The Wedding of Rhian & Sanjay

A twinkly and atmospheric, cosy winter wedding featuring an official Hindu blessing and subtle festive theme for newlyweds Rhian and Sanjay’s twilight celebration.

The Before…

I (Sanjay) had been contemplating proposing to Rhian for some time. However, Covid kept getting in the way and ruining my plans. Finally, on a beautiful Sunday morning in June 2021, I took matters into my own hands and got down on one knee to propose. Rhian was completely caught off guard, though thankfully she said yes! It was a perfect moment that we will both cherish forever.

The Day Started….

On the morning of my wedding, I (Rhian) woke up in the gorgeous THB farmhouse with my family and close friend, Caroline. We enjoyed a delicious, cosy pre-wedding breakfast together, before heading over to the makeup and dressing room in the main barn. There Annie, our trusted hairdresser waited. Eager to work her magic and get us looking our absolute best ahead of the ceremony. It was without a doubt, the best way to start the day.

However, once we began to get ready the nerves really kicked in. I hadn’t slept much the night before – a combination of nerves and excitement. And I was running on adrenaline – luckily there was plenty of it! Throughout the morning I was hit with waves of nervous panic, followed by periods of calm. And as I peeked around the corner to see all of our loved ones congregated together in the beautiful ‘Old Barn’ I was quite overwhelmed!

In contrast, I (Sanjay) felt more nervous on the days leading up to the big day itself. And as I stood at the altar waiting for Rhian I felt surprisingly calm. Although I have to admit I think that a stiff whiskey or two enjoyed with my best friend Appi as we got ready in the farmhouse probably helped with the nerves!

Wedding Planning

As we only had 5 months to plan our wedding we had to make decisions quickly and get our suppliers booked in, yesterday! Fortunately, due to the time of year (outside of peak wedding season) this didn’t prove too difficult. We were able to book every one of our first choice suppliers, despite the short notice – result!

As we’d chosen a winter date, we knew the sun would set early and we wanted to make the most of the darker night. Thanks to the abundance of twinkling string lights strung throughout Tower Hill Barns itself and the gorgeous gardens and grounds we didn’t have to do much to get the venue looking cosy and magical. However, we did add a few of our own lights and candles for that added twinkle factor – it was perfect.

The Wedding Decor

Myself and Sanjay opted for DIY décor to add a personal touch to the day. We decided on a rustic winter colour palette in hues of gold and orange. But kept it minimal to enhance the natural, rustic charm of the barns. Three large jugs of flowers provided a focal point at both the entrance and in the ceremony room. And we lined the aisle with candles to accentuate the cosy, romantic feel of the beautiful indoor barn.

For our centrepieces, we filled elegant glass vases with string lights and pine cones. And of course, given the time of year, we HAD to have a Christmas tree! It took pride of place in the dining hall beside our beautiful rustic, three-tier wedding cake.

The Wedding Cake

Our wedding cake was made by The Red Rose Cake Co. It was a semi-naked 3 tier, black forest cake laced with kirsch-soaked cherries. In a gentle nod to Christmas, the cake was adorned with dried orange slices, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and rosemary sprigs – it was delicious and tied our theme together beautifully.

As an added cultural treat, we created a DIY sweet stand full of traditional Indian sweets for our guests to sample upon arrival and throughout the day – the empty stands would suggest that the gesture went down well!

A Magical Twilight Wedding

From the beginning, we knew that we wanted our wedding to have a laid-back, carefree, elegant vibe. And that was the motivation behind our decision to go for a twilight wedding.
We envisaged a magical, intimate indoor ceremony followed by flowing drinks, good hearty food, and upbeat music and dancing. We weren’t disappointed – the whole day/night entirely surpassed our expectations!

The Ceremony

Given the time of year, Rhian and Sanjay opted for an intimate indoor ceremony in our cosy and atmospheric Old Barn. Rhian escorted herself down the candlelit aisle to ‘Pure’ by Luke Sital Sing, having made the decision to give herself away (girl power!). She wore a stunning floor-length beaded gown, in a light-gold hue which caught the lights of the Old Barn to stunning effect.

Following the ceremony, Sanjay’s family carried out an official Hindu blessing to traditional music. During the blessing, there were a couple of short, rolling power cuts in the area (which happily, added to the effect!). Once the blessing was complete and the register signed, myself and Sanjay exited to ‘It’s Not Unusual’ by Tom Jones (tune!).

The Photographer and Videographer

After stumbling across our photographer, James Fear’s work on Instagram, we knew only he would do. We fell in love with the way he captured not just the moment itself but the feeling behind it.

We haven’t regretted our decision for a moment. Our wedding photo experience was outstanding and beyond our expectations from start to finish. James is a real character and the results he produced are superb – he became an integral part of the day, and our guests loved him. As the ceremony was at 3 pm, we were very aware that it would be dark afterwards, so James whisked us off pre-ceremony for a photoshoot by the canal. We laughed from start to finish.

Advice For Future Couples

If you can’t wait to get married, don’t shy away from planning a wedding in a shorter period of time! We found that planning our wedding in only 5 months cut out a lot of the inevitable procrastination and worked really well – we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Do away with the seating plan! As we were going for a laid-back vibe we decided we’d simply do away with the seating plan and allow guests to sit with whoever they chose (with the exception of the top table). This saved SO much time and pressure, and worked well – I would recommend it!

Heading for more real #THBWeddings