Thornbridge Hall Wedding Photography, Derbyshire: Rachel + Rosh

Last Saturday, I joined Rachel & Rosh for their stunning wedding photos at Thornbridge Hall in Ashford in the Water in Derbyshire, home to Thornbridge Brewery!

I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for a while, not just because I had such a laugh with this light-hearted couple at their pre-wedding meeting in Sheffield, but because the day was to be a fab fusion of British and Sri Lankan wedding traditions!

I arrived at this breathtaking listed country house to find Rachel already in her white wedding sari, larking about with her fun squad of bridesmaids in the India Suite. My wingwoman Sarah wandered over join Rosh and the gents for their preparations also on side, in the Thornbridge Lodge. The first ceremony of the day was the fascinating traditional Sinhalese Poruwa wedding ceremony, out on the sunny lawn overlooking the Derbyshire Dales. Rosh’s Uncle built and decorated a special covered platform (the ‘Poruwa’), and after both family parties were drummed out by Sri Lankan dancers, a series of rituals were done by the bride and groom and their families. It was fascinating, and included the splitting of coconuts, singing, lighting an ornate candle, dropping of Betel Nut leaves and all sorts!

Following this, tea, coffee and soft drinks were enjoyed on the lawn with delicious Sri Lankan canapés, and after a quick round of group pics and portraits, Rachel slipped upstairs to don wedding dress number 2 for the British civil ceremony in the Thornbridge Hall’s magnificent Great Hall! And after Rachel’s sister’s hilarious off script reading, they processed out (to the Jurassic Park Theme!) into a hail of confetti for another sunny lawn reception, but this time with Champagne and beers! Whoop.

Afterwards, we headed to the Coach House – thankful to get out the blazing sun! – and settled down for some hilarious speeches (with the bride’s speech stealing the show!) and a gorgeous meal.

As the sun set, photobooth fun was had, espresso martinis served, the bouquet tossed and cake cut (to Weird Al’s ‘Eat It’!)! R+R didn’t fancy a first dance, but the excellent DJs managed to fill the dancefloor and get the party rocking. A special Sri Lankan caterer came to provide dhal, mutton curry, egg roti and other drinkers delights, and as I left even found the bride and her squad performing a sage burning ritual!

It was fab to be back at Thornbridge Hall! It’s amazing to think it’s still lived in by the owners, who’ve left all kinds of lovely personal touches and funky paintings around the place, as well as set up the famous Thornbridge Brewery in the 12 acres of ornate grounds.

I’d also like to give a high-5 shout out to Jess and Jess of Jessica Sharpe Weddings who co-ordinated the day brilliantly, and couldn’t have done more to keep everyone cool and running to time! Top work!

So! Time for pics! Settle back with a cuppa (or even better, a crisp Thornbridge IPA!) and enjoy my highlights slideshow from this perfect Derbyshire Wedding…

I’ll be uploading their full set of images to their client area in just a few weeks, so if you’d like to be notified when all their images go live, register to be notified at: https://barnabyaldrick.pic-time.com/-RachelRosh/register

(NB: I’ll only use your email address to notify you about their gallery)

In the meantime, feel free to share this loveliness to Facebook using the buttons at the bottom (or copy and paste the web address into a status), via my Facebook page here or hover to pin to Pinterest.