Sikh wedding west London – Poonam and Gurjit

The Wedding Of Gurjit and Poonam

“They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. Rather they alone are called husband and wife, who have one soul in two bodies.” A wedding is not only the union of two people, but it is the union of two families coming together as one. I certainly saw this was the case when I was the cinematographer for Gurjit and Poonam. Thanks to the wedding photographer, Gurvir Johal Photography, I was lucky enough to be selected to film their wedding taking place in Southall and Wembley, which was a wonderful celebration of marriage and family union.

Preparations

The wedding day started by filming the preparations for the wedding. I captured the excitement of the wedding preparations with the groom, Gurjit. While my talented assistant, Aleksandra filmed the bride Poonam and her preparations. The bride looked dazzling in red with thousands of sparkling jewels capturing the light. Gurjit, looked handsome in his embellished outfit, and, as is custom,  as handed the sword to carry through all of the wedding ceremonies.

The Milni

As the bride and groom set off for the wedding ceremony at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Havelock Southall, the bride travelled in style in a decadent Rolls Royce. The families came together for the traditional Milni. This is where both families come together to greet each other, exchange garlands and celebrate two families becoming one ahead of the ceremony for the bride and groom.

Anand Karaj – Blissful Union

As the Poonam and Gurjit prepared for the Sikh wedding ceremony, known as Anand Karaj at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, the guests arrived in dazzling brightly-coloured outfits. As a cinematographer, it was a pleasure to film the guests entering the ceremony, all with smiles on their faces looking forward to seeing the couple in love become husband and wife.

The Reception

After the ceremony, the wedding party all travelled from the Gurdwara to celebrate the marriage at the decadent Hilton Hotel in Wembley. The reception room had been beautifully laid out, with stunning candelabras, soft lighting and flowers filling the room. The warm and romantic atmosphere was a joy to capture for the wedding cinematography. One of the stand-out attractions in the room, which was capturing all of the guests’ attention, was the mesmerising five-tier wedding cake with each tiered sandwiched with beautiful flowers. While the guests mingled, the stunning cake sat proudly in the centre of the room. The celebration party truly began when bhangra drummers filled the room with music and made the perfect introduction for the bride and groom to enter their wedding reception. Poonam and Gurjit cut the cake together and sat smiling while their families made speeches. There were few dry eyes in the room as families welcomed each other and talked about how proud they were of the happy couple as they were entering in the next phase of life. From then on it was fun, laughter, dancing and celebration with every guest filling the dancefloor to celebrate the love between Gurjit and Poonam.

Watch whole wedding video of Gurjit and Poonam online