E very now and again, a wedding comes along that blows me away.
I don’t always see some of them coming, – sometimes it’s the smaller mid-week one’s that had very little fanfare in the build up and other times you just know it’s going to be something ‘a bit special’.
To describe Kimberley & Rashpal’s wedding as ‘a bit special’ is if anything, a bit of understatement.
It wasn’t flashy or particularly showy even, – I’ve been to bigger and they won’t be offended in me saying I’m sure, grander venues (in that the Sikh temple hall is not the last word in luxury, but weddings are about people and not so much places!), but it was one of those days when the planets all aligned and the fat lady sang her Punjabi heart out all day.
All day from 6am.
I’ve never started a wedding in the dark before other than a Winter wedding once with a 5pm ceremony (a bit mad if you ask me…) but on Saturday 24th October, I arrived at Rudding Park for bridal prep at 6am.
I had some vague plan to possibly capture the sunrise, but upon checking the actual sunrise time, realised at least the first hour would be in darkness.
At the Gurdwara, it was a fluorescent lighting nightmare for the photographer (every image has a different colour cast to rectify, – that’s why B&W was invented…), but a morning of material to be discovered and documented.
I think I pulled it off… At least I hope so…Anyway, enough of my chatter, it’s time for some pics.
All I will add at this stage is that this is Part 01 of 03 (and just the highlights at that) and covers; bridal prep, arrival and various parts of the Sikh wedding ceremony at Tong Road Gurdwara in Leeds. The second and third parts take place at Rudding Park in Harrogate and can be viewed as slideshow based productions below the pictures.
A full gallery with international print ordering facility is available by clicking the link and I cannot wait to attend my next Sikh wedding wherever and whenever it may be, – perhaps in India itself!
