I had been looking forward to Noose and Paul’s Hindu wedding in Manchester for a long time. I always love photographing weddings from different cultures and love seeing the different traditions. Hindu weddings are particularly great to capture as they are so full of colour, energy and emotion.

Noose and Paul are also such a great couple and made me feel so welcome. I started the day with Noose as she was getting ready in the hotel whilst my good friend and awesome photographer Kyle Hassall met Paul at home as he was getting ready with his father. Thank you again Kyle, you were brilliant.

Noose and Paul had their Hindu ceremony first before quickly getting changed and then having a civil ceremony an hour later. The whole day was held at the fantastic Lowry Hotel in Manchester and it was an absolute privilege to photograph.

Traditions of a Hindu wedding ceremony

The Hindu ceremony itself was so full of energy and the atmosphere was amazing. The ceremony actually starts with just Paul first of all, with Noose walking down the aisle about 10 minutes in to the service. There are so many different traditions and parts to the ceremony, the Priest who conducted the ceremony was fantastic and took time to explain to all the guests what was happening and explaining the history behind each section.

The bride and groom sit under a mandap and this is also where a sacred fire is placed. There are lots of other things used in the ceremony too including coconuts, garlands, gifts for parents, rice and flowers. There was so much to photograph!

Emotion and celebration

The rest of the day was just as good too. The speeches in particular were fantastic and packed full of happy emotion from tears to laughter. Then, shortly before Noose and Paul cut the wedding cake and had their first dance, everyone was entertained by amazing Bollywood dancers.

It was also great to see my friend Gavin and his awesome band The Rush too, who were brilliant and as always the dance floor was packed.

To Noose and Paul, thank you so much again for asking me to be your wedding photographer. I have really enjoyed getting to know you both and I am really glad that you had such a fantastic wedding day in Manchester. I absolutely loved your Hindu ceremony and I so pleased that you are so happy with your photographs.

Here are my favourite images from your special day: