Your typical Asian bride goes through a very lengthy preparation for her wedding celebration. From the application of the intricate henna designs on her hands, to the many individual pieces of jewellery, to the wrapping of the sari – there is a slow and steady build up of excitement as each piece of the final picture falls into place. With one final blast of hairspray, she is good to go. When we filmed behind the scenes at Sahar and Jamal’s Muslim wedding, we saw all the care which went into this preparation. The groom is not without his own process and our camera crew was split between the two locations in order to film both proceedings.
After the ceremony, we retreated to the gardens of the Shendish Manor in Hertfordshire where the clear, bright sun of a February day gave us great filming conditions. As Sahar & Jamal enjoyed the landscaped gardens we were able to track them with the camera catching all of their reactions. Once they were back inside, they ceremonially cut the wedding cake before taking to the dance floor for their traditional first dance together. As they swayed to the slow music, we all watched on in pleasure. Best wishes to Sahar & Jamal.
Kiran & Kuldeep went all out on their Sikh wedding! It was a fantastic celebration. Early in the day we met up with the bride at the Hilton Hotel as she started her wedding preparations. She certainly wasn’t daunted by the path ahead and seemed to embrace the excitement of it all. Meanwhile our groom was being well looked after by his family who made sure he was dressed and ready for his ceremony at the Ilford Gurdwara. A couple of busses and a handful or Rolls Royce were on hand to ferry the wedding party in style. The ceremony was beautiful, colourful and over too soon!
Then it was on to the London’sGrosvenor House Hotel for a rather elaborate reception. The hotel pulled out all the stops to make Kiran & Kuldeep’s celebration a memorable one. The vast room was draped in a star cloth giving it a really pretty night-time sky effect. Coupled with a brilliant lighting setup and amazing floral displays made quite an impression on the guests. It was great for us to film too as there was so much to take in the with camera’s eye. The bride and groom made a spectacular entrance to the beating of many drums. And that was just the beginning of a long and memorable evening. Thank you to Kiran and Kuldeep for letting us be a part.
Janice and Mark’s lovely church wedding took place at Farm Street Church in Central London. Earlier that day, in North London, Janice had an early start in her wedding preparations. Experienced make-up and hair assistants were there in the home to help her look her best to walk up the aisle. The service was lovely and with a large church our videographers are always able to move about and create some really beautiful shots – which is helped by the terrific lighting through the stained glass. After the ceremony, as everyone gathered outside, we managed to find a bit of a patch of lawn to do some photos/videoing of the wedding party. They were a really playful lot, which leant a nice easiness to the shooting.
Soon the party shifted to the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel where a glass of chilled champagne was awaiting each guest. As the guests paired off into small groupings in order to chat and get to know each other better, we had the opportunity to make our way around with the camera to get lots of footage of all the guests – that way we know we’ve got everyone on Janice and Mark’s wedding video. We hope that they love the end result and will have memories to treasure for years.
Sikh Weds. Jaspreet & Samantha were wed in a Sikh ceremony at the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Nottingham where they were surrounded by their family and friends. Samantha was attired in a traditional Sikh wedding dress looking absolutely beautiful. Jaspreet (Skywalker) had lots of helping getting ready and was ready to commit himself to his princess/bride Samantha. The church leaders led them through the ceremony and pronounced their blessings on the couple all under the watchful eye of their family and their dearest friends. Our cameras operators had room to get about which allowed us to shoot some really great footage of the ceremony and get lots of close-ups of the guests.
The reception took place at Thoresby Hall Hotel where the grand, high-ceilinged rooms were appreciated by all. Drinks were lined up ready to greet the guests. With a change of outfit, Samantha and Jaspreet posed for photographs, taking advantage of the fine architecture of the building for backgrounds. The guests enjoyed a really nice meal – the food was beautifully plated and presented and was really enjoyed by the guests. As the sun set and darkness took over, the lighting in the hotel was especially romantic and was the right ambiance for the cutting of the wedding cake. Their first dance was to a spectacular waterfall of bubbles! Wishing much joy and happiness to these two.
Jasmine and Gagan held their Sikh wedding at the Singh Sabha Gurdwara Hounslow on a bright and sunny September day. Both bride and groom had plenty of family on hand to help them prepare for their wedding and surround them with love and support – it was very much a family affair. They gave their blessings before they went off to the Gurdwara for the ceremony. Bride and groom arrived to the Gurdwara separately and Gagan’s arrival was met with much fanfare including brass instruments, drums and a brilliant white steed. The families presented each other with garlands. During the ceremony blessings were made and the union of Jasmine and Gagan was formalised and blessed.
Soon it was time to board the coaches to take the wedding party to the Intercontinental Hotel on London’s Park Lane for the reception. The hotel staff were ready to greet them with fresh fruit and chilled drinks. We got about filming various wedding guests while they enjoyed visiting and having some refreshment. The musicians were once again present to usher in the newlyweds to the reception where they could cut their wedding cake while everyone took multiple photographs of the happy couple. We thank Jasmine & Gagan for letting us share in their wedding day and we hope their video brings them many happy memories for years to come.
Sara had her beautiful wedding clothes all laid out for her Pakistani Muslim wedding to Muneer. The family home was buzzing with activity as she went about her wedding preparations. When Muneer arrived, he was showered in flower petals to welcome him. After a ceremony in the home the family enjoyed a lovely spread of food. The Mendhi – once again Sara had a helping hand for her preparations before a Rolls Royce arrived to take her to the VIP Lounge in Edgware Hertfordshire. The Lounge was decorated beautifully for their celebration where they received many blessings from family members. It’s never a true celebration without a fine meal and this was no exception to the rule with excellent catering on hand for the wedding guests. After eating, the guests enjoyed taking a spin on the dance floor.
The Walima was held at Watford’s The Grove with its splendid landscaped gardens. Once again there were some remarkable cars to convey the wedding guests to the Walima. When Muneer arrived, he was again showered in flowers and garlanded with flowers. Taking his place inside with Sara they enjoyed another feast. The Grove’s gardens were a wonderful setting for wedding photographs with Sara & Muneer looking at their best. We wish them both much wedded joy together.
Amit & Onima’s civil wedding was a family affair through and through. The groom’s family were in attendance at the family home in order to send him off with their blessings (and make sure he was in tip-top form, including placing the turban on his head). They also had a spectacularly decorated car ready to whisk him off to Syon House, in the suburbs of London, for his wedding service. The honey-coloured stone building was a great choice for their celebration and the guests all remarked on how lovely it was as they arrived. We were able to get out in the sunshine and film the guests as they arrived and made their way into the venue – but not before participating in the welcoming of the groom with drums and dancing! The groom met his bride at the altar in time to take their wedding vows. Smiling throughout, they make a gorgeous couple.
The reception took place in the stunning glass house (conservatory) behind Syon House. Flooded with daylight, it was simply brilliant. We don’t recall another wedding banquet where the guests wore sunglasses throughout! The next day, at the Chancery Court Hotel, they had a second celebration. Amit & Onima made a fantastic entrance, dressed in beautiful clothes, and once again celebrated their union. We wish them a long and happy marriage.
Nighat and Naveed had an Asian civil wedding ceremony at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Lancashire on a lovely July day. But there was no time to enjoy the sun for our bride – she was busy with makeup, hair and getting dressed in her elaborate dress. Even in black & white her radiance shines through and you get a sense of her enjoyment of the process – especially with some of her girlfriends on hand. Meanwhile in room 708 the groom was busy with his own preparations with his mates there to lend moral support. The guests began to arrive and take their places in the chairs (wrapped in white and tied up with ribbons). With all the beautiful saris there was plenty of colour about the room. When the civil ceremony was completed the flash bulbs started going as all the guests made their way up to take photographs with their cameras.
There was a complete change of dress for the reception with our newly married couple making quite a grand entrance for their reception. Our newlyweds took to the dance floor and gave a very polished showing for their first married dance – our camera was able to follow them around and capture all the angles. Thank you to Nighat and Naveed for letting us be a part of their big day.
When the announcement was made that ‘the next 15 minutes are going to blow your mind,’ did anyone really have a sense of what they were in for? ‘Signature’ – the group which first came to nation’s attention on Britain’s Got Talent – were making an appearance at an Indian wedding reception at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The guests quickly crowded around the floor to get a better view. What they saw was a single man, dressed like Michael Jackson in his black suit. Then he started to dance! From his moonwalk to his arm ripples, it was like watching Michael himself! The camera phones quickly came out and people tried to capture footage of what they were seeing. The bride and groom clapped along looking delighted with the events.
Signature, made up of performers Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh, are a great double act. Turns out the announcer at the beginning soon wanted to take his turn on the dance floor! Turns out he is just as talented! The music switched from Michael Jackson to Bollywood and Madhu Singh showed how adept he is at Bollywood style of dance. The two work really well off each other and their mock competition to see who could dominate was very entertaining! If you get a chance to see Signature perform, we highly recommend them.
An enormous amount of preparation went into the Sikh-Gujarati wedding of Bobby & Sejal. Brent Sikh Centre was decorated, as were the cars which ferried the wedding party about. Our beautiful bride arrived in her red wedding sari to be attended to by her family. The groom meanwhile arrived in a white stretch Hummer before transferring to an elaborately decorated white stallion where he rode up to the Gurdwara to the accompanying beat of a drum. It made a great spectacle for us to film! After a traditional ceremony, our couple retreated outside where, with a little encouragement, they released a pair of white doves.
The wedding party then shifted to London’sMillenium Mayfair Hotel where the banqueting room was decorated and ready for Bobby & Sejal. Their family and friends were greeted with a drink which gave us ample time to get about the room filming all the wedding guests. Our newlyweds had changed outfits and entered the room to much applause. After cutting the ceremonial wedding cake, they enjoyed a fine meal and an excellent performance from a trio of dancers. Once the meal was over, the general dancing followed and the guests seemed to enjoy their own chance to dance led by Bobby & Sejal. Our best wishes to them both!
