Covid-19 Wedding: Simran & Jag

I met Simran and Jags at a a destination wedding over in cascais, Portugal in 2019 when me and team were documenting a Sikh wedding there.

Here Simran tells us a little bit more about their lockdown wedding. How did you both meet? We met in college while I (Simran) was doing a business course at the same college as Jag. We got talking and the rest is history as they say! We will have been together eight years next month. How did you both feel on your wedding day? It was a very stressful lead up to the wedding and I was just glad the time had finally come! Jag was in the same boat, there were a lot of emotions flying about, but I think the words that best describe us were excited, nervous and relieved that we were finally able to get married despite everything that was going on. How did your wedding plans change due to the global pandemic? Our wedding plans changed massively because of COVID. We went from a 500 person wedding to 30 people, it was crazy! We had a number of dates pencilled in with our vendors if we had to push our dates back, but luckily managed to go with our original one, just on a much smaller scale. We had so many events planned for the wedding week too but were only able to do a few. There was a lot of chopping and changing involved, right up until the last minute, it was just so different to how we had planned it!

Did this alter your mood on the day? No, even though we weren’t getting married in the way we had originally planned, neither of us regretted making that decision and we still loved every bit of our wedding day. What made you still want to go ahead with the wedding? We were ready to start our life together and if it meant having a smaller wedding with only immediate family there, we were prepared to do this. We soon realised that a wedding isn’t about the 500 guests but about the two of us and that’s all it really came down to. Yes, it was very hard to cut our numbers down but before we even thought about going ahead with the wedding under the restrictions, we listed out our immediate families to ensure we were able to have people that we really wanted there so that made it a little easier. My family had about three events during our wedding week so we were able to get around the number problem by inviting different people to different events, that way they were able to attend at least one event and feel part of the wedding. We were both able to have a few of our closest friends there which was something we both really felt was important to us. Describe the venue in a few words. Our party events were at a restaurant that had a banqueting suite upstairs and the ceremony was at the gurdwara. We never ever imagined having any events at this restaurant but they did an amazing job and really worked with us to make our day special. Tell us a little about your wedding cake. We had RA Cakes prepare one for us and she did such a good job. We had a 3-tier cake with a Victoria sponge filling. I wanted to keep it simple, clean and classy. It was all white with some lace detailed icing on the second tier. She finished it off with some fresh peach flowers to match my reception outfit. Tell us about your wedding dress. I loved my wedding outfit, as I’m sure every bride does. I did a lot of research on the style of dress I wanted before going to India to do my wedding shopping. I chose classic red with pink and gold embroidery. I’m very picky so was really worried about not being able to find an outfit I liked, but when I walked into the bridal shop, I saw this piece and instantly fell in love. What are your memories of the ceremony? If I’m honest, it was just a blur for me. Walking down the aisle, all I could think of was ‘don’t fall, don’t fall!’ I was so focused on walking properly, that I think I ended up just blocking everything else out. Jags, what was going through your mind when you first saw Simran? I couldn’t stop smiling, she looked beautiful. I just couldn’t wait to marry her! Favourite and most memorable part of the big day? The first dance was our favourite part of the day, we had our first dance song picked for yearsssss! The song was Akhil - Khaab

What was the funniest moment of the day? Jag being picked up and put on my uncle’s shoulders and nearly getting knocked out by the ceiling beams. How will you remember your wedding day? The fact that it was a lockdown wedding! But also because after all the stress and tears leading up to it, we managed to have our family and friends there which was the most important thing for us. Everything worked out and we are so lucky it did. What stood out for you guys when deciding to pick me to be your photographer?

You're so easy to get along with! Such a bubbly character - you've truly become part of the family now. What are your thoughts on my services?

The work has been amazing. You had a lot to deal with considering we booked you so last minute and we live in different towns however, you managed to work with us through everything to help make our wedding day so special. We are so happy with our pictures and video. Thank you so much to you and Shyam - absolute stars!