How Indian Weddings Are Evolving In The UK

Small Indian weddings at home have become a trend in the UK. These took place during the Covid lockdowns and will continue as a trend going forward. Indian weddings at home and intimate weddings are partly due to couples wanting to move on with their lives. They want to get married and unite during these unsettling times rather than wait to tie the knot. Hundreds of couples have taken advantage of the stamp duty holiday and thus have less money to spend on an extravagant wedding.

Having weddings and engagement parties at home was common practice over 40 years ago, and the trend has now reoccurred. Many couples have told Indian wedding specialists, EM Designs, that as long as their parents, siblings, and grandparents are present, that’s all that matters. Our clients are eager to get married now with an intimate ceremony and consider a larger reception party when guests will be safe from Covid.

Other wedding trends are couples opting for outdoor country venues and fewer of the 5-star hotels. More couples are filtering in the country and spreading the pre-wedding and wedding functions over three days. Couples are also catching up on lost time with their friends are family. Wedding guests see this as an opportunity to have a long weekend break as going abroad seems a long way away.

My Planning Tips For Indian Weddings

At EM Designs, we have been helping couples plan and style their Indian weddings for years. Previously we were helping couples plan lavish weddings with hundreds of guests. We find it just as fulfilling organising an intimate Indian themed wedding for couples. In this article, we will share some of our Indian wedding planning and styling tips with you.

Firstly, and most importantly, all Indian weddings are planned around an auspicious date. Both sets of parents will speak to a priest to give them a date for their son and daughter to get married. 90% of the families would like to have weddings between April and September.

Mostly, all brides start planning their pre-wedding and Indian weddings almost 12 months in advance as they are hosting more than one event. Commonly, it is an engagement, civil ceremony, mehndi night, Indian wedding and wedding reception. It is essential to decide on the budget as this will help you decide on the venue. If the venue is very grand with beautiful interiors with outdoor breath-taking views, you will not need to dress the venue up as much as you would for a leisure centre or a community hall.

Sometimes brides will have more than one event in one day but still at the same venue. This is very helpful as it reduces costs and they do not have to choose different dates and venues for each occasion. It is lovely to have a venue with several rooms so that guests have a wonderful experience of seeing the entire venue. Whilst viewing the venue, it’s essential to confirm you can have an Indian wedding ceremony that involves going around a fire.

More and more, we recommend you choose a venue that has beautiful outdoor grounds so that part of the Indian wedding can take place outside. It’s always lovely to have one outdoor event as all Indian reception parties take place indoors. The venue plays a significant role in the planning and styling. I always look at the type of building the event is taking place and then the actual interior of the room. Whilst you are viewing the venues, it’s imperative to see which event will take place in which space and consider the capacity.

My Styling Tips For Indian Weddings

Wedding theme: It’s a great idea to start with a theme for the wedding. The theme may be an English country garden, fairy tale or Rajasthan theme. If the interior décor is of William Morris style, there is no point in choosing a Moroccan mehndi night theme. Once you have selected the venue and confirmed the number of guests, the designers come in with lots of ideas for theming and styling each event. At EM Designs, we thrive in creating a different ambience or theme for each function.

Exterior styling: Whether you are getting married in a mansion or a Victorian terraced house, the first thing your guests will see is the property exterior. I would always recommend welcoming guests with exterior signage and a floral display from my years of a wedding stylist. If you can afford an entrance carpet or a walkway canopy, greet your guests go for it. If there is a plan for a wedding in the garden, it’s a bonus. An open side marquee or a tent allows guests to view the beautiful garden, be in the fresh air and listen to the birds singing. All this adds to a wedding that will be remembered for all the right reasons.

We would use wooden gazebos with lush chiffons and georgettes for an English country garden theme, and all dressed in fresh flowers. Stylish use of all country flowers with tall delphiniums and trailing wisteria. If the wedding is taking place at home or outside at a venue, I look at what’s growing in the garden at the time of the marriage and use similar colours and flowers on the gazebo. EM Designs has created a collection of hand painted mandaps with floral designs and simple wooden distressed wooden posts using straightforward round top or square top frames with fresh flowers. Please see our pictures on Instagram. Some with flowered pillars and others with drapes and trailing foliage. Pathway to the mandap created with low-level flowers and a simple entrance arch.

Interior styling: Nowadays, brides don’t always wear red for their Indian weddings. You can choose from blush, peach tones, whites, light pinks with grey tones. Pastels are commonly used for Indian weddings and Indian wedding receptions. The colour palette is an integral part of wedding planning, but you do not need to be part of the furniture and blend in with the interior. The bride and groom should be the focal point, and everything else is secondary. Choose colours that complement the interior and flowers but make sure you still stand out by going darker or lighter than your surroundings.

Natural light: You can’t beat natural light, so consider the timings or the sunrise and sunset for the time of year you get married. Allow natural light to flood interior rooms where possible.

Indian Weddings At Home Case Study

A gorgeous Indian couple would have loved their wedding to take place in Rajasthan, India. Rajasthan is a city that exhales culture, art, history and royalty. Instead, they decided to bring the Rajasthan culture to their family home. Marigolds in yellow and orange are used throughout all states of India. Getting vibrant colours and fragrance into a wedding is an auspicious touch to one’s mind, body and soul. The picture shows a beautiful rich colour marigold floral arrangement on a free-standing metal frame. The wedding took place in the morning, which benefited from an abundance of natural light and birds singing in the background. It was beautiful. Bespoke handmade Bridal wedding garlands were shipped into the country just before India went onto the red list. Nerves were rising, but all planning was in hand by the team at EM Designs. The case study highlights how floral decorations can make or break a wedding.

If you are planning an Indian wedding and wish to discuss options, please click here to get in touch with Nila Parmar at EM Designs