An Intimate Indian, Cornish Fusion Wedding was the Order of the Day for Daisy and Jony’s Wedding in Newquay
Daisy contacted me around 6 months before their October wedding date and the details of the wedding really grabbed me before I had even met the couple. This day was so unique, personal and intimate and I could not wait for the day to arrive!
The couple opted for a pre-wedding shoot, mostly to put them at ease in front of the camera, and so they could see how I work. It is also a really lovely way of us getting to meet each other before the day of the wedding. There were lots of nervous giggles to start with but after twenty minutes or so on Towan beach, they had rally relaxed and were even enjoying the experience. Needless to say that the photos were full of love, fun and that beautiful Cornish backdrop.
Daisy and Jony had met a year earlier on a night out in Newquay and were marrying a year later to the date. Daisy had planned everything to reflect them as a couple and had handmade so many of the details and decorated the venue herself, incorporating her love of the colour yellow and sunflowers and also Jony’s Indian heritage.
The wedding took place at The Sandy Lodge Hotel in Newquay, where Daisy was currently working. The team that she worked with felt like a true second family to Daisy and when I arrived, they were all busy helping Daisy’s visions for the day come to life. Every possible surface and object was adorned with sunflowers, some in vases, some draping from decorative hoops or wrapped around pillars. There were personal touched everywhere, including framed prints of the photos that we had taken a couple of months earlier on their pre-wedding shoot.
Daisy was so calm and relaxed and despite several attempts from the tam to get her to head upstairs and start getting herself ready, she declined, preferring to make sure that every detail was just as she had pictured.
Eventually, Daisy’s sisters and bridesmaids turned up and practically dragged her up the stairs to get ready! The girls all helped each other out with hair and make up and there was a real buzz about the bridal suite as they all readied themselves for the main event. I busied myself photographing all of the details, and there were so many, including a surprise dress change of a traditional Indian Saree which Daisy planned on changing into for her first dance. It was absolutely stunning, beautifully bold and red, trimmed with gold embroidery and I think I became a little obsessional trying to photograph all of the tiny details on the saree.
AS the final preparations were taking place, the guests stared to arrive, accompanied by Jony. Daisy’s excitement at seeing him turn up outside the hotel was adorable as she stood watching out of the window and hidden from view by the net curtains. And then it was time to go, Bridesmaids leading the way, followed by Daisy in a beautiful, long sleeved, lace topped, tea length wedding dress and a picturesque bouquet of sunflowers and eucalyptus.
The ceremony was videoed by one of Jony’s groomsmen so that it could be streamed back to Jony’s extended family in Bangladesh. Jony stood waiting at the end of the aisle for Daisy in a sunflower yellow suit and the groom became quite emotional as his bride walked around the corner and down the aisle towards him, The ceremony itself was very sweet with lots of nervous giggled to begin with and then lots of hugging from all sides of the family to welcome the couple into their now combined families.
The hotel boasts a little courtyard, which although it was a typical overcast Cornish day, still had a very subtropical vibe emulating from it. I took the opportunity to usher all of the guests out here for the newlyweds confetti shots, complete with confetti hand made by the gorgeous bride and also containing dried daisies! These photos are among my favourite confetti shots of all time as the colours of both the couple’s attire and the courtyard itself could have you believing you were abroad!
The rest of the afternoon was a very relaxed affair with reception drinks in the hotel bar, where a Christmas tree had already been put up and decorated ready for the festive season! I managed to steal Daisy and Jony away for a very short walk up to the headland above Lusty Glaze Beach for some photos. Daisy added to her bridal look with a yellow denim jacket with Mrs Dev embroidered on the back and the two of them looked such a picture of unique beauty, doing things just their way. This made for some stunning images.
Jony was keen to get back to the hotel where he oversaw the afternoon feast, an Indian dinner, cooked by him and his work colleagues in the shop that they all work together. The smell was incredible (if only photos could somehow reflect this too!) and the 12 Stainless steel chafing dishes were filled to the brim with a variety of different curried dishes, naans, bhajis, samosas and so much more. Needless to say that the time while the gusts were eating was very quiet, however the queue didn’t seem to get much shorter as those with empty plates just kept joining the back for further helpings, and I cant blame them!
As the late autumn evening drew in, I ushered the guests back out to the courtyard for a sparkler shot and a whole group photo now some of the evening guests had arrived. I like to do the sparkler shots as soon as the evening starts to get dusky as this way, I don’t have to use any artificial light and can rely on the ambient light of the sparklers to light up the faces of the subjects. These photos, again, are stunning! Who doesn’t love a sparkler but when those holding them are grinning from ear to ear and you can feel the fun and the love in the shots, what more can you ask for!
The cake was then cut, you guessed it, baked and decorated by Daisy, and then the newlyweds disappeared off upstairs to prepare for a surprise outfit change for their first dance. Together, Jony in his bright red sherwani complimenting Daisy in her gorgeous saree made quite an entrance into the reception, half walking, half dancing to Panjabi MC(yes, that famous Bollywood tune that we all know and love!).
The dancing continued, led by Jony, showing everyone some traditional dance moves and I soon after left but not before stealing the couple away for ten minutes or so to get some shots of them in their traditional Indian attire.
What a day this was and by writing about it, I have lived it all over again! What an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be able to capture this gorgeous, heartfelt day for such a beautiful, unique couple.
