Photos by Kirsty Mackenzie Photography
Fun and fusion wedding…
Today’s wedding is a real treat – a gorgeous fusion of English and Indian love held at Cain Manor in Surrey. The couple wanted to bring the city to the country, and they did that – and they brought the heat with them.
With stationery and favours totally designed by the groom and paying homage to their bonding over curry and Earl Grey, they got married under a bright and bold balloon installation, totally making the venue their own. It started off with a gorgeous confetti ceremony and ended with a mosh pit and a broken toe…
Kirsty Mackenzie Photography…
Tell us why you love this wedding.
I loved this wedding because it was so alternative and unique – Corinne and Adam turned a formal wedding venue into something completely different. It was so lovely to see all their ideas and plans come together – they really did ‘ROCK THE MANOR’.
Corinne and Adam…
Tell us how you met and got engaged…
We became really good mates at work because we shared a love of tea and taking way too many tea breaks, then realised we also both loved curry, Guinness and early 2000 UK garage. The rest is history!
Adam was a true romantic (and a very sneaky one too) when it came to our engagement. It was my 31st birthday in July and I had been moaning for weeks about how rubbish turning 31 would be, a random age where nothing really happens. When I thought Adam had gone to get breakfast for us, I received a text saying I had to look in the biscuit tin for a present…in there was my first ‘message in a bottle’ – a little test tube with a tea bag stained scroll and a clue on. Turns out Adam had devised a treasure hunt of clues all over Bethnal Green where we lived and I had to hunt them all down, including one with a steaming cup of takeaway tea and another with a beautiful bouquet of flowers at our local florist. Still thinking it was just a birthday treat, I came home to a very quiet and dark flat, our favourite song playing (which was later our first dance Arctic Monkeys “Baby I’m Yours”) and then in our bedroom, a floor full of candles and a chalkboard saying, “Will you be mine?” Cue tears, jitters, and a yes…
How would you describe your wedding theme/ decoration?
Well, we still to this day don’t really know what our theme was about! Basically, it was a mix match of everything from multi coloured balloons, retro lighting and old tins to curry and a dressing up box full of all the hats and fancy dress pieces we’ve worn over the years. We just wanted it to look fun and a bit bonkers but at the same time put together creatively as a reflection of us!
What were your favourite details?
We loved our wedding favours, which were a spice mix to make your own Indian dahl at home. Adam handmade the tags with our favourite recipe on (from his mum). Since then, we’ve had loads of our mates send us photos of them using it and actually making it! Also, everything about the food was just amazing. Adam designed all of our stationery, which really gave the whole day an authentic feel. We used a bright yet autumnal colour palette on everything from the menus, invites, name cards and table names (which were of course songs that had a curry spin to them such as ‘Dhansak on the Ceiling’, ‘Tikka Chance on Me’ and ‘Bhaji Trousers’)…
What was your favourite part of the day?
Corinne: God, there were SO many amazing parts. A stand out moment was our amazing band playing a song from my favourite film “The Wedding Singer” halfway through their set – a surprise organised by Adam. I was in tears from pure happiness, feeling shocked and just super emotional – I think everyone was in tears at this point too! I also loved sneaking off with my bridesmaids to give them their presents and cards. We were so emotional and were just mucking about taking photos and stupid selfies and I just couldn’t get over how beautiful they all looked – they really took my breath away.
Adam: For me, there were two moments. The first was seeing Corinne for the first time in her dress. I was literally gobsmacked at how beautiful she looked and I just couldn’t believe it. But equally, up there was when I crowd surfed to the band playing Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of” – I thought I was at a gig and forgot I was at my own wedding. There was also an actual mosh pit going on too, that Corinne was so involved in, she broke her little toe! RIDICULOUS. Also, our readings were awesome too. Our friends wrote us a poem called ‘The Ballad of Coz and Ads’ which was just jokes and then my best mate from Oz read us a part from ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’.
What made you choose your wedding venue?
Having lived and worked in London for years and years, our initial thought was to have a proper London wedding. But it turns out there aren’t that many places that don’t cost you a fortune and also we just didn’t want to end up in a classic old London boozer either for our reception as we pretty much do that with mates most weekends.
Cain Manor just stood out for us, for how private and intimate it was. While it wasn’t really our style in terms of their original decor and setting, we had it in our minds that we would like to try and bring the city to the country so to speak. Having it on a Friday too meant that our friends and family could really make a weekend out of the wedding as it felt like a proper event we could all just lap up and enjoy – and not just jump on a night bus home!
Tell us about your wedding outfits and why you picked them…
Corinne: I ended up finding my dress in a little bridal shop in Hitchin and weirdly enough, my actual dress wasn’t supposed to be at that branch – it was meant for the London branch but it got sent up mistake. Totally a sucker for fate and all that! As for the accessories, I had always wanted to live out my dream of wearing a headband and matching earrings from D&G but the budget on that was obviously a no no, so I went to Etsy to find some similar styles.
Adam: I wanted something that would be memorable but not too garish. The plum colour was nice and autumnal and kept things simple with a crisp white collar bar shirt, with splashes of our wedding colours with Paul Smith pocket squares and socks. For shoes, it was always going to be a pair of Dr Martens!
How did you save money?
As Adam is a Graphic Designer by trade, we were able to create all our own stationery ourselves. We made some of the props ourselves, including an old X-ray lightbox we made into the order of service and we printed off loads of photos of us with our family and friends and planted them all over the venue.
What was it like working with your photographer?
Kirsty was just the best ever. We knew pretty much from the off we wanted her after seeing her portfolio and Instagram etc and then when we met her for the first time, it just solidified everything. She is so friendly yet professional and after our engagement shoot, it felt like we were literally best mates as she photographed us all over Bethnal Green, dipping into a few pubs along the way! On the day, she was super chilled but just so professional and always on point. She has a way of capturing all these moments but you’re just like “WHEN and WHERE did she do that?!”
Advice to any couples about to get married?
It’s going to be the best day ever. Hands down. And everyone will want a piece of you! It’s probably been said a million times but without a doubt, try and get just a few moments of time to yourselves. We remember walking out of the ceremony hall and being ushered outside by the wedding staff with our champagne glasses to just have a moment. We were just buzzing and said to each other “What the hell just happened?! WE JUST GOT MARRIED!!” We’ll remember that forever…
Suppliers
Photographer: Kirsty Mackenzie
Wedding and Reception Venue: Cain Manor
Wedding Dress: Tarik Ediz
Brides Accessories: Etsy
Brides Shoes: Kurt Geiger
Grooms Attire: Ted Baker
Bridesmaid Outfits: Mix of ASOS and Topshop
Flowers: Daisy Ellen
Band: The Tommy Guns
Lights: Goodwin & Goodwin
Balloons: Bon Bon Balloons
We have known Adam since his teen years being a very good friend our daughter. She came back from Australia to be a bridesmaid at this wonderful wedding. Speaking from some experience (Retired wedding photographer) I can truly say that this was the most inventive,creative and beautiful weddings I have ever attended .
I agree 100%!! This is so creative and beautiful and so much fun! I absolutely love everything! Great great photography!