

Fashion fusion: Your wedding outfits are a powerful way to express your heritage. Embrace the idea of multiple outfit changes to showcase different cultural clothing, each change symbolising a different aspect of your heritage. I once shot a wedding with 3 outfit changes, so they could honour all aspects of their lives. Imagine switching between a stunning dress and a colourful ashobie or combining a cheongsam with mehndi

Groove to your own beat: Music transcends boundaries and is where the fun really starts. Mix rhythms and styles that let your guests feel a vibe that’s unique to you.

In the details: The little details can powerfully reflect your cultural blend. Weave in elements from your cultures, be it through colour themes, patterns, or even the flowers you choose.

Stay true to you

Remember, this is about what feels right for you. Your wedding can be a grand cultural celebration or a more intimate affair with subtle nods to your roots. The key is to make it authentically yours.

Celebrating your story

Every time I photograph a wedding, I’m reminded of how love brings worlds together.

Multicultural weddings aren’t just beautiful; they’re powerful narratives of unity, diversity, and the incredible journey you’re on. So here’s to you and making your mark in your own unique way.

Your Turn: Which cultural tradition excites you the most for your wedding? Share your thoughts and use the hashtag #MyCulturalWedding on social media to join the conversation!

The post Celebrating love and heritage: the beauty of multicultural weddings appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Nicholas Rogers  https://njr-photography.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Nick and Jenny were amazing! They made us feel so comfortable and we enjoyed so much doing our photoshoot. The pictures are beyond our expectations and the video photos montage just made us relive the day and felt very emotional!

Your best moment or memory

Our favourite moment was our first dance. We really felt in a bubble and we kind of forgot we had people watching us. For these few minutes, it was only the 2 of us and the music.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We both came from different countries/cultures. I, the bride, am French and my husband is British with a Jamaican heritage. So our wedding was a bit of mix between the 2 backgrounds. For example, all our signage and menu was translated in both languages as some parts of the bride’s family didn’t speak English. We also had a Steel band as per the Jamaican side of the family. Finally, we had different speakers and order. Traditionally the bride doesn’t speak but I wanted to say few words mainly to thank my in-laws for their warm welcome to their family. (I don’t have any family in the UK and they always make me feel I have one)

Venue name + review

The Mount Hotel – Wolverhampton The venue and the staff were amazing! They had an amazing communication through the process and on the day. We really had the best day ever!

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

The groom wore a Tuxedo suit (black trousers & waistcoat, a white shirt with black button and personalised cufflinks) and a dark green velvet jacket with a satin lapel and a black bow tie with white silk pocket square.

The Bride was wearing an A-Line Stella York dress. The dress was layered with organza and had sheer bodice panels. The dress had a lace appliqué gently falling into the skirt and extending to a romantic train.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress: Forever Bridal – Barnet The staff were great! They had their own tailor on site which was amazing as they had to slightly amend the dress on the collection day.
Suit: Peter Posh – Tettenhall
The service was amazing. They had great communication and listened to what we were looking for. The father of the bride couldn’t come to try as he lives in France, so we sent them his measurements and even though the trousers were slightly short, they ordered a new one a bit longer for the next day morning. All in time for the wedding.

Florist name + review

Every Occasion Floral – Stourbridge
Our florist’s name is Nikki Solomon. I don’t know where to start… Nikki has been the best florist we could have wished for. She listened to us and gave us some advice when needed. At the beginning Nikki was in charge of our flower arrangements only, but then she did way more than this. She helped us with some decorations (chairs’ sash with Diamond brooch, candles, Roman columns for our outside ceremony). She made our dream wedding come true!

Cake maker name + review

It was the Mother and Sister of the groom. They did a fantastic job. The cake was as we dreamt of! We couldn’t thank them enough. (This was their biggest challenge and they did it so well!)

Styling and decor

Cloud Nine Balloon Design
Sue and her team have been amazing. They are very responsive and offer so much options. We hired “M&J” light up letters, twinkle table skirts, voile wrapping for our outside gazebo with artificial flowers, a tall white postbox and Mr & Mrs balloons.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

As we wanted everything translated in both languages, we created our own wedding invites, welcome sign, table plan, menu, table number and small gifts box for the children.

Wedding readings?

On Your Wedding Day

Today is a day you will always remember
the greatest in anyone’s life
you’ll start off the day just two people in love
and end it as husband and wife.

It’s a brand new beginning,
the start of a journey
with moments to cherish and treasure
and although they’ll be times
when you both disagree
these will surely be outweighed by pleasure

you’ll have heard many words of advice in the past
when the secrets of marriage were spoken.
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
where the bond of true love lies unbroken

so live happy forever as lovers and friends
it’s the dawn of a new life for you
as you stand there together with love in your eyes.
From the moment you whisper ‘I do’
and with luck all your hopes and your dreams can be real
may success find its way to your hearts
tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
but today is the day it all starts

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

John Legend – All of me

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair: Sophie Hailey
Sophie was so lovely, she listened to what I wanted and did a great job! Loved my hair! Makeup: Victoria O’Neill
Vicky was great too! I had such a great time for my trial and on the day. Thank you for making me look so pretty!

Entertainment

We would like to thank also, The Dandies band, for playing during the ceremony and reception drinks. The guests loved them.

The post Marguerite & Jason’s beautiful Mount Hotel wedding, with Nicholas Rogers Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Some fab reviews and heartfelt words of advice from the happy pair below, plus supplier recommendations for couples tying the knot in Kent. Enjoy!

Wedding photographer’s website

Hannah Hall https://hannahhallphotography.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Hannah is great! We chose her because her photography style really brought out the joy and excitement of the day. She captured moments that we may not have seen behind the scenes and also brought back memories of special moments in her quirky style.

Your best moment or memory

The whole day was prefect – even the weather! It was warm and sunny for October and started raining the day after our wedding! If we had to choose, the Chinese door games and ceremony were my favourite part. The western ceremony was outdoors, making the most of the warm sun. It was a surreal, unique moment for us to be surrounded by our friends and family all in one place. Definitely a moment to remember.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

The Chinese door games is a tradition that puts the bridesmaids against the groom and groomsmen. The idea is that they hide the bride so that the groom, with help from his men, has to face challenges to get to her. Thus proving his devotion.

Venue name + review

The Gardens Yalding. If you’re looking for a venue that’s beautiful, relaxed with a large outdoor space and a rustic vibe – this is the place! Staff were friendly and helpful and put our mind at ease on the day. The food here was also lovely! https://www.thegardens.co.uk/

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Our outfits they were quite understated and they just fit well with the autumn theme and look of our venue.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Bride’s Chinese dress – Toni Bridal: Staff was friendly and helpful. Unfortunately I didn’t find my white dress here but I did find the Chinese dress to suit me here!

Bride’s western dress – David’s Bridal. A large selection of dresses to suit different budgets. It can get pretty busy here so personal one-to-ones is more limited. However I was able to find ‘the one’ here!

Groom’s suit – Hawes and Curtis: Fast and catered to our needs!

Florist name + review

Anthologie Florist – Ellie was super helpful and knowledgable. I don’t know a lot about the types of flowers and what goes well with my theme, but she helped stick to my budgets, find solutions and put our minds at ease. The final results was beautiful and incredible! https://www.anthologiefloristry.co.uk/

Cake maker name + review

We had a friend and 1 of my bridesmaid to help with the cakes!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

Welcome sign, table decorations, seating plan, placecards, Polaroid table, card box all DIYd!

Props and hire items

Bay Wedding Props – We hired a decorative arch for our outdoor ceremony and it was beautiful! It went well with the gazebo that was already there along with the outdoor garden. https://bayweddingprops.co.uk/

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

The few things – JP Saxe, Charlotte Lawrence

Hair + makeup name + review

Alex hair and makeup artist – Alex was my hair stylist. She was very friendly, approachable and opened to feedback to ensure I was happy with my hair style. It didn’t take her long to do my hair and she did a fabulous job on the day! https://www.alexhairandmakeup.com/ Jamie Lee makeup and brows – Jamie Lee was my makeup artist. She has a relaxed vibe and very easy to talk to. I went for a natural, soft look as I don’t usually wear too much makeup. She nailed it pretty quickly and I felt super comfortable all day! https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-beauty-hair-make-up/kent/jamie-lee-make-up-artist_51468.htm

The post Sonya & Batsirai’s vibrant and joyful Yalding wedding with Hannah Hall Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Peak District wedding photographer Tom Hodgson – https://www.tomhodgson.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

From the moment we met Tom, he provided us with such a personalised experience. He even invited us over to his house for a cup of tea! We felt like he was really invested in our wedding from the get go. We really loved the way he tells stories through photos, by documenting real rather than staged moments. He managed to capture all of the emotion of our wedding.

Your best moment or memory

All of the tear jerking speeches from the best man, the brothers and father of the bride and the groom.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We did a Yam-Sing ceremony, which is a tradition in Malaysia/Singapore. Every table had to down a shot and yell Yam-Sing at the top of their voice, with a prize for the table that shouted the loudest.

Venue name + review

Losehill House. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting in a secluded part of the Peak District with magnificent views over Win Hill. The weather was amazing as well, so everything sparkled.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Sarah wore a vintage style dress that was entirely covered in gold glitter (although the glitter is difficult to see in the photos). In the evening she wore a red fifties style dress as a nod to the Chinese side of her family. The bridesmaids wore white. Will wore a kilt in honour of his late father who was from Scotland. The groomsmen (including Will’s young nephews) also wore a kilt and our friend played the bag pipes.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Sarah bought her dress from Fairy Godmother in South East London. They provided beautiful dresses, excellent service and were very good value for money. Sarah got two dresses for about half the price of what she was quoted in other shops.

Cake maker name + review

Sarah’s cousin made the cake.

Stationery maker’s name + review

We made our own invites.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

Helen, Will’s sister in law, made beautiful shot bottles and little wooden hearts with our initials on it. We also made our own programmes and invites from scratch.

Wedding readings?

We had an extract from Everything I Know About Love and also Bruce Springsteen’s “If I Should Fall Behind”.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Prince – I wanna be your lover. We had amazing music throughout the day (ceremony, canapes and reception) from The Rockets Collective. Everyone commented on how amazing they were. As Will used to be a professional bass player, they also let him play a few tunes.

Hair + makeup name + review

Alla Moda in Belper. They did an amazing job and drove to a remote part of the Peak District at the height of summer, Louise was heavily pregnant but she pulled out the stops to be there.

The post Sarah & Will’s wonderfully unique Peak District wedding, with Tom Hodgson appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

G K Photography – https://www.photographygk.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

We chose Greg after seeing his beautiful photographs on his website and loved the way he utilised bright colours in his work. Greg provided us with a free engagement shoot prior to the wedding which was a great chance to get to know him and for us to feel more comfortable with having our photos taken. Greg is such a lovely guy and made us and our guests feel at ease throughout our wedding day. We loved the final photos and have received many great compliments.

Your best moment or memory

The whole wedding was incredible but one of the biggest highlights was the maids of honours’ hilarious song speech which has since gone viral.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

Our wedding was a vibrant and colourful Asian Fusion wedding, centred around embracing each others cultures. Claire’s side dressed in Indian clothing whilst Giran’s side wore traditional English wedding attire. The ceremony (led by the celebrant Jac Woods at Cherish Life Celebrant) included the lighting of a unity candle with Giran, Claire and their mothers all lighting a central candle to signify the joining together of two families and two cultures.

Videographer name + review

Hawaiian Shirt Photography and Videography – https://hawaiianshirtphotography.co.uk/

We were so pleased with Hawaiian Shirt Videography – Tom was great at communicating prior to the big day and ensuring everything was planned carefully. Simona was very helpful and friendly on the day and captured great footage resulting in a beautiful video.

Venue name + review

Ufton Court – https://www.uftoncourt.org.uk/

Ufton Court was a wonderful venue for our wedding. The setting is gorgeous and the facilities were big enough to host 150 guests which was perfect for our Asian Fusion wedding.

The choice of caterers was varied and Ufton Court was one of the few venues that we found that offered free corkage which meant that we could incorporate our love for French wine into the day, providing wine from one of our favourite vineyards in Provence.

All of the proceeds that Ufton Court make go towards their children’s education charity. As Claire works with children, this felt like the perfect set up. Loretta worked with us to plan our day with such kindness and patience and Chloe coordinated everything on the day, making us feel very at ease and the day run smoothly.

Wedding Caterer name + review

Preeti Catering – https://www.preeticatering.co.uk/

We chose Preeti Catering who provide delicious Indian Cuisine and still over a year on people continue to rave about the food at our wedding. Ricky was great to work with and helped to plan the day meticulously. We attended a tasting and were guided through creating the optimal menu. Within the package we chose, staff from Preeti Catering served the alcohol that we provided throughout the day and all evening, which is a rarity as most caterers will only serve alcohol purchased from them directly. This was a real win!

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Claire wore a traditional white A-line wedding dress and Giran wore traditional Indian clothing bought from Green Street in London. Claire also didn’t see Giran’s outfit until she walked down the aisle and was very impressed.

Dress or suit shop name + review

J S Couture – https://www.jscouture.com/ Claire bought the dress from J S Couture near Baker Street. It was a lovely shop and the owner was really friendly and gave us plenty of time to choose the perfect dress.

Florist name + review

Wessex Flower Company – https://wessexflowercompany.co.uk/

We absolutely loved working with Alicia and she completely embraced our theme. The flowers were a combination of bright colours and arranged with such care and passion. We were blown away.

Cake maker name + review

Giran’s mum made our beautiful wedding cake which fitted into the theme perfectly.

Stationery maker’s name + review

We used a combination of Etsy, Zazzle and DIY and were really pleased with the results

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

To reflect our love of wine our table plan (each table named after a type of grape) was arranged on a board made of wine corks. The order of the day was drawn up on a chalk board, signs were made and engraved and table place names created by friends who attended the wedding.

Wedding readings?

I’ll Be There For You by Louise Cuddon
Take My Hand, by Dick Johnson

First dance song?

First Dance – Can’t take my eyes off you – Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Wedding Band

Got It Covered – http://www.got-it-covered.co.uk/index.html

We used the band Got it Covered after hearing them play at our friend’s wedding. They were full of energy, very talented and great to work with.

Hair + makeup name + review

Thorne Brides – https://www.thornebrides.co.uk/

We were so lucky to have Sarah and her team doing the hair for my bridal party and hair and make up for myself. Sarah is very experienced and took time to find out exactly what we wanted and was very efficient. The trial was a great opportunity to get to know Sarah, she is very personable and made us feel so relaxed on the morning of the big day.

The post Claire & Giran’s glorious Asian fusion wedding at Upton Court, with GK Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Keeping the joy flowing strong on our screens, we’re thrilled to be sharing this elegant celebration for a beautiful bride and gorgeous groom at Mitton Hall, with True Love Optics behind the camera. We spotted Pash & Sean’s stunning Lancashire wedding on instagram a few weeks back and fell in love – and we’ve a feeling you will too!

Wedding photographer’s website

Robert from https://www.trueloveoptics.co.uk/

How did you choose your photographer?

By looking on a wedding planning app and the photographer’s portfolio. It was very important to us that the photos were authentic, natural and captured intimate moments without being forced.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We loved our photography. He really impressed us with how he handled guests and the quality of the photos. We didn’t notice most of the time that he was there (which is what we wanted) and he got all the shots we needed and shots we didn’t even know we wanted. He was very professional and assertive and definitely made us feel as though we didn’t have to worry about the photography element of the day as he knew exactly what we wanted and executed it perfectly.

What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?

After the ceremony, my husband and I had a brief ten minutes where we finally had a chance to speak after the madness of preparing for the wedding, getting married and walking down the confetti line. It was just us outside the venue and everything was so quiet. We shared some laughs as we both joked about how mad it is that we has actually managed to plan a wedding and it seemed like it was going half well! Our favourite wedding shot is from this moment.

If you had a videographer, tell us about them!

Jamie Shaw, Andromeda Video Production
A videographer was very important to us because our wedding was during Covid and we had families abroad who we wanted to share the key aspects of the wedding with. My husband was also doing a speech in my native language and it was just too funny to not capture that moment forever. And thinking long term we wanted something to be able to share with our children in the future in the same way other family members had shown us their videos.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

The venue was just beautiful. It was quintessentially English but with a modern twist and we fell in love with it instantly. We knew it was fate as soon as we walked in.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?

It was lots of fun! We wanted to keep the memories of our wedding and wedding planning within the town we were getting married and we ended up using local suppliers near Whalley. As we are based in south Manchester it meant every appointment for outfits was a little road trip and we absolutely loved it. Everyone was so nice and professional and it made the whole experience so much fun.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We used the flower shop in Clitheroe. They were amazing and my bouquet was definitely one of my favourite parts of the day. Parts of the arranging were during Covid lockdown so I had to explain my vision to the florist and she executed it beautifully.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Zara’s cakes in prestwich made and delivered our cake and donut wall. We’re not usually cake people but we definitely had the most cake that day out of everyone else. It was delicious and we had multiple flavours.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves (we love that stuff!)

We hand wrote the names for the table plan (by we, it was mainly Sean). We had some guests take the tags home as they thought they were professionally made – it was a nice task for us as it made us really appreciate how many people were coming to celebrate with us and how much support we had all over the country. Those bits can sometimes be missed in the frenzy of prepping so it was nice to just sit down for a few hours and go through our guest list.

Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?

Touched by an Angel by Maya Angelou

Sonnet 116 – Shakespeare

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

Neil young – harvest moon

We used to go to a quiz every Tuesday for three years and this would always be played by the quiz master and we fell in love with it and the meaning behind it was so powerful we couldn’t think of anything else more apt.

Favourite wedding suppliers

Our videographer, photographer and florist were fabulous.

Our wedding dress suppler – Lulu’s in Whalley were exceptional along with the legend bridal designs in Great Harwood who did the fittings.

The post Pash & Sean’s chic and modern Mitton Hall wedding, with True Love Optics appeared first on English Wedding.

The gorgeous pair had a traditional Hindu wedding at the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple in the West Midlands – an incredible place, inspired by and modelled on a temple in Tirupathi, South India. The wedding photography really does tell the story of the day in a way that ‘standard’ wedding pictures often don’t. This is the beauty of authentic documentary wedding photography, and York Place are one of the very, very best in the UK.

The following day, the guys changed into black tie for a breathtaking civil ceremony at Blenheim Palace in Oxford, with Guppi in a stunning Indian dress which sparkles in the sunshine.

Don’t miss the little flower girl trying (successfully!) to steal the show – she’s adorable! All of those emotional connections with loved ones are so very precious, it’s wonderful to see them all captured here. This is what weddings are all about, and I’ve LOVED scrolling through all the images from Guppi and Gan’s Indian wedding weekend.

For us that’s what weddings are all about: photographing people just being people, making memories not just photographs and trying to capture an essence of who our couples are in our candid, inimitable style. ~ Dom & Liam, London wedding photographers York Place Studios

The post Guppi & Gan’s amazing Shri Venkateswara and Blenheim Palace Indian wedding, with York Place Studios appeared first on English Wedding.

“After having to delay our huge Indian wedding four times due to the pandemic, Shiv and I decided to have an intimate 50 person affair to celebrate our love for each other and to do our Hindu wedding ceremony. Starting with a list of 800 and cutting down to 50 was a task in itself! We decided to do it in Mumbai, India, which is where I am from originally.”

I decided to go completely makeup-free to one of the events (Haldi) at our wedding. I have acne-prone skin and have struggled with acne as well as scarring for a lot of my adult life so this was a risk for me but I really wanted to be comfortable in my own skin.

The event was a ritual-based one, but I was still going to be heavily photographed and of course, all our guests were there but I was so happy I did this because I really wanted to look and feel myself during our wedding. It really proved to me that beauty is on the inside and real happiness radiates beyond any make up! What better event, as the significance of a haldi is to purify you and your soul before your wedding and to have your families good wishes and love showered upon you.

For the ceremony itself, Shiv and I broke tradition and actually saw each other before. Once he was dressed he came up to my room and saw me before I had my veil on and we were able to take some photos and spend time together. It was one of the best decisions we made. It really helped us both feel calmer before the actual ceremony and although we weren’t sure if it was going to take away from the moment that we would see each other at the ceremony, it actually made it all so much more special. I wore a custom made Manish Malhotra outfit for this, which was a dream to have made and to finally be able to wear. Note: I tried on my outfit only 5 days before our wedding due to the pandemic!!!

Our biggest takeaway from this whole experience is that a wedding is truly a celebration of you as a couple, so it should reflect the two of you and your values in every way!

Wedding photographer’s website

https://www.instagram.com/fourfoldpictures/

How did you choose your photographer?

Indian weddings have a lot of ceremonies involved, and since our wedding was incredibly intimate, we were looking for someone who could capture the essence and mood of the event. It was really important that our couple photographs were as beautiful as the candid imagery from the wedding.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Incredibly pleased. Our photographers really took the time to get to know us as a couple and the photos were a real reflection of us. They captured our candid moments so beautifully and more than just us they also captured our family so well. When we look at the photos we are filled with joy!

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

We chose to do it in a hotel in Mumbai. We wanted our guests to all stay at the venue as we had so many different ceremonies taking place and as it was mainly family, it was quite a lot of fun to all be together. The hotel was the JW Marriott Sahar, and they took fabulous care of us!

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Shiv and I had to plan our wedding remotely – we had initially planned a huge Indian wedding in Jaipur but due to the pandemic and countless delays. Shiv looked for his outfit completely remotely. He had identified the designer as it was someone he had worn before and worked with them virtually to choose a design. They sent it to us in London where he tried it on! For me, it was a little different. Indian wedding outfits are quite large and elaborate so getting it to London just for a trial was not going to be possible. I had worked with one the team of one of my favorite Indian designers, Manish Malhotra, to create something custom-made. Back in 2019, we identified the types of work I liked, the colour, the cut and from there the team created a beautiful custom-made lehnga. The only catch was that I wasn’t going to be able to try it on until I arrived in Mumbai. I tried my wedding outfit on for the first time a few days before our wedding! Luckily it was incredible, exactly what I had imagined and wanted. It just shows how important it is to go for a designer whose aesthetics match your own!

Mehendi. The Mehendi ceremony is where the bride and her female family members have henna applied to their hands in intricate patterns. Bridal henna is incredibly intricate and is done on the hands and the feet – mine took 5 hours to do! I did it in advance so I could truly enjoy the event.

Did you hire a wedding planner?

Our wedding planners are called The Design Company by Henna Arora – they are a couple, Henna and Ashish and they not only styled our big day but also handled the logistics. Indian weddings take place over a few days so there was a lot to plan! They made sure to create the most stunning scenes for every event – every event looked and felt different and had an amazing atmosphere! We genuinely couldn’t have done it without them! Not only were they an incredible support on that front, but they were also so supportive for Shiv and I, making us feel so special.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

Since our wedding was very intimate we wanted to make sure that our guests felt that. We handwrote little welcome notes, as well as thank you notes for each of our guests that were then dropped off in their rooms for them along with a special little present. Shiv’s mother who is an illustrator actually designed these cards for us – the welcome note had a background of lotuses to represent India (our heritage, but also where I was born and brought up) and our thank you notes were with a background of tulips to represent Holland (where Shiv was born and brought up!)

Although our wedding was only 50 people, Shiv and I are planning something larger for the year, which is why we chose an Italian theme!

How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?

We got engaged in 2019 and were planning to have our wedding in 2020. It was such a difficult process to have to continuously delay our wedding (it was delayed perhaps 5 times!) not just from a logistic perspective but also an emotional one. What we both learned was that at some point, you have to let go of the stress and try to enjoy the moment. Things change so rapidly, and we had to just focus on what was in our control, and be flexible and open to making changes to still be able to create the day that we wanted.

The post Shloka & Shiv’s classic, timeless Indian wedding in Mumbai, with Fourfold Pictures appeared first on English Wedding.