WE GOT MARRIED!

After 7 years of being together and nearly 2 years of engagement, we finally got married!

Last month, on a typically British summer’s day (i.e. ALL THE WEATHER), Raj and I made our commitment to one another in not one, but two ceremonies, in front of some of our nearest and dearest.

It was a full-on hectic day trying to squeeze in as much as we could for both ourselves and our guests, all with the aim of creating a celebration of who we are as a couple. It was a rollercoaster of a day (I know, it’s an over-used cliche) with lots of ups and downs. A lot of the day was a blur. Some things went wrong. But in true British fashion we downed our fizzy wine, danced the night away, stuffed our faces with epic food, and ended up with some pretty rings on our fingers.

Oh, and we got some pretty snazzy photos and video of the day (we’ll be sharing loads more over the next few weeks!).

We married in deepest darkest Suffolk for no other reason than we liked the location, were allowed to use our own caterers and supply our own booze. Essentially we created a destination wedding as everyone we knew had to travel for the occasion, but we felt that added to the fun of the day.

We began the day in separate hotels meeting at the barns for our first ceremony, the English Civil Ceremony. This was the first time we saw each other in our full wedding outfits and there we made our legal commitment to one another in front of the county registrar.

After that we had a Popcorn and Prosecco Reception where we served some snacks and drinks to our guests whilst we nipped off to take a moment to ourselves, have some first photographs taken and then change into our next outfit.

The wedding barn was shifted around whilst we changed and together we walked in together to begin our spiritual ceremony with our Hindu priest.

Afterwards we said hello to some of our guests before once again nipping off to get more photos taken with our photographers whilst in our Indian outfits.

We changed back into our original outfits whilst the guests took their seats in the big reception barn. The barn was decked out in as many fairy lights as I could buy (and convince my family to wrap around pillars for me) and some delicate foliage. We had a free bar to keep them entertained for a little before we made our grand entrance to our reception.

We sat down to the most delicious late lunch prepared by our friends, and cooking extraordinaire, Holland and Joel. The groomsman were amazing, helping to get all the food out to our food serving stations. I possibly went overboard with the menu design but we had a mostly vegan menu of about 5 veggie dishes and just 2 meat dishes. We feasted on food, well … I tried to. But I think the adrenaline of the day was suppressing my appetite so I mostly marvelled at the excellent wine choices we made on our trip to France.

After food we had the traditional 3 speeches, from my Dad, Raj and the best man. I was intending to make speech but had run out of time trying to write it before the big day and my brain had turned to mush (first time ever I’ve been speechless!).

Once the speeches were over the rain had subsided enough for us to get outside and take some photos with the parents and the wedding party. We weren’t particularly blessed with the weather which was a shame. Despite being July and the height of summer, it was pretty windy and rainy, with just a small outbreak of sun in the afternoon. But that’s the English weather for you!

With the main photos done I think it was exactly time to start the first dance. We chose a number that was personal and meaningful for us as a couple but not necessarily a slow dance or romantic so we were soon beckoning our guests to come join us on the dance floor to launch straight into the dancing part of the evening.

I think it’s safe to say I probably spent most of the evening dancing. I did manage to head outside to the pizza oven terrace where Holland and Joel were proving to be super popular with their baked creations. Apparently pizza is pretty popular.

After a full evening of dancing and a day that seemed to go by too quickly, we were ready to leave. We had a short rendition on the bagpipes thanks to the venue owner and the stragglers breaking out into Auld Langs Seyn, before everyone was shoved into taxi’s and cars and onwards back to our hotel.

The day was perfectly imperfect, with plenty of quirks to keep it memorable, which probably suits Raj and I as a couple. Quite a few details we had planned didn’t happen either due to bad weather or lack of time. For instance, I do now have a 140 giant sparklers languishing at the bottom of my supplies box… (Who’s coming round for an epic sparklers party???).

How To Do Your Own Wedding Make-Up

The best moment for me was standing in front Raj, face-to-face, as we said our vows and placed rings on each others fingers. I was filled with pure love and joy in that moment. I was unbelievably happy. And in that moment all I saw was Raj. To me, that was what my wedding was all about, and it was the best!

I would love to share more about wedding day, as well as the planning and preparation stages. I have so much more detail to share that it would make for too long a post here. Instead, I’ll share each detail in an individual post for you to come back and read when you’re ready.

For now, I want to say a massive thank you to all the lovely messages I have received so far on social media, email and in person. You really are too kind.

Raj and I feel incredibly blessed to have found each other, we make a great team. I look forward to the next chapter of our adventure together, for which I’m sure there will be plenty more stories to tell!