Indy & Ami’s Sikh Wedding at Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend was my first Sikh wedding that I’ve covered as a wedding photographer. I was really excited to be part of it as I knew it would be full of colour, full of different traditions and full of dancing and food. The day started off at Indy’s Parent’s house with Indy getting ready and he looked amazing with his turban, gold and red clothing and sword. Then Indy was fed sweets and given money from his family and we went outside accompanied by Dahl drummers and there was dancing in the road. We all hopped in Indy & Ami’s wedding car for the two days- a Tesla Model X. Being an electric car driver myself I did have electric car envy as the passenger doors lifted up into the air like something out of Back to the Future! We got to the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend and the place blew me away. It’s apparently the biggest Gurdwara in Europe and the marble was commissioned from India and built here. Indy & Ami’s family met in the square outside the Gurdwara and hugs and garlands were exchanged then we went to a stand up breakfast before the ceremony. During the Sikh ceremony everyone was seated on the floor and there were so many beautiful colours around the room. My favourite part was when Ami walked in and seeing Indy’s face as he opened his eyes from praying seeing his future Wife in her Indian dress. After the ceremony we had lunch and then Indy & Ami had some time walking around the Gurdwara before we went back to Indy’s Parent’s house. There was a party with dancing and lots of great moments between family and friends that were gathered there. As a documentary photographer I wondered how my style would work at an Indian wedding where there are usually lots of posed parts of the day but Indy & Ami were so amazing at telling people just to go with it and in the morning Indy said to me “just do you Olly”. This was so reassuring just to know that the two of them wanted the moments and what would actually happen. Indy & Ami were absolutely amazing to be around. They had such energy, they were so funny and their families were incredibly welcoming to me and others. Indy’s Sister Sereena didn’t stop smiling all day! So here are my favourite images from day 1- the Sikh wedding. There’s a link to day 2 at the bottom of the page. Ami left me a review saying…

“Indy and I still can’t get over how amazing our wedding photos are. Olly hasn’t just taken photos, he has captured the joy and happiness of the days and every photo brings back amazing and happy memories. We were lucky enough to have two wedding days and Olly joined us for both and by the end, it felt like we were saying goodbye to a friend. He was an absolute pleasure to share our wedding with and all our guests commented on what a lovely guy he was. We love our photos, they’re everything we wanted them to be and really reflect the amazing time we had. We cannot recommend Olly enough! There aren’t enough words to describe how truly talented he is! He was perfect on the days but also his communication on the lead up and after the wedding was brilliant too. You can really tell that he loves his job and he brings a passion and enthusiasm to his work which shines through in the photos. Thank you so so much Olly. You’re the most amazing guy and we couldn’t be happier!”