Planning a modern multicultural wedding in London
London is a city filled with people from all cultures and faiths. Therefore the odds are higher that you’ll (like me!) find love across cultures. This is why I photograph so many mixed culture and religious weddings for modern couples. Often I photograph British Indian wedding like this amazing Londoner Hotel wedding. Other times I have loved being a part of British African weddings such as this wedding at Victorian Bath House. These engaged London couples want to celebrate both of their cultures and traditions in a fun way. I hope this Hackney Round Chapel wedding gives you inspiration for planning a multicultural wedding. Multicultural weddings are a wonderful way that incorporates and honours everyone’s heritage.
I started the day getting ready in the couple’s flat with their beloved cats. The couple had specifically asked me beforehand to have some photos with their cats! The bride had her mehndi done on a previous day. This is because it can take a while to dry and for the paste to shed. Traditionally, the mehndi artist will add the groom’s name somewhere in the pattern.It’s a game for others to find it! The bride wore a traditional western white wedding dress. However she added a traditional Indian Nath, which is the bridal nose ring jewellery. The Nath is complete with a chain to her ear. She also wore a traditional white head covering. This was a lovely blend of the two cultures as usually an Indian bride would wear red. Her make up was done by Katie Coward.
Photographing Indian groom prep
Usually when I photograph Indian weddings I will cover some of the groom prep. In Indian weddings the groom getting ready can be considered equally as important. In Western weddings the prep traditionally focuses on the bride. This is in part because the groom’s arrival to the wedding venue, called a baraat is often a loud and exciting procession. The groom dances to the venue accompanied by dhol drummers and his groomsmen and family dance in with him. When he reached the entrance of the Hackney Round Chapel the bride’s family took part in traditional welcome games. These include various prayers and rituals such as marking the forehead of the groom and his best man with coloured powder. There is also a fun tradition where the mother of the bride must try to grab the groom’s nose and it’s the groomsman’s job to stop her! As you can see the best man failed on this occasion!
Hackney Round Chapel Indian wedding ceremony
The Hackney Round Chapel is one of my regular venues to photograph. I have been photographing Hackney Round Chapel weddings for over 10 years, and each wedding has been wonderful and different. Its large hall like space with a slightly raised stage lends itself perfectly to both celebrant wedding ceremonies, Indian wedding and Jewish weddings. The latter two tend to have a lot of rituals that you want all your guests to get a good view of! The stunning floristry for this wedding was done by Borrowed Light who are based in Walthamstow. The wedding was planned and coordinated on the day by the amazing Revelry Events, who I have has the pleasure of working with at many weddings. They planned this brilliant London Jewish wedding and this epic Lebanese wedding at the Battersea Arts Centre. Sonal Dave conducted the wedding ceremony, she is the perfect wedding celebrant for Asian fusion and multicultural weddings.
After their Indian wedding ceremony all the guests gathered outside to throw rainbow confetti on the couple
Indian wedding games
After everyone threw the gorgeous rainbow confetti they had drinks and canapés served by the wedding caterers Funthyme. The Hackney Round Chapel has a large fore court which is perfect for an urban outdoor drinks reception int he sunshine. During the drinks reception the bridesmaids plotted with me to steal the groom’s shoes, which is done to extort a bride from the groomsmen to buy them back. I told them I would tell the groomsmen to do the classic lift-the-groom photo, and that would be the perfect time to steal his shoes! The plan worked perfectly, and it was an extremely hard fought contest!
Where to do couple photos at Hackney Round Chapel
The Hackney Round Chapel is an unusual shaped building that when the sun shines through it produces the most gorgeous interesting light. You can take couple photos in the corridor, or outside the ornate front steps. There is also the horseshoe shaped balcony at the top.
Modern Indian wedding catering
The couple had asked Funthyme to make these cool Indian starters called puri. They are fun crispy balls that you add filling to and you have to eat them whole. They asked me to make sure I got fun documentary photos of their English friends trying it for the first time! The couple had put out fun quiz cards for their guests to enjoy, they announced the delighted winners at the end of dinner. They also has speeches at this time. They decorated the edge of the Hackney Round Chapel with the groom’s mother’s saris.
Chess match at a wedding
The bride and groom had a chess match outside in the courtyard to allow Revelry Events to turn the dinner room into the dance floor. This also gave the Scottish Ceilidh band a chance to set up. The bride and groom changed into matching outfits- the groom wearing his Scottish tartan and the bride changed into a matching green lengha.
The ceilidh was provided by Cutashine. After some intense ceilidh dancing the couple ordered pizza from Yard Sale Pizza which is literally opposite Hackney Round Chapel.
If you loved this multicultural East London wedding check out this gorgeous Clapton Country Club wedding where the guests all wore their traditional outfits! Also feel free to check out some other times I have photographed Hackney Round Chapel weddings in other seasons.
