When Jason met Charan in the winter of 2008, he knew straight away that she was one in a billion. Bowled over by her sparkling smile, infectious laugh and amazing sense of humour, Jason says, “I remember thinking I just had to see this girl again… Now I get to see her every day for the rest of my life.”
The pair dated for three years before Jason proposed. “I knew that if I didn’t ask for her hand soon she may start to have second thoughts about us!” After months of research and saving for the perfect ring, Jason whisked Charan to Kew Gardens in south-west London and in a leafy spot lit by dappled sunlight asked her to be his wife. “She made me the happiest man on earth when she said yes!” Jason remembers.
When the Big Day finally arrived, it was split over two days. First was the traditional ceremony at a Gurdwara, followed by a reception at the Grange Hotel St Paul’s in London with a champagne reception on the iconic rooftop overlooking the cathedral, the Thames and the City of London. The main meal was held in the prestigious Wren Room while the evening party was in the hotel’s nightclub, Club 10.
Jason and Charan really wanted to convey their personality as a couple, which they achieved through the diversity of the venue. “We wanted something different yet something that maintained the deep rooted traditions that had been passed on for generations”, explains Jason. The couple planned the celebrations with help of both sets of parents and Grange Hotel St Paul’s events coordinator Atlanta who helped to ensure their vision became a reality.
Their biggest obstacle was securing two venues on the same weekend. And not just any weekend; Jason and Charan had planned their wedding for the last bank holiday weekend of the summer, notoriously the busiest of the year! However, months of painstaking planning, careful research and tracking the right suppliers paid off for the most amazing weekend of their lives.
The couple enlisted the hotel’s catering services for their reception, deciding on a set service with Indian/English fusion dishes and dessert station. And to capture every last moment of the Big Day, Jason and Charan found wedding videographers and photographers, Deneemotion Boutique Wedding Cinema + Photo.
“Deneemotion is in a league of its own. We loved the creativity and the objective, yet emotional, way Deneemotion could tell a story, making a wedding of any culture share the same significance,” explains Jason.
“They experienced the emotions of the day and captured everything on film, allowing us to relive the emotions of our beautiful weekend. Whenever we look over the pictures, the video and the trailer it brings tears of joy to ours eyes. There were no props or any heavy duty equipment used by Deneemotion; everything you see is created by a few very talented guys and their cameras – it’s utterly magical!”
Jason says, “There’s nothing I would change about our wedding weekend. It was perfect.”
His advice to couples planning their wedding hits three points. “First off, decide on your guest list for each event – once you have the figures, it makes everything else so simple. Secondly, don’t be afraid to try strike out with something new – a lot of the time people get stuck in the traditional template.
There’s nothing wrong with trying something different; something that reflects you and your partner. It’s your day, so own it.
And finally, don’t give up – there will be plenty of times where you feel like picking up your passport and jetting off somewhere to get married. I can assure you that there is nothing more satisfying than standing back at your wedding and drinking in all you see. This is the result of all the hard work you’ve put in!”