Shutting down...

Hello all,

It's with deep regret I have to inform you all that I have to close the site down. Apologies, as it has been such a blast, and I have really enjoyed writing it - and especially receiving your emails - but I just don't have the time to keep it going.

Please don't hesitate to email if you need any help or advice, and good luck with the big day!

Wedding lowdown

My sincere apologies for the delay - what with the honeymoon and trying to get my life back in order, its been a hectic few weeks. I've finally trawled through the pictures and will be doing a comprehensive post, but will put a few now as a taster. I don't know if anyone ever says a bad word about their wedding day - but it was quite simply, the best. We were blessed with sun, despite a continuous string of bad weather days; and although a couple of things went awry, it was a day filled with laughter and a lot of love.

Highlights included the colourful decor (am so pleased hours of snipping and gluing paid off - I had no idea how it would actually look once put together!), our personal vows, the speeches and Nihal from Radio 1 playing the best wedding mix. I'll put a longer post on what happened, but here are a few photos from Kimberly Gray at ktb wedding photography, my photographer, who did a great job on capturing the best moments of our day!

If you need help with finding a wedding photographer, visit Kim's site or her agency Lumina for wedding photography at less than £1000 for a day.

2 (and a half) weeks to go - gulp

Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing, as if I'm about to venture off into the wilderness on some kind of primitive rite of passage, braving the harsh elements and about to do battle with savage animals. Well, it's been drizzly in London, but barring a lot of work (my day job, that is) things are proceeding on as normal. I keep threatening Rob that I won't marry him if he won't put the j-cloth back where it belongs/cook me dinner by 9pm/do whatever horribly mundane chore I've set him. He in turn keeps saying I'm beautiful, despite the fact that the wedding organisation has taken its toll, and the minute I leap in from work, I tie my hair in plaits, put on giant pyjamas and a grotty old t-shirt.

The respective hen do and stag do has been undertaken (I greedily had both as I have two sets of very close male and female friends).

The hen involved wonderful massages and manicures, followed by a ride in a limo (I love the sheer cheesiness of them), dinner at the wonderful Circus where we took in human acrobatics and fire-breathing while drinking Prosecco and nibbling on squid. The boys didn't disappoint; we started off with lunch at The Zetter, posh cocktails at The Townhouse, drinks on a terrace overlooking St Paul's cathedral and the whole of London. They then made me wear a Lady Gaga outfit (it was one damn ugly outfit) and we spent the rest of the night drinking and dancing. Perfection.

Hen do idea: making fabulous hats, veils and fascinators

I have always loved net veils, but after searching London high and low, I simply couldn't find what I was looking for. My dress is a deep blue with lots of heavy crystal pearl work, designed by Ekta Solanki, and so I had to be careful to avoid that strange hybrid of East-meets-West bride, which essentially is an Indian outfit with a fascinator bunged on top of it (some even add a tika, to which one can only add: why god, why?). Like a lot of Asian brides, my outfit is damn sparkly, and a veil or indeed any accessory needs to complement the outfit, not battle with it for attention.

I had come across Janie Lawson's wonderful creations at the Designer Wedding Show, and seeing as she was based just down the road from me, I popped in for a consultation. I'll blog about the veil at a later point, but in the wake of my hen do, wanted to flag up that she also runs hen parties in her white, airy studio in Clapham, set in a sprawling large house. In a big room, girls gather round the table armed with various instruments and attempt to make their own hats/fascinators under Janie's tutelage. You're welcome to bring Champagne, and they also put on vintage teas. It sounds absolutely wonderful, and great if you have any pregnant friends or if you don't necessarily want your hen to be a boozy shambles. Visit her website for more info.

If you need to book a wedding photographer, read our feature on Lumina, the new photographer collective.

My wedding shoes...are Jimmy Choos

Alright, so in hindsight, I should have taken someone with me. But, truth be told, I prefer shopping on my own - I get it all done in half the time. On Monday, I managed to get all my honeymoon clothes, my wedding shoes, make-up and swimwear in three hours. Three hours, people. But, back to the matter in hand. After spending over my budget, I had decided to wave goodbye to my dream of Jimmy Choos, and had sourced some very nice shoes in Aldo and Monsoon. I didn't love these shoes, but they would do. Until, I decided to go to the Selfridges Shoe Gallery, and my oh my. I saw a pair of LK Bennetts that were lovely, but the sales assistant pissed me off so much, it left a really bad taste in my mouth.


On my way to finding the ladies, I saw the hallowed Jimmy Choo section (I had spied a pair in Paris but they were WAY out of my budget) and thought I'd just have a look. It was then that I clamped eyes on Isabel, a sparkly shoe that not only matched my outfit perfectly, but was the right heel height (2 inches, most Choos are 4-5ins) and fit like a glove. I snapped them up, and boy, let me tell you, I don't regret a single penny. Yes I could've bought the Aldo shoes and yes, I shouldn't be so materialistic, but these shoes really do make me feel like a million dollars. And, they look better than they do in this pic.

For wedding photography to cater all budgets and suit all time ranges, try Lumina, co-founded by my wedding photographer Kim Gray. Read about it on The Asian Wedding Editor's Guide here.

Jimmy Choo: 2011 Bridal Collection

Jimmy Choo shoes are utterly exquisite, and if you feel guilty stumping up the money for them on a normal day, at least the wedding gives you a valid excuse to go shoe-crazy. This is a sneak peek at the 2011 bridal collection - I love the champagne glitter shoes and the strappy Viola shoes.

Looking for a photographer? Read our feature on Lumina: superb wedding photography for all budgets.

Superb wedding photography for all budgets, all time-frames and all types of weddings

I still find it mind-boggling that some couples don’t consider the photographer to be one of their highest priorities, but then again I should be more empathetic – wedding budgets are terrifying things, and likely to get out of hand at any moment. But, I can tick at least three couples I know who’ve gone down the budget route, and have either ended up with rubbish photos or the worst scenario – the photographer didn’t show up. I cannot stress the importance enough – once it is over, these photos are all you’ll have left of the big day (oh yes, and your marriage, yadda yadda). It can be quite overwhelming finding the right one - whether you're having an Asian wedding, Jewish, English and so on -  and when I heard my photographer Kimberly Gray was launching a new initiative with her friend and fellow photographer Julie Kim (who also does superb wedding photos), it seemed like the perfect solution.

Called Lumina, their company brings together experienced photographers under one umbrella. All photographers are vetted (by that I mean they are great to work with, produce outstanding pics) but the biggest draw is that they offer a very reasonable price. I asked Kim to tell me more and this is what she had to say:

 Photo of Kim and Julie

What gave you both the idea of starting the company?

We have all heard stories of brides and grooms who decided to have a friend photograph their wedding to save money and then were devastated with the results. Julie and I are both award-winning wedding photographers with experience at over 300 weddings, so we formed Lumina to ensure that every couple has access to experienced, friendly, professional photographers at prices that don't cost the earth. We think every couple deserves good wedding photography, even on a modest budget.

Can you describe in a little bit more detail what Lumina does?

We provide two services actually – one for couples and the other for professional photographers - the two work hand in hand.

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer, we start with a range of coverage options, whether that is just two hours for a low-key civil ceremony or a full-blown three-day event, and because we are a group of photographers we will most likely have availability for the busiest dates in summer, even at short notice. Our pricing is simple and straightforward: couples can choose exactly how long to have a photographer making it easier to keep within their budget. Every couple receives a private web gallery to share with friends and family and most importantly, high-resolution files are always included, allowing you to make your own prints. Best of all is the peace of mind we provide all of Lumina's photographers are bona-fide professionals, with a wealth of experience, and they use professional equipment and possess professional insurance. 

For professional photographers, we handle all the marketing and deal with initial enquiries along with performing production activities such as editing, retouching files and designing albums. This ensures that all our couples are receiving the same consistent service and quality of images. It also means that our photographers can focus on what they do best, which is creatively capturing one of the most important days in a person’s life.  We’re lucky to work with several outstanding photographers who are completely passionate about their craft and place importance on documenting natural and real moments as they happen.

If I want a particular photographer on your books, can I request this?

Yes, of course!  Having said that, all of our photographers are excellent and work in a similar, natural style or we wouldn't have them working with us.  We will also try and achieve what we believe to be the best match for the couple in terms of personality and photographic approach when matching a photographer with a couple.

How do you select the photographers?

Photographers must be accepted to Lumina. The pre-requisites include having shot a minimum number of weddings independently before joining. We also critique each photographer's portfolio of wedding photographs using the knowledge and experience of more than 300 weddings that Julie and Kim have photographed in the past 5 years. 

Where can we see examples of their work?

At our website we have a selection of Lumina photographers' work, and potential clients will be shown a selection of complete wedding albums.

How do you ease the fears of nervy brides who might be worried about who they'll be getting?

Lumina matches the photographer to the couple, so brides know who they are getting.  We try to match the photographer with the couple at the time of booking, but for shorter coverage (less than 5 hours) and weddings booked more than 3 months in advance, we will match and confirm the photographer by three months prior to the wedding date at the latest.

Can the client meet the photographer beforehand?

Yes, by all means. Some couples want to meet their photographer, and we are happy for them to do so.  Couples may also telephone or email directly with their photographer to run through the schedule and details of the wedding.

What are the benefits of using Lumina's services?

In short, good photography, flexible packages and great customer service.

By booking a Lumina photographer, brides and grooms know they are hiring an experienced, professional photographer and will receive beautifully finished images and albums. Lumina is also great value for money and we take great pride on providing a level of service that we would expect to receive ourselves, so brides and grooms who book Lumina get great photography, great service and great prices.