A Colourful & Elegant Two Day Wedding at Plas Dinam in Wales

Oh man, it has been a while since I have had the time and even the headspace to think about doing a blog post, but the one wedding I always had in the back of my mind all this time was Arsha & Jesse's colourful & elegant Plas Dinam wedding in Wales last year. I'm so glad I finally found the time, as it looks so good on the website! it may have been a couple of years but hopefully well worth the wait.

‍

Surprisingly, over the years, I've only done a few weddings in Wales, but each has always been full of character and very different to one another. Arsha & Jesse's wedding is no exception; the venue Plas Dinam is a stunning country house on the east side of Wales close to the border with vast views of the captivating Welsh countryside, a perfect place for the upcoming celebrations.

‍

Arsha is of Indian origin and Jesse is from America so they both wanted a location where all their family & friends could join them for two-day celebrations. Day one being for the civil & legal ceremony and the second day for the Hindu ceremonies. I've done a few Hindu weddings before over the years and always love the energy and colour they bring, it especially works wonders with photography, definitely easy to get eye-catching images.  

‍

So day one, I start my drive up to Plas Dinam for the wedding, it's early summer and the weather forecasts are giving me good news for the weekend. Clear skies above, along the route people around me all going about their daily lives with a summer weekend to look forward too. As I head up the long driveway of this Welsh Country house I start to get excited, it's beautiful and just my cup of tea to document a wedding. Inside Arsha is finishing getting ready, the ceremony will be held at the entrance of Plas Dinam with stunning flowers from the lovely Sass flowers framing the couple. It is exquisite for photography and a perfect place to legally become husband & wife!

‍

The drinks reception is being held on the lawn of Plas Dinam with the etched out hilly landscape a perfect backdrop to chat to close ones while sipping on an aperol spritz to cool down. The reception for the evening is a short walk down the drive and flowering meadows to the stables, a converted barn with glass roof that is great location to eat and dance the first night away. Day one is a success.

‍

As I arrive for the second day the Welsh venue is a hive of activity, the Hindu ceremony will bring us back to the lawn of the venue, it's another beautiful day so no chance of rain ruining their plans. Inside Arsha is at a pre-wedding ceremony called the Devagon (unique to Kashmiri Hindus) which observes the transition of the bride and groom from the Brahmacharya ashram (student Stage) to the Grihastha ashram (Householder Stage). I love the image of Arsha's mum embracing her towards the end of the ceremony, you can sense the love between the two.

‍

I head down to the gatehouse where Jesse is with his family and friends, to get the celebrations started, he and his entourage will start the Baraat (Grooms Procession) with drummers leading the way so everyone can dance up the long driveway of Plas Dinam! with Jesse leaning out of the Fiat 500 covered with flowers, it's a moment not even a burnt out clutch could ruin... As we arrive to the top the brides family welcomes Jesse with a showering of flower petals and leads him to Arsha for the Jaimala where they exchange garlands to one another.

‍

The Lagan is the main ceremony and is being held in a beautiful custom built structure which is open on all four side so everyone can watch; colourful flowers are hanging from the far side and their are two large flower arches either side framing the proceedings, inside there is enough room for the family to join them for the various stages of the vows. The ceremony is a colourful & an enlightening experience , it's also especially interesting as a non Hindu, with lots of things to learn from the charismatic priest for the next 2 hours. Luckily there are lots of food to keep everyones energy up, I also happily discover a sweet snack called the Jalebi, absolutely delicious!

‍

For the wedding reception it's time to head into a marquee for the dinner, speeches and dancing. I knew before coming to this wedding that dancing would play a key part of the day and I was not disappointed! Everyone got to learn how to dance Bhangra style, with 'dance offs' happening every 10 minutes and all be orchestrated by the excellent 2L DJ's bringing smiles to everyones faces! Day two is an even bigger success!

‍

I really hope you love my Arsha & Jesse's Plas Dinam wedding as much as I did photographing it! I loved the contrast between the two days and the colour throughout. I promise there won't be as large gap between this and my next post. If you like this one then definitely go check out some other colourful weddings like this North Cadbury wedding or Claire & Damien's wedding in Portugal.