As we had a two ceremony wedding day we needed to create a ‘break’ in between ceremonies to both give the guests a chance to relax as well as to change the wedding barn set-up (we had use of two barns, one for the wedding, and one for the reception).
We wanted this short reception to be a chance for everyone to refuel, mingle and prepare for the Hindu ceremony.
Plus, it gave Raj and I a chance to take in the moment as a newly legally married couple.
Unfortunately the rain put a stop to our original plan to have our Popcorn and Prosecco Reception outside on the terrace along with the lawn games (we had already bought giant jenga, giant snakes and ladders, adult space hoppers and outdoor rope quoits.).
Instead we led the guests through to the big barn, with the main area sectioned off behind a curtain.
There was a table laid out with two giant baskets filled with popcorn, one sweet and the other salty. We provided retro paper bags to fill with popcorn.
We didn’t want anyone’s tummy to rumble during the next ceremony! Most people had travelled far to attend our wedding, and we wanted to make sure everyone had a happy belly.
We also had loads of fresh veggie samosas for our guests to snack on. We ordered those in from a restaurant in Leicester. (I don’t seem to have any photos of the samosas but if I find some I’ll add them into the post). The samosas were super popular and I think we’re totally unexpected by our guests so that was a nice treat for them.
Along with the snacks we provided our ‘Prosecco’ which was actually a French sparkling wine we picked up on our trip to France in May. It was a delicious variety called Blanquette de Limoux and probably one of the nicest sparkling wine’s I’ve ever tried!
As our guests mingled, feasting on popcorn and sipping on sparkling wine, Raj and I snuck off to another part of the barn to have a moment to ourselves.
We needed a moment to take it all in, to have a breather after all of the stress of the morning, and toast to ourselves and husband and wife.
It was warm moment to just be alone, to kiss and cuddle, and hear the buzz of our guests mingling on the other side of the barn.
It wasn’t long before my sisters found us though (I don’t get many private moments when they are around!). We spent a few minutes hanging out before our photographer found us and took us out to the courtyard to take some ‘just married’ photos.
The rain was still coming down so we stood under one of the white umbrella’s we cleverly thought ahead to buy ‘just in case’.
At this point I really wanted to go chat to my guests but we had another wedding ceremony to do and we need to change!
Raj and I locked ourselves in the barn side room to get changed into our Indian outfits. It was actually quite a fun moment as we climbed out of all our garb and into the next lot. I could hear the chatter as the wedding barn was set-up with the mandap ready for the Hindu ceremony.
We gave the groomsmen a yell to get the guests back into the wedding barn as we made the final adjustments to our outfits ready for ‘getting married part 2’.
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All photos by Simon Brettell
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