Coming from an Indian background has its disadvantages- especially when it comes to wanting a small wedding. My parents had their hearts set on a ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ for their first born.
Panic had set it once they had mentioned it and so myself and my husband spoke for hours about how we could get out of it! It was impossible. We tried to call off the wedding with a plan to elope, but we knew we would never live that one down. Both of us were born and bred in England, so we’ve taken on more of the British culture as it’s so much more simple than the Indian culture- we just wanted a simple wedding.
We managed to reach a compromise with my parents- they could have the Big Fat Indian wedding with 600 guests, as long as we got to have a simple civil ceremony of just 7 guests.
Having such a large Indian wedding meant that we had to spend a lot of time budgeting. I always dreamt of wearing a Vera Wang dress, but I just couldn’t allow much of a budget for it as so much was being spent on the Indian event. My husband- Rav could see how much I wanted my dress and so he suggested using e-bay. I know many people find wearing second-hand clothes repulsive, but when you’ve got your heart set something you have got to make compromises! I found my Vera Wang wedding dress on e-bay for 250 pounds! It’s RRP was 4K and it had only been worn once before- I was over the moon! I had it dry cleaned and altered and wore it for roughly 8 hours. It was definitely the best buy of 2012!
We married at the beautifully elegant Coworth Park, Windsor in May 2012. I had finished night shifts the day before and looked a state in the morning, myself and my husband went for an early breakfast in a teeny tiny cafe in Windsor and then got ready. I know the groom shouldn’t see the bride before the wedding, but there are just some superstitions I just don’t believe in. Seeing my best friend in the morning completely made me at ease.
It really was the best day ever. No stress, no-one was late, everyone knew what their role was and we were completely relaxed.
People often say that their wedding day was the best day of their life-I’ve never quite believed it. I used to think they were just making it up so they didn’t feel bad about spending so much money on the actual day. I was so completely wrong about it. I can honestly say that wedding day turned out to be one of the most beautiful, peaceful days of my life. I was just very content.
The day was beautifully captured by an amazingly talented photographers and now our good friends Rima Darwash & Tasneem Alsultan. You can see some of the pictures on their websites by clicking on here for Rima and here for Tasneem!
I’ve posted a few of my favourite pictures here.
A Cup of Tea with Mrs B 
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