For their beautiful April wedding at De Vere Tortworth Court in Gloucestershire, Shika and Lewis brought together British and Indian wedding traditions, filling their spring celebration with the prettiest pastel flowers, exquisite bridal fashion and plenty of colour.
The couple married on 2nd April 2026 in the venue’s magnificent glass-ceilinged orangery, with their day captured by Benjamin Stuart, one of our talented and recommended wedding photographers. His photographs are a lovely mix of elegant portraits and natural, unposed moments, capturing the couple and their guests enjoying this wonderful occasion.
Shika wore a one-of-a-kind Veni Infantino gown from Lula Ann Bridal, with a sculptural off-the-shoulder neckline and beautiful statement bow, before changing into a stunning ombré pink Indian lehenga choli for the evening. Her two bridal looks are particularly gorgeous, and offer some beautiful inspiration for brides wishing to incorporate different cultural traditions into their wedding.
The soft pinks, peaches and delicate spring flowers by Ivory Rose are especially lovely against the architecture of Tortworth Court, with romantic reception styling by Etiquette Events complementing the setting.
Shika shares the story of their wedding in her own words, including the choices they made to celebrate their different cultures and some very useful advice for couples planning their own day. I hope you enjoy it.
Book your wedding team, before someone else does
Explore Our Shop
We add gorgeous new designs to our Shop every week and think you’ll love what we find. Bookmark and browse at your leisure.
The Venue & Location
I had always wanted to get married outdoors. I pictured being out with nature in the sunshine. But then reality hit me: we live in the UK, and sunshine cannot be guaranteed even in the midst of summer. So I looked online for inspiration and came across orangery-styled venues and knew this was the way to go.
It was the best of both worlds: you get the feeling of being outside while also being protected from the elements, no matter what the weather decides! So it was decided, glass ceilings were a must, and I stumbled across De Vere Tortworth Court.
I immediately fell in love with the orangery space they had. They also have a gorgeous manor house and an incredible sunken garden, and I knew that this would be perfect for the whole day as our guests could stay on site.
The Fashion
My bridal pyjamas were by Nadine Merabi, and my hair and make-up were done by Gemma Kelly, with Charlotte from her team to assist.
I wore two dresses on my wedding day: a white dress for the ceremony and an Indian lehenga choli for the evening reception. As we had a blended wedding, it was important for me to embrace and honour both traditions on the day.
My ceremony gown was by Veni Infantino and I bought it from Lula Ann Bridal. The experience was fantastic, really relaxed, positive and overall, I had lots of fun! The consultant listened to what I was envisioning and immediately understood the vibe I was going for. We hit the racks and picked out some pieces to try on. They had an incredible range of dresses, and I can’t imagine not finding what you want here. In the end, I fell in love with a dress my consultant picked out for me, and she absolutely nailed it.
My ceremony dress was a one-of-a-kind piece that never made it to mass production. I loved that it was unique in that respect and it felt really special. The material and structure of the dress were unlike anything I had tried on. My absolute favourite part was the bow on the back! It brought the dress to a whole other level. I also really liked the fact that the front of the dress resembled a bow that flowed seamlessly off the shoulders. I wore a cathedral-length pearl veil, which was the perfect piece to complement my ceremony dress, and the length added a touch of drama.
I had a change of shoes throughout the day! I started off in a pair of platform heels by Rainbow Club. They were probably the tallest and most comfortable heels I’ve ever worn and would highly recommend for all-day wear. I then changed into a gorgeous pair of Bella Belle shoes (Edna) for the evening.
In my hair, I wore a veil in the day and swapped to a tikka for my evening outfit.
Scent is a powerful way to unlock memories and take you back in time. We wanted to be reminded of our wedding day in the same way, through fragrance. We decided to opt for Jo Malone’s “Scent your Wedding” in-store experience to find our match. It was free and a brilliant way to explore lots of fragrances with the help of a professional. I settled on Scarlet Poppy. It was a deliciously sweet smell and also a nod to our wildflower theme. Lewis chose Myrrh and Tonka, and he liked that it had a sweet but earthy undertone.
My necklace and earrings were my mother’s pearl set and my bracelet was by Ivory & Co, while my Indian jewellery was a mix from Sokora Jewels and my mum’s collection.
My bridesmaids wore dresses from Six Stories. I picked the colour and left the styles up to their individual preferences. In our wedding party, Lewis’s best man also wore a tuxedo, like Lewis, and my bridesmaids wore gold shoes and accessories of their choosing.
Our 9-year-old golden retriever was also part of the wedding party, as our ring bearer! I think she stole the show.
Lewis wore a slim-fit black tuxedo from Moss. Classic and timeless. A pair of braces, shiny Oxford shoes and a bow tie finished the look perfectly.
The Ceremony
Two days before the wedding, we held a Mehendi ceremony at my parents’ home. This is a typical Hindu pre-wedding ritual where the bride, me in this case, has henna applied. We invited lots of family and friends and it was all round a great way to kick off the wedding celebrations.
We had a civil ceremony officiated by the South Gloucestershire Registry Office, and my dad walked me down the aisle to Clair de Lune by Debussy.
s we had a blended wedding, it was important for me to embrace and honour both traditions on the day.
We wrote our own vows, so we could do it our way!
My brother read “Time Travellers” by Terah Cox and Lewis’s sister read “Here’s to Right Now” by Ms Moem.
We asked both of them to find readings and they gave us a few to choose from. We loved these readings because they both focused on celebrating coming together, building a strong bond, and using that bond to always lift each other up.
We sourced our wedding bands from Goldsmiths. We wanted to use the same material (rose gold) that also matched my engagement ring.
We chose Goldsmiths as they had a wide range of rings to choose from, and they were all competitively priced. The sales representative was really friendly and helped us pick out what we wanted. There was no pressure on us to decide there and then, which was a big plus as some suppliers really put on a sales pitch!
The Photography
Benjamin Stuart
Our photographer was Benjamin Stuart. We really wanted an editorial and documentary style photographer and we came across Ben’s portfolio. It was immediately apparent that his skill and attention to detail was second to none. Some of the shots on his website really stood out to the both of us, and after meeting him we knew we had to hire him.
From the moment Ben arrived on the day, he put us both completely at ease. Beyond his incredible creative talent, he was exceptionally professional and organised, ensuring the entire day ran smoothly. He has a wonderful way of blending in seamlessly with the guests, feeling more like a friend with a camera than just another supplier.
We would absolutely recommend Ben to others!
How They Met
Lewis and I met online on Tinder back in 2017. We clicked immediately and I knew I found someone special.
We got engaged in April 2023 on a trip to the Lake District. We set out on a hike at Loughrigg Fell (well, more like a stroll) and admired the gorgeous views and countryside.
Once we reached the top, we took a moment to find a quiet spot and take in the view. It was beautiful. Well, I thought, now’s the time for a well-deserved snack. So I turned around to grab my chocolate bar, then turned back to Lewis holding out a ring box – the rest is history!
Wedding planning started about a week after we got engaged. We planned to get married the following year. However, we had to adjust our plans once I decided to return to university, so our engagement was longer than we had intended. We married just shy of 3 years after our engagement.
The Reception
Our decor was by Etiquette Events. Following our pastel theme we chose pastel pink table runners as the base of our tablescapes, blending soft peach napkins and pink glassware with pearl charger plates and vintage gold cutlery.
We paired patterned bud vases with gold LED table lamps and added a Photo-pod for instant-sharing.
To light up the orangery we used Major Entertainments Ltd’s light canopy.
Our stationery was made using Wildflower Stationery Design templates, which we purchased from Etsy.
Our flowers were by Betty Leahy at Ivory Rose. As it was a spring wedding we wanted to lean into the spring pastel colours. We chose a broken flower arch at the end of the aisle and some plinths and vases at the start. We also had some small bunches of flowers attached to the chairs for the ceremony. We chose this route so we could reuse the bunches for the wedding breakfast in bud vases, which helped with costs! The plinths and vases were also moveable.
Catering was provided by De Vere Tortworth Court. They had a great menu for us to select from, and even let us customise a few items to put an Indian spin on some of the dishes which was really nice of them.
Our cake was made by Noushien Khazeni-Rad at The Village Cakery. We chose a heart-shaped Lambeth cake with chocolate sponge, filled with chocolate Nutella buttercream. We wanted an ornate, vintage-style cake and loved the detailing of the Lambeth style. Lewis loves chocolate and I love Nutella so it was a match made in heaven!
We put together custom sweet bags for everyone, and filled them with Candy Kittens bought in bulk directly from their website. Each bag was sealed with a custom-designed label we created on printed.com.
We didn’t have a gift registry, but if people wanted they were able to donate to our honeymoon fund which was linked on our website.
We used WithJoy to host the gift donation link and website, and overall the setup was intuitive and easy to use. It was especially useful when it came to RSVPs and tracking food requirements.
My evening reception lehenga choli was bought in India and was also a unique dress! I fell in love with the ombre pink colour and the level of detail across the whole piece. It was the perfect outfit to dance the night away in!
Our DJ was Chris, who came to us via Matt Saunders at Gecko Live.
Our first dance was to “Baby I’m Yours” by Arctic Monkeys.
This was a track that I had always dreamt would be my first dance song, and Lewis and I even practised some choreography in our living room and kitchen.
My very favourite part of the day was dancing the night away with my closest friends and family.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Always start with an overall budget you are comfortable with and then split it out based on vendors. Some online sites can help you allocate your budget across different vendors. This will give you a good starting point on what you have available to spend on each vendor.
Book your suppliers as soon as you can to secure the vendors you want and avoid disappointment. Some suppliers can be booked out over a year in advance for popular dates, so get those enquiries going.
If you want to do a choreographed dance, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to practice. Otherwise you’ll be like us practising in the kitchen in the days before!
Save this to your favourites
Register for a free Love My Dress account – it’s quick and easy and you’ll gain access to your own personal dashboard, where you can save all your favourite real weddings, shop items, ceremony readings, inspirational editorials, essential reads and and your favourite recommended suppliers and vendors. Everything conveniently in one place to access whenever you need to. Consider it your personal little black book of wedding essentials!
