THORNTON MANOR WEDDING IN CHESHIRE FOR RITU AND VEN

Ritu and Ven are a great couple and I was delighted when they asked me to be their official wedding photographer at the magnificent Thornton Manor in Thornton Hough, Cheshire.

I already new Ritu from a few years previously when I photographer her brother Ajey's wedding to his sweetheart Teedah at Slaley Hall in Northumberland which comprised a UK civil ceremony followed by an Indian wedding ceremony.

This time there was a civil ceremony, then a nod to Ven's Sri Lankan heritage with a Poruwa ceremony and then later in the day we had a Hindu ceremony to mark Ritu's family heritage - three weddings in one day, and what a wedding celebration it was!

I travelled down to Cheshire the previous day so that I would be 'on site' for the start of the wedding celebrations. I would hate to think I would be stuck on the M62 behind an accident on the day ..... noghtmare. So it was nice to meet with Ajay Shah, who had also arrived early to set up the Wish Tree.

Unforunately many of the travelling guests had their own schedules demolished by a bad accident on the M6 which in the end meant that some didnt get to bed until 2am or 3am on the day of the ceremonies!

I was up bright and early and met with Ritu and her sister Reeta while she was having her first session with Lara from Makeup by Lara for her civil ceremony and Poruwa ceremony. I was fascinated as I had never seen High-Definition Air Brush Make-Up before, where the bride's makeup is substantially applied with an airbrush ... amazing to see!

I then headed over to say Hello to Ritu's brother Ajay who was in charge of the day, making sure that everything was running to plan and everyone was in the right places with so many ceremonies and parts to the day - great to see him and Teedah after four years since their wedding, and their delightful son Max too!

I bumped into Ven as well as he finished his preparations for the day - though he did look a little nervous and was a bit quieter than I remembered his from our pre-wedding photography shoot at Rudding Hall near Harrogate!

Thornton Manor is an exquisite private mansion that is available for exclusive use weddings in Cheshire, the multiple rooms including the sensational Music Room are ideal for an Asian wedding or any large wedding celebrations - it is quite beautiful.

12.30pm seemed to come along rather more quickly than any of us expected, so soon it was off on the walk along the Lime Tree Avenue into the dining room where the civil ceremony was to be held. The 200 guests were straining their necks as we walked into the room - Ritu looked sensational in her cream wedding sari, and Ven's face went from nervousness and concern as Ritu arrived to be a big broad grin as she made it to his side!

Once the ceremony was over and flower petals marked their departure from the room, we quickly walked ontothe terrace at the side of Thornton Manor so that we could let the guests make their way to the area set aside for the Sri Lankan Poruwa which was at the side of the Lime trees.

Traditional Sri Lankan dancers and drummers then led the groom and the bride's parties seperately to the ceremony with much noise and colour and even acrobatics and leaps into the air by the dancers. Wow!

Ritu and Ven raised a big laugh when part of the ceremony needed Ven to put a necklace onto Ritu .. which didn't quite work out as planned. From there it was time for a break for champagne and fantastic Asian canapes, Mango Lhassi's, Pimms and a wonderful Asian buffet - it also gave us some time to get traditional photographs of family and guests and friends - alll done quickly and naturally with a laugh and a smile!

Later, Ritu went back to the Bridal Mews at Thornton Manor for another hair and make-up session with Lara and Ven went with his best man and groomsmen to get ready for the arrival of the Indian Dholis (drummers) who would annonce the start of the Hindu ceremony at 4pm.

Ven looked magnificent in his cream suit and his attendents looked quite the part with their green and gold scarves, as I popped back to see Ritu getting ready with her beautful red green and gold sari - she just looked fantastic all day long considering how little sleep she had enjoyed.

Despite the fact the dholis were late, the start of the ceremony at the front of Thornton Manor got underway with 'the boys' throwing all sorts of shapes and really getting into the celebration mood as they danced toward the front door and the family's were introduced to each other in a traditional ceremony before we moved inside for the arrival of the bride.

The music room looked amazing all dressed for the Hindu ceremony, and there was a hush as the bride arrived with her bridesmaids, all looking just stunning. The ceremony takes about an hour or more and involved many important component parts - including fire!

Once that third ceremony was over all the guests moved back to the reception rooms for champagne and more canapes to keep everyone going before the main meal of the day at 9.30pm.

This gave me my first real opportunity to grab a few photographs of the bride and groom for ten minutes, as Asian weddings are so family orientated that often its difficult for the bride and groom to have any time on their own - such are the demands, and their wedding day was so long and intense, I think even they appreciated the time we had together.

The team at Thornton Manor did a brilliant job transforming the Music Room from an Indian Wedding ceremony to a wonderful room fit for an evening wedding celebration and meal in not more than 90 minutes.

The food was great, the speeches were a laugh all the way, and as it turned to 12.30 am the first dance got underway in a swirl of dry ice, the dholi drummers banging music and happiness.

WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY OF WEDDING CELEBRATIONS AT THORNTON MANOR IN CHESHIRE FOR RITU AND VEN - SUCH A DAY TO REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THE SECOND WEDDING IN THE AGARWAL FAMILY!

PLEASE ENJOY THIS SNEAK PEAK FROM THE HUNDREDS OF FINAL EDITED IMAGES. WHEN RITU AND VEN RETURN FROM HONEYMOON THEY WILL SEND OUT THE ACCESS CODE SO THAT ALL OF YOU CAN VIEW THEIR FINAL EDITED IMAGES WHICH TELL THE STORY OF THEIR GREAT WEDDING CELEBRATIONS

DIRK VAN DER WERFF

Related Site

-Gretna Green Weddings

-How Becoming a Wedding Planner

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Title: Wedding Photography at Thornton Manor

A very small sample of the hundreds of photographs taken at the recent wedding of Aimee and Pete. Both the wedding ceremony and reception took place at the most beautiful of wedding venues, Thornton Manor near the very attractive village of Thornton Hough on the Wirral.