Aside from the sheer number of guests (around 350) there were a host of customs and traditions that I’d never come across before. Whilst much of the day would be familiar to anyone who had only ever been to a traditional English wedding, there was so much that was new that it made for a fantastic challenge and kept me on my toes throughout the day.
I sincerely hope that I get to shoot more weddings like this. Everything about it, the colours, the atmosphere, the emotion…..it all made for terrific documentary wedding photography.
My coverage started at the Bath Spa Hotel where Ruhina got ready with much of her close family in attendance. Some portraits of Ruhina looking stunning in her full bridal attire followed before moving on to The Pavilion to document the arrival of Taj and the tradition of negotiating his admittance to the venue with representatives of Ruhina’s family.
The day ended with a wave of emotion as Ruhina officially broke ties with her family and left with her new husband.
I hope these images convey some of the colour, atmosphere and emotion of what was an intense and exciting occasion.
First of all, Ruhina and Taj were kind enough to write a testimonial for me. Here’s what they said;
‘Having reviewed/met many photographers in both London and the South West, we chose Paul for his ability to not only document a wedding beautifully, but more importantly to capture all those wonderful emotions. We entrusted him with the challenging task of photographing our fairly large (350 guests) Asian (Bangladeshi) wedding which is very different to the smaller White weddings that Paul was used to. We certainly were not disappointed, and the images speak for themselves. There is emotion, elegance, creativity, colour, culture, depth and a variety of artistic and dramatic shots- all which tell the story of our special day as it unraveled.
Paul is talented on many fronts, not the least his desire to take on a new challenge. We loved his enthusiasm. The nature of our wedding meant that he had to adapt to the changing scenes quite quickly and capture the various moments throughout the long day without much guidance. He took some magical shots that reveal honest emotions- the smiles and the tears. Our friends and family have complemented the images. We are truly grateful for his efforts.’
