The Orangery Holland Park Wedding Photography

The Orangery Holland Park Wedding Photography

Sal & Kavitha got married at the Orangery, a stunning, elegant venue and hidden gem in leafy Holland Park, London. With its beautiful bright spaces, this simple glass and stone palace was the perfect place for their small family wedding. Sal arrived first, with a few pre-wedding tasks to finish before welcoming his family and closest friends as they arrived for the day’s special celebration. He was anxious for the day to run smoothly and the nerves were beginning to show on this warm September day. Kavitha was due to arrive shortly and their guests were ushered into their seats, awaiting the bride.

Wedding Ceremony in the Orangery

This lovely couple had met, fallen in love and were about to take the huge step of getting married. But the one important thing that hadn’t happened yet, was meeting each other’s parents. There were various things that had prevented that from happening… before today that is! They were meeting each other’s families for the first time on their wedding day, so naturally, both sides were anxious for things to go well, to make a good impression. Savitha arrived at the Orangery with her mother and sister, and waited for the moment to make her entrance – you could really feel the excited tension in the air as she walked down the aisle, towards Sal, towards her beloved, towards her future. She looked absolutely radiant in her heavy emerald green and gold wedding sari! Mum followed, took her place and the ceremony began. They exchanged vows, rings and hearts. The marriage register was signed and they were announced husband and wife. And then the most extraordinary thing happened. They didn’t kiss or embrace. They hesitated. Looked at each other. Looked at the audience, And then shook hands!! In the Indian tradition, out of respect, you wouldn’t necessarily kiss in front of older relatives and given this was the very first time their parents were seeing their new daughter and son in law, they felt a kiss wasn’t appropriate! So the moment was sealed with a handshake. Full of love, meaning, intention and emotion. And then followed the embraces from their families as they welcomed the newly weds, each of them, into their families. It was a very touching moment. You’ll see the little sequence of photos covering that moment below.

Drinks and Celebratory Lunch at the Orangery

The small party of guests all wandered outside into the warm sunshine where the newly weds were showered with confetti and drinks were served. This was the all important getting to know you part of the day. With nieces and nephews running around playing with bubbles and play fighting, there was a happy atmosphere as family members exchanged stories about the bride and groom growing up, with little anecdotes to start filling in the gaps. Lunch was then served and all their guests enjoyed a delicious lunch in the elegant surroundings of the Orangery. After lunch, we did a few family photos and I spent some time taking some shots with the newly weds as their guests enjoyed coffee. This was such a small family wedding, and an extremely important day for this lovely couple – my documentary style of coverage was all natural, discreet and very relaxed. I felt very honoured to be part of your day Sal & Kavitha and wish you both a lifetime of happiness together. If you’d like to see more of my work, here’s another lovely wedding at Belair House in Dulwich for you to look through. You can also get in touch via my contact form here to make an enquiry about my availability.