We love it when brides and Grooms bring color and fun to regal estates! Recently, we talked about this English Wedding with its fun animal party decor. Today, we are blown away by this beautiful watercolor Indian wedding held at Holkam Estate.
The regal Holkham Estate was a meaningful venue for Hayley and Ankit. It served as a fantastic backdrop for the explosion of colors early last spring. The couple used the watercolor style that is so popular to create their invitations. They took inspiration from the Indian florals and clothing.
The couple also added so many details to their menus. Local brownies and ice cream are also available (with the cutest watercolor menu for ice cream! The couple was able to share “a few of their favorites.”
Our Love Story
We were living in the same university halls together in London. We became best friends immediately but did not meet until 18 months later. Ankit tells me he was aware of our marriage long before I did!
Ankit proposed to me on the beach in Sheringham, just around the corner from my home. He took me for a walk a few weeks before Christmas, and we had hot chocolate. He pretended to be taking a picture of me, and when I turned back around, he was holding the ring. When I turned around, I had a shocked reaction. I said, “What are you up to? “But it was perfect.
The Venue
Why did we choose Holkham? I was three when we went on holiday to Holkham Hall, just before my parents decided that we should move north of Norfolk. Now there’s a picture of Ankit and me under the same tree, wearing our wedding outfits! Ankit and I went there for his first trip to Norfolk as friends. We have been there many times since. We didn’t even look at other venues after we got engaged. It was the obvious choice for us because it has a special meaning.
The Planning
We wanted a lot more color to complement all of the Indian outfits and to reflect our personalities. My dad, Peter Kavanagh, drew the invitations, the table plans, and the day order using unique flowers, lighting, and artwork. He was able to bring our ideas to life. Amber from Love Wedding Cakes also added more color to our cake.
The Photographer
The choice was easy for us as we had always been fans of Chris and his photography style. He takes many pictures around North Norfolk, where I come from.
He Ceremony
We wanted an Indian wedding because it was an excellent experience for Hayley’s family. It also involves a lot of people and is all about the families and the coming together of two families.
Many of our family came to the ceremony, sat beside us, or threw petals on us as we walked around the fire. For example, eight of Hayley’s brothers (cousins) came up and passed rice to the fire. Three married women from our families whispered wisdom and blessings into Hayley’s ear.
It’s a great way to acknowledge the importance of these people in your life. You wouldn’t be you without them. Hayley’s parents and Ankit’s mother were the ones who tied me and Ankit together in the ceremony. I loved it!
The Reception
The ceremony was held in the Lady Elizabeth Wing. We moved to the Marble hall for the Indian canapes, including panipuri, mini-idly, chili paneer, and the brownies from Stiffkey Stores, which guests could take home in a small bag. Then we changed into western wear for the evening. We returned to the Lady Elizabeth Wing for our reception. We had a plated halloumi starter, then shared dishes like daal makhani and channa masala, and the dessert was a chocolate cake with passion fruit and salted caramel. Ronaldo’s arrived at about 9.30 pm with ten of our favorite flavors, including one specially made for us. Before the first dance, we had fireworks over Lake Geneva.
Favorite Details
The wedding colors and flowers were an exceptional, unique, and personal detail. Hayley only cried once on the wedding day when she said goodbye to the gorgeous flower arch. We wanted to ensure our guests and ourselves were happy with our chosen touches. Walking down the aisle with everyone’s smiling faces was a great moment!
The Party
We had an acoustic wandering band who played requests at each table. They were called Walking Hands. After dinner, we had DJ Jeremy Durrant. Hayley’s Uncle Paddy performed as a guest Elvis for ten minutes. He was amazing!
The event was meant to be fun for everyone, and we wanted to add a few personal touches. We served our favorite local ice cream from Ronaldo in the evening and our famous brownies as canapes. We had different ice-creams on each table; the place names were paper ice-creams.
Couples Advice
Our most extensive advice would be to enjoy the planning as much as you do the wedding day! We loved the food tastings because we didn’t get to eat much on the big day. We could see all the details we had carefully planned come together on the big day. What a great team!
