We take a look back at this stunning wedding we photographed at the Cedar Grand Harrogate, a beautiful North Yorkshire Wedding Venue. What a sensational day it was – two stunningly beautiful weddings in one!
This remains probably our longest ever day at work (we rose before 6am, began work before 8am and got home well after 2am). So it’s the closest we’ve ever got to working a full 24 hours! This beautiful Yorkshire wedding also remains one of the most amazing and beautiful weddings we have ever photographed – and ‘weddings’ is the right word. Because Ruth and Jais managed to fit in two Yorkshire Weddings in one day! This was a beautiful fusion wedding to use a common phrase in the industry. However in reality, it was like any wedding – a coming together of two cultures and two families. First, there was the traditional Indian Wedding Ceremony, then, a traditional Western Wedding Ceremony – then, an amazing party!
With over 200 guests we had three photographers to ensure we didn’t miss any key moments. Having a team of three wedding photographers also meant we were still able to capture all the natural and unposed moments that we are so known for capturing, while capturing any more formal moments at the same time. Also there was an absolute need to be in two or three places at the same time. If anyone has ever been to an Indian wedding before, you will know it’s such a wonderful experience just to be there. And to photograph – wow! All the colour, all the different and expressive moments of the ceremony, the groom’s arrival. And then – the dancing! This was our first ever Asian wedding but since this wedding, we have photographed many more. They are always beautiful – and because of different religions, nationalities and just because of the people and individuals involved they are always completely different! We absolutely love photographing weddings and the principle reason is the variety photographing weddings brings to our work.
If you’re planning an Asian wedding, with a large amount of guests, we would definitely recommend having us provide three photographers. There really is always something happening and at this particular wedding, we were always working, apart from a break to refuel and take on some delicious Indian food (thanks so much Ruth and Jais and their families for looking after us!) At any wedding we recommend two photographers, but over 150 guests for the daytime and we would really recommend having three photographers. That’s not just Asian weddings – any very large wedding definitely benefits from a third photographer. We are able to adapt to any situation and provide the team needed for any wedding – so if you wanted just one photographer with 200 guests, we could do it! But there is definitely a big benefit to having a bigger team present for a bigger wedding.
We are known for our natural, documentary wedding photography. However for Asian weddings we know there is sometimes an expectation for more group shots than at a western wedding. At Ruth and Jais’ wedding we photographed an impressive 37 groups, all taken on a stunning Mandap. Two of us handled the groups while our third photographer was still able to photograph natural moments meaning we didn’t miss anything. We don’t often include group photos or posed images in our blogs, as we believe our natural photography really captures the story of a wedding and that is where the real skill in photography is (observing and anticipating moments – then capturing them beautifully and creatively). Nevertheless, we wanted to show our versatility in this wedding blog, so have included a group shot and also, a posed bridal photo of Ruth. Our default mode is natural, unposed photos – but whatever a bride and groom want on the day, we will deliver. All our couples have to do is ask.
Whenever we photograph an Asian wedding, we know there will be more groups to take and we are more than happy to take these and more than happy to take any posed shots that are requested, just like the bridal portrait on this blog.
Ruth and Jais really did plan the most wonderful day and we absolutely loved photographing it all. Below you will find our favourite images from this amazing Fusion Wedding. If you’d like to check our availability for your wedding day, please contact us here. We would love to hear all about your wedding plans.
Photography by Indian Wedding Photographer M and G Photographic