An Early Start for an Indian Wedding at Fota Island

I didn't slept well the night before and mixture of anticipation and nerves ahead of our day at Fota Island which started at 8:30am, which is definitely a little earlier than I’d normally start an Irish wedding. At your typical Irish wedding, half eight in the morning is generally still the realm of coffee, hair rollers and someone trying to locate the missing bridesmaid who went downstairs for breakfast. An Indian wedding, however, has a lot more to fit into the morning.

Starting at 8:30am gave us enough time for Sahil’s Sehra ceremony, the gathering of the Barat, the procession itself, the meeting of both families, the Milnis and the entrance negotiations, while still allowing time for everyone to sit down for an Indian breakfast before the main wedding ceremony began. When you look at everything that happened before lunchtime, suddenly 8:30am doesn’t seem particularly early at all.

For couples planning a luxury Indian wedding in Ireland, this is something worth considering when putting together your photography timeline. Indian weddings often contain far more individual traditions and events than a typical Irish wedding day, and giving them proper time means nobody feels like they are being hurried from one thing to the next. From a photography point of view, it also means I can concentrate on what is actually happening rather than constantly watching the clock.

Sahil’s Sehra and the Beginning of the Celebrations

I started the morning with Sahil and his family for the Sehra, a pre-wedding tradition before the groom makes his way to the wedding celebrations. Straight away there was a completely different energy to the morning. Family was at the centre of everything, and there were so many little interactions happening around me that I barely had to interfere at all.

That is one of the reasons Indian wedding photography suits the way I work so well. My photography is documentary at heart, so rather than constantly stopping people and setting things up, I want to get in amongst what is happening and photograph it properly. With large Indian and multicultural weddings, there is nearly always something happening somewhere. While one tradition is taking place, somebody's dad is laughing in the background, a grandparent is watching from the side or cousins who haven't seen one another in months are having a reunion ten feet away. Those are the photographs I'm constantly looking for.

And then it was time for the Barat.

The Barat Through the Grounds of Fota Island

If you've never experienced a Barat at an Indian wedding, it is essentially the groom's wedding procession, although the word “procession” sounds far too civilised for what actually happens.

Sahil's family and friends gathered outside before setting off around the grounds of Fota Island, with music, drums and dancing accompanying them the entire way. The sun was absolutely beating down on us as we walked through the grounds towards the gardens, and the whole thing was just incredible to photograph. Everyone was dancing, laughing and completely caught up in the moment, while Sahil was right in the middle of it all.

Visually, it was absolutely gorgeous. The colour and movement of an Indian Barat against the greenery and beautiful grounds of Fota Island Resort made for the most incredible photographs. There is something really special about seeing centuries-old Indian wedding traditions happening in the middle of an Irish country estate, and it's one of the reasons I think luxury Indian weddings in Ireland work so beautifully.

From my point of view, I didn't need to manufacture a single thing. I just walked with everyone, got myself into the middle of the action and photographed it as it unfolded. Nobody was wondering where to put their hands or asking me what they should be doing; they were far too busy dancing. Basically my dream scenario.

Indian Wedding Traditions Meet an Irish Country Estate

Once the Barat reached the gardens at Fota Island, it was time for Catriona and Sahil's families to meet. This was followed by the Milnis, where particular members of each family came forward to greet one another, exchange garlands and envelopes and embrace.

I had been warned in advance that these embraces could occasionally turn into a bit of friendly wrestling depending on who was involved, and they were not lying. I genuinely think this is a tradition we need to consider introducing into Irish weddings because it was mighty craic to photograph.

After the Milnis came the entrance negotiations, where Sahil's groomsmen had to negotiate with Catriona's sisters to be allowed into the venue. Again, there was no shortage of reactions, slagging and laughter to photograph. What I loved about the entire morning was that all these traditions gave the families opportunities to actually interact with one another. It wasn't simply a case of turning up, sitting through a ceremony and heading for the bar afterwards; both families were very much part of the celebration.

This is also what makes multicultural weddings in Ireland so interesting to photograph. Couples don't have to choose between being Irish or Indian, or between one family's traditions and the other's. They can take the things that mean something to them and create a wedding that represents who they actually are.

Indian Breakfast Before the Wedding Ceremony

By 10:45am, after what already felt like half a wedding day's worth of celebrations, everyone stopped for breakfast. An Indian breakfast buffet was served before guests began taking their seats for the wedding ceremony, which was honestly a very civilised way of doing things after dancing your way around Fota Island in the August sunshine.

Having breakfast built into the wedding morning also gave everyone a little breather between the energy of the Barat and the ceremony itself. For anyone planning an Indian destination wedding in Ireland or a large two-day Indian-Irish wedding, building these quieter pockets into the timeline makes such a difference. A wedding doesn't need to be a military operation where you're being marched from one event to another every fifteen minutes.

Catriona and Sahil’s Indian Wedding Ceremony

Guests began taking their seats at 11:30am, with Sahil and his family arriving shortly afterwards, followed by Catriona's family. The wedding ceremony began at 11:45am before Catriona made her entrance at midday with her brothers and bridesmaids.

After all the noise, music and dancing of the morning, the ceremony gave the day a completely different feeling. This is where I tend to become even more aware of the people surrounding the couple. Of course I'm photographing the traditions and the important parts of the ceremony itself, but I'm also looking sideways and behind me. I'm watching parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters because some of the photographs that mean the most in twenty years' time won't necessarily be of the ceremony itself. They'll be the photograph of your dad watching you, your mum trying not to cry or your grandmother absolutely beaming at you from the front row.

That, for me, is what documentary Indian wedding photography is really about. The beautiful clothes, florals and details absolutely deserve to be photographed, but the people are the story.

Couple Portraits in the Gardens at Fota Island

The ceremony finished at approximately 1:30pm, and after family photographs we took Catriona and Sahil away for their couple portraits around the gardens of Fota Island Resort.

I don't believe in disappearing with couples for an hour or two on their wedding day while everyone else is off enjoying the party. I would much rather have twenty or thirty really good minutes, find gorgeous light and let you actually get back to your guests. Your wedding photographs are massively important, obviously, but so is actually experiencing your wedding.

Fota Island is particularly lovely for this because you don't have to travel anywhere to find beautiful locations for photographs. The hotel is surrounded by mature gardens, woodland and gorgeous grounds, so we could simply take a walk together and make the most of it. The August sunshine was still giving absolutely everything it had, so we had beautiful light to work with and could keep the photographs relaxed rather than turning the whole thing into a giant production.

This is where my style of luxury wedding photography in Ireland sits somewhere between documentary and editorial. For most of the wedding day I'm watching and photographing things exactly as they happen, but during couple portraits I'll give a little direction, find the good light and create something slightly more editorial without losing the personalities of the people I'm photographing.

I want you to look unreal, obviously. I just don't want you to spend your wedding day feeling like you're on a fashion shoot.

Why Ireland Is Such a Gorgeous Setting for an Indian Wedding

Ireland might not immediately spring to mind when you think of an Indian destination wedding, but after seeing a celebration like this at Fota Island, it makes complete sense. We have incredible luxury hotels, castles and country estates with the space required for large celebrations, beautiful grounds for outdoor ceremonies and events, and some of the most spectacular landscapes in Europe sitting right outside the door.

For an Indian wedding in Cork, Fota Island Resort is particularly well suited because so much can happen within the grounds. Catriona and Sahil could have their Sehra, Barat, family celebrations, breakfast, Indian wedding ceremony and photographs without constantly moving hundreds of guests between different locations.

Then there is the contrast, which I absolutely love. Indian wedding clothes and florals are full of colour, detail and texture, and putting all of that against the greens of an Irish country estate is just beautiful. Throw in an Irish summer actually behaving itself and you're laughing.

Ireland also makes a brilliant choice for couples planning a multicultural Indian and Irish wedding because there is no rule saying everything has to happen on one day. Catriona and Sahil gave each side of their celebration room to breathe. Their first day at Fota Island celebrated Sahil's Indian heritage and traditions, and the following day they married again in an Irish church before travelling to Inchydoney for their reception.

Two completely different wedding days, two cultures and two families coming together, without either side having to be squeezed into a token hour of the wedding.

A Luxury Indian Wedding in Cork That Was Full of Life

By the time I finished photographing Catriona and Sahil at Fota Island, we'd somehow fitted an unbelievable amount into six hours. We'd started at 8:30am with the Sehra, walked and danced our way around the grounds for the Barat, photographed the families meeting and the Milnis, stopped for an Indian breakfast, photographed an entire wedding ceremony, rattled through the family photographs and then wandered through the gardens with the newlyweds.

It was exactly the kind of wedding I love photographing. Yes, it was a luxury Indian wedding at one of Cork's most beautiful wedding venues, and visually it was absolutely stunning, but the thing I remember most is the people. It was noisy, warm, colourful, funny, emotional and completely full of life.

The sun was beating down on us, everyone was dancing before most people had finished their morning coffee, there was a bit of family wrestling thrown in for good measure and there wasn't a quiet moment all morning.

And that was only day one.

The following morning we got up and did the whole thing all over again, this time for Catriona and Sahil's Irish church wedding and their celebration beside the Atlantic at Inchydoney.But that deserves a blog post all of its own.

Planning a Luxury Indian Wedding in Ireland?

If you're planning a luxury Indian wedding in Ireland, an Indian wedding in Cork or Kerry, a multicultural Irish-Indian wedding or a two-day wedding celebration, this is exactly the kind of day I love to photograph.

My approach to Indian wedding photography in Ireland is documentary first, which means I want you spending your wedding with your family and friends rather than spending half of it posing for me. I'll photograph the traditions, the madness, the grandparents, the dancing, the people absolutely losing it during the Barat and all the tiny moments happening around you, then steal you away for a short while for those gorgeous editorial couple photographs.

Because you can have beautiful, luxury wedding photography without turning your wedding into a twelve-hour photoshoot.

Documentary wedding photography for the wild at heart, with an editorial feel.