The Civil Ceremony

We had two wedding days which gave us the chance to have two different but very elegant themes. We both liked the idea of a barn. I had always wanted to avoid a wedding reception in a dark conference centre atmosphere, even from an early age I had a vision of a luxury marquee setting that was light and gave a taste of the outdoors. We found the perfect venue that was cosy and had a traditional vibe. We wanted to keep its rustic charm but enhanced it with flowers and foliage including green eucalyptus leaves and white flowers with floating candles.

Guests were treated to a three-course meal with a Mediterranean theme. The mouth-watering spread included halloumi skewers, falafel, tabbouleh, wood fire flatbreads, roast chicken, French onion tart and chocolate fondant with ice cream. In the evening, we all tucked into fresh stone-baked pizzas which went down a treat.

One memory I won’t forget from the day is that I was so eager not to be late that I was the first one ready, before my bridesmaids and my entire family – I was waiting on the bridal party as oppose to them waiting for me!

The Sikh Ceremony

For our Indian reception, we kept a similar theme as a civil but with additional white flowers and a sophisticated white-on-white theme. Design and décor details included a pretty flower wall, orchard trees ad candles, it felt so special, but it was also a complete contrast to the Jaggo party. That reception was bright, flamboyant, and full of nostalgic Punjabi style. Our Punjabi feast featured classic dishes such as gol goppa, samosa chaat, shaahi paneer and butter chicken with the yummiest cheesecake, gajerela and ice cream to finish off.

We had a total of 60 guests at our Sikh wedding ceremony and for our civil wedding. It was really important to us to have small and intimate wedding ceremonies to keep it feeling personal but for our reception, the number increased to 170 guests. It was still small enough that we could speak to all our guests as I was very keen to have ‘quality over quantity.’

One of the memorable moments of the day was when my siblings performed a surprise dance sequence for me and Ste. It was so special as it was unexpected. The coordination and performance were so well received by all the guests that I felt so proud of them.

GET THE LOOK: The Outfits

This was the exciting part! My brother Hare is the designer at the luxury Asian fashion house Sharon’s Couture. To have your own brother design all your outfits and those of your partner is the most extraordinary and personalised gift and as a bride, I knew that I would be wearing nothing short of perfection. Hare designed all of our outfits for the civil and Sikh ceremonies, my Jaggo party and Ste’s three-piece suit and sherwani. I knew Hare would do an incredible job, he still managed to exceed my expectations.

He understood that I didn’t want to wear a traditional red wedding bridal lengha, yet I still wanted to look regal so he came up with a design that was red and olive which captured my personality, kept the traditional element of red and had so much attention to detail.