Today we join Nina and Keith in North Wales for a wedding marrying two very different cultures. Keeping an extended family happy can be tough, but this couple manage to pull off a unique and very special celebration with style and grace (and fabulous fashions).
With images by JAY Photographic Images.
Nina says: We got engaged at the Yorkshire Dales Falconry Centre on the 21st May 2012. I was taken by complete surprise as I wasn’t expecting a proposal that day. Keith had organised with the staff for the ring to be attached to a barn owls foot. The owl flew down and landed on my glove and Keith took the ring and went down on one knee. It was the best surprise ever!
We were married on 1st June 2013 and the wedding was in North Wales. As it was a mixed Indian/Welsh wedding we had the civil ceremony at Mold Registry Office and the Hindu ceremony at Keith’s parent’s house in the garden in Hendre.
North Wales is beautiful in terms of its scenery. We looked at quite a few venues in and around the Midlands as that is where we live but nothing compared. Keith’s parents’ garden has a great view of the Clwydian Range and seemed to be the perfect back drop for our Indian country wedding. It also made it more personal. We were trying to make sure both families were happy – my side felt comfortable as most aspects of the Indian wedding were covered to which they were accustomed and Keith’s family also felt at ease as they were in familiar surroundings. Both families, however, got to experience something new.
For our civil ceremony and evening celebration I chose to wear Sable by Jenny Packham. My Indian wedding outfit was a bespoke design from Tanushree Collections in Birmingham.
My brother and cousin were very keen to drive me to the registry office and wedding venue and therefore we didn’t hire any special transport on the day.
My bouquet was made up of champagne roses to match my dress together with calla lilies and thistles to bring out the blue in Keith’s suit.
The Hindu wedding was probably my favourite part although I loved it all. I have grown up watching family and friends marry in this traditional way and always wanted the same. The ceremony is very meaningful. We were very lucky to have a bilingual Priest who performed the ceremony in Sanskrit and also translated everything to English so we and all the guests knew exactly what was going on and what it meant.
We had quite a few children attending and didn’t want them to get bored, especially during the Hindu ceremony which can go on for about an hour and a half. During the ceremony we booked the Creepy Crawley Show which was on for two hours. There were snakes and toads and other animals – the kids (and parents) loved it! We also had a bouncy castle for them.
After the Hindu ceremony there was a Pimms reception and canapés and we hired the Birmingham String Quartet to play during this time to entertain the guests.
All of the flowers apart from the ones used for centrepieces were all done by Keith’s mum Joan.We collected old wooden wine crates and used these as planters for flowers which were used around the marquee for decoration.The table names were made by Joan using old slate pieces and wood ans Joan also made signs to direct guests to the wedding.
My mum, aunt and cousin all helped pack the favours and decorate the bags – retro candy bags with sweets from our childhood. I had the stamp for the favours made from English Stamp at notonthehighstreet.com.
The cake was ivory with purple roses cascading down. We were lucky enough to have the cake made by a family friend. The cake on display was a ‘dummy’ cake – the actual cake (rich fruit sponge and a separate lemon sponge) had been made and cut into pieces which were individually wrapped in cellophane with ribbons and a sticker saying our names and the date of the wedding. We thought this was a great idea as it meant that our guests could take the cake away, there was less waste and it also saved the fuss of the caterers having to cut the cake on the day.
Evening entertainment was provided by Perfection Soundz and a big firework display was put on by Keith’s brother-in-law as a wedding present to us.
After the wedding we went to Namibia on our honeymoon and had a wonderful time. The scenery and wildlife were fantastic and we would definitely recommend it to other couples.
My top tip for other Brides Up North would be to make the most of the wedding day and enjoy every moment as the day goes so fast and will be over before you know it!
Congratulations Nina & Keith!
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