Hema & Will’s Fusion Wedding & Hindu Ceremony at Newburgh Priory

Hema and Will chose the summer solstice in June 2025 for their wedding day, planning a fusion celebration that brought together Hindu and English traditions at Newburgh Priory in North Yorkshire. The estate gave them the space to host a full day of celebrations, beginning early in the morning and unfolding across three distinct parts.

The day opened with a Hindu ceremony led by a Brahmin priest, including the Jaan procession, the playful tradition of attempting to steal the groom’s shoes and the Saptapadi, where the couple took seven steps together as part of their marriage vows. Later, guests gathered again in the Priory ruins for an outdoor civil ceremony before the celebrations moved to a marquee on the lawns for the evening reception.

Hema wore a deep red lehenga for the Hindu ceremony, paired with a velvet and chiffon blouse. For the civil ceremony she changed into the Berlioz gown by Suzanne Neville, chosen as a complete contrast to her morning outfit.

Photography was by North Yorkshire based Jack Cook Photography, who documented the day with an unobtrusive approach that allowed the ceremonies and celebrations to unfold naturally.

Enjoy!

We got married at Newburgh Priory Estate in Coxwold, North Yorkshire. I come from a big family so we looked for a venue that would accommodate a larger capacity – a marquee on the lawns was perfect for this. Also, because it was a three part day, we needed to be on site from 8:00am.

Newburgh Priory effectively gave us exclusive use from Friday-Sunday, however, many venues which we viewed locally (we are from Manchester), and which accommodated larger numbers, would only allow us on site on the day itself.

The day started with a Hindu ceremony lead by a Brahmin, a Hindu Priest, and this lasted approximately two hours. During this ceremony we moved through a series of beautiful and meaningful rituals rooted in Hindu tradition.

It began with the Jaan, Will’s arrival in a joyful procession of family and friends, before my mother welcomed him with blessings and led him to the mandap, the sacred space that represents the universe.

We hired dhol drum players from D6 Dholis for the Jaan.

There’s a lovely tradition at this point where my family attempted to steal Will’s shoes, as he’s required to leave wearing the same pair he arrived in, meaning any successful theft has to be negotiated back with a monetary offering.

The ceremony opened with a Ganesh Puja, a prayer to Lord Ganesh as remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck, followed by a symbolic foot bath given to Will by my mother as a gesture of welcome. I then made my entrance accompanied by my maternal uncles, with an antarpaat, an auspicious cloth, held between us representing our individual lives before this moment.

Both families removed it together in a gentle tug of war, and it was at this point that Will and I saw each other for the first time on our wedding day.

My Lehenga was from Mongas in Birmingham, my main dress was by Suzanne Neville and my mini dress for the evening reception was from Rosie Etienne Bridal.

Red is a traditional colour for Indian brides. But when it came to my Lehenga, rather than a vibrant red, I went for a deeper shade with a high neck velvet and chiffon blouse to achieve a traditional but sophisticated look.

For the Hindu ceremony, I wore a ruby ring which my Grandfather gifted to my Mum when she was 18 years of age. It was my ‘Something old’ for the day.

We exchanged flower garlands in the Jai Mala to signify our acceptance of one another, before my family gave me away in the Kanya Daan, my hand placed over Will’s to symbolise the happiness now entrusted to him. In the Mangal Fera, we circled a sacred fire four times with our scarf and shawl tied together, each round representing one of four principles; righteousness, prosperity, love and liberation.

The women from both families showered us with flower petals and rice as we walked, and after our final round we raced back to our seats, as tradition holds that whoever sits first will be the ruler of the household.

We then took seven steps together in the Saptapadi representing our marriage vows, before Will tied a mangalsutra around my neck and applied sindoor to the centre parting of my hair, two of the most significant symbols of Hindu marriage.

Our mothers brought sweets which we fed to each other as our very first act as husband and wife, before the married women from both families whispered words of advice and blessings to me in the Akhand Saubhagyavati.

The ceremony closed with the Hasta Melap, Will’s scarf tied to my dupatta to symbolise the union of our two souls, followed by blessings from our priest, family and friends for a long and happy marriage.

For the civil ceremony, I always knew I wanted a Suzanne Neville dress – her designs are timeless and elegant and I wanted a complete contrast to my heavily embellished Indian outfit. The ‘Berlioz’ design from Suzanne Neville’s 2024 Symphony collection did just that – I fell in love with the detail on the bodice and the overall finish of the dress, including the romantic organza skirt, was just perfect for for outdoor ceremony in the Priory ruins.

Suzanne Neville was the only bridal boutique I visited for my white wedding dress. Appointments are on a private basis and I was allowed to bring along three guests. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed as I would have liked all my bridesmaids to be there (I had five!) but, in hindsight, I think it was for the best – too many cooks can spoil the broth!

We were greeted by Karen who offered us fizz/soft drinks and explained that I could pick five dresses to try on. She gave me time to browse and make my selections – I didn’t feel rushed and Karen was very helpful in explaining the design and fabric of each dress. She also picked out a ‘wild card’ dress – something completely different to the styles I’d chosen to try on. In the end, it was the first dress that I tried on that I decided was ‘the one’. My chosen dress was also in the sample sale, so I got it for a bargain!

Karen also recommended a seamstress, Alexandra Bergesen. Her studio is in her home which is so cosy and welcoming. I honestly felt like I was having my dress altered by an auntie. We would sit and chat after the appointments about anything and everything! It was a wonderful experience and Alexandra was thoughtful enough to discreetly stitch “Something blue” into my dress. 

I also knew that once we’d finished our first dance I’d want to change into something that I could dance in comfortably for the rest of the night. I love a mini, especially in Summer, so I couldn’t resist buying a bridal version. The bodice was embellished with pearls (which complemented our wedding cake) and the skirt was made of satin.

I love that I was able to have the best of both worlds with my wedding wardrobe. 

My Hindu ceremony shoes were a pair of gold platform heels from New Look that I already owned. Shoes must be removed before sitting under the mandap so it seemed silly to spend money on a new pair. My civil ceremony shoes were the Aurelie 85 design by Jimmy Choo.

My bridesmaids wore the Thea multiway dress in navy blue from Monsoon. For my bridesmaids, I sourced faux ivory peonies from Etsy and we used the off cuts from the hem of my wedding dress as a ribbon for their bouquets – a tip from my seamstress! Peonies are chic and sophisticated and bloom April-June so they were the natural choice. 

My bouquet was put together by a local florist based in a neighbouring village, The Flower Shop in Easingwold. I’m petite so I didn’t want to be drowned by a big bouquet and decided on a simple white sweet pea arrangement. 

As the Hindu ceremony was an opportunity for family and friends from both sides to be involved, we wanted the civil ceremony to just be about us. 

Will bought my engagement ring from Boodles so I chose my wedding band from the same jeweller. Will’s wedding ring originally belonged to his Great Grandfather.

Despite the shower just before the civil ceremony, the rain held off just at right moment which meant we could hold the ceremony outdoors.

The Priory ruins were the selling point of the venue for us and we took a big gamble with the British weather – luckily it paid off! I really wanted the ruins to speak for themselves so decided to leave the area untouched.

We chose Jack Cook because of his natural and laid back approach. He was incredible on the day – there were some shots where he’d given us a bit more direction but, for the most part, he captured lots of candid moments.

I’m not comfortable in front of a camera but he made me feel at ease by making himself almost invisible – I’d even forgotten that he was there! Guests have commented on how he didn’t intrude on celebrations but managed to capture the day so beautifully.

My bridesmaids wore the Thea multiway dress in navy blue from Monsoon. For my bridesmaids, I sourced faux ivory peonies from Etsy and we used the off cuts from the hem of my wedding dress as a ribbon for their bouquets – a tip from my seamstress! Peonies are chic and sophisticated and bloom April-June so they were the natural choice. 

My bouquet was put together by a local florist based in a neighbouring village, The Flower Shop in Easingwold. I’m petite so I didn’t want to be drowned by a big bouquet and decided on a simple white sweet pea arrangement. 

My bridesmaids have also said that he was incredibly patient in-between ceremonies when they were running around like headless chickens. He was friendly but professional. We are so happy with his gallery, particularly the way he captured the fire during the Hindu ceremony.

One of my favourite parts of the day was when we had our private photographs after the civil ceremony. Guests had finished their ice creams/returned to the marquee and Will and I wandered around the venue with our photographer and videographer. I’m camera shy, whereas Will is a natural in front fo the lens, so it’s a big deal for me to say that it was one of my favourite moments but it was one of the very few times in the day where we actually had some alone time and could check-in with each other.

Our videographer was Lana Johnson. Everything that I’ve said about Jack above applies equally to Lana – she was amazing and they make a great team! Our teaser video has not been published on YouTube but it is available on Lana’s instagram page.

We used to work for the same law firm and met at work one day through my cousin (who worked in a different department to me but on the same team as Will).

Will proposed to me on a very special holiday in 2023 – we did a safari in Tanzania for one week (we chose Tanzania because a lot of my family were born or lived their for a period of time before emigrating to England). After the safari leg, we had some R&R at Breezes Beach Club in Zanzibar where Will proposed. The holiday was booked through Kuoni. We were engaged for about a year and nine months before our wedding day.

As we had a fusion wedding, we wanted to bring both cultures into the day, including the food. After the Hindu ceremony, a vegetarian Indian buffet was prepared and served by Apna Khana Catering.

While Will enjoys a tipple, I don’t really have a taste for alcohol. I do, however, have a big sweet tooth. We wanted the day to reflect both our personalities so, after our civil ceremony, we hosted a drinks reception for our guests and artisan ice cream was also scooped by Ruben of Rogue Ice Cream – perfect for the first day of Summer! The flavours we chose were:

It’s obvious Ruben uses top quality ingredients and has a passion for his craft because the ice cream tasted incredible – we’ve had so many compliments from guests. It’s unsurprising he’s won awards for his ice cream.

We hired a marquee from Amplitude Marquees to host our reception.

For evening food, we wanted something light so we hired The Curious Pizza Company, who served freshly cooked pizzas into the evening. It was lovely seeing our guests enjoy the pizzas al fresco. Curious have a standard menu from which we picked a selection of pizzas and they were kind enough to create a personalised pizza for us – The Zanzibari. This was inspired by the pizza we had for lunch everyday on the Zanzibar leg of our engagement holiday.

Our cake was by The Pretty Sugar Cake Company. We had a two-tiered cake. The bottom tier was a Bakewell flavour (almond sponge with cherry conserve) and the top tier was double chocolate (a chocolate sponge with chocolate buttercream). I have a sweet tooth so a chocolate tier was non-negotiable!  

Design wise, the bottom tier comprised delicate fondant ruffles and the top tier had a sprinkling of sugar pearls. Pearls really do stand the test of time in the wedding world – I took inspiration from my cousin’s pearl adorned wedding cake in 2017.

One of my Bridesmaids has a background in design and marketing so she designed all our wedding stationery (from the invitations to the cocktail menus and everything in between!).

For the evening reception (which was held in a marquee on the lawns), my vision was understated and elegant and our venue stylist, My Pretties, helped me to achieve that. I wanted a contrast to the bright colours of the Hindu ceremony so I opted for delicate white flowers (freesias) in bud vases and white dinner candles.

As a nod to my Grandparents, the marquee was dotted with Jo Malone’s English pear and freesia scented candles – pears were my Grandfather’s favourite fruit and freesias were my Grandmother’s favourite flowers so it was the perfect way to scent our wedding.

I used votive candles for the longevity throughout the night and my Bridesmaids also spritzed the marquee with the English pear and freesia room spray for that instant fragrance hit when guests arrived. On the basis that I wanted the marquee to be warm and welcoming, rather than stark white, my stylist advised me to go with soft biscuit coloured linen to off set the candles and flowers. 

Trust your instincts. The aspects of the day where I’d listened to my gut really paid off but there were other parts where I hadn’t and I regretted some choices I’d made during the planning process.

The day was a long one comprising three parts with an early start and there were times where I had to rush rather than soaking up the moment. I do wonder whether splitting it into two separate days (Hindu ceremony on one day and civil ceremony and reception on another) would have allowed me to relax a bit more rather than worrying about timings and tight turnarounds.

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