Shiva & Kat: A Two-Day Fusion Wedding Celebration at Dewsall Court

We were looking for a countryside venue that we could ideally have for more than one day. We found Dewsall Court, and it seemed to just fit the bill perfectly. I grew up in Shropshire, so we also wanted somewhere in the West Midlands region that felt like home.

After setting up a visit at Dewsall, we knew instantly that it was perfect. The grounds were so beautiful, even though we visited during a winter storm! We could also tell from the start that the venue really cared about bringing our fusion vision to life. We absolutely loved being able to hire the venue exclusively for the weekend, and because Dewsall has so many beautiful ceremony spaces, we knew we could vary the celebrations across the days and create a lovely flow to the wedding. As the house also has rooms to stay, we loved being able to have a number of our family and friends stay on site for the entire time.

Our first wedding day included Indian wedding attire, with all the guests donning beautiful sarees, lehengas and kurtas. We wore Indian wedding outfits from Manyavar & Mohey bridal shop in London. I wore red, and Shiva wore white and gold with red accessories to complement. My bridal jewellery was a mixture of new purchases and wedding gifts from Shiva’s family.

On the second day, I wore a white Truvelle gown from Heart Aflutter, with a beautifully painted floral overlay and a simple ivory veil. I borrowed earrings from my Mum, and the necklace was a gift from Shiva’s parents. Shiva wore a light brown suit from Moss Hire. Our bridesmaids wore orange – picked both as my favourite colour and the most sacred colour in Hinduism. The groom’s team wore a complementary array of cream/champagne suits/dress, with orange ties and hair scarves to match the bridesmaids.

As the venue had absolutely stunning grounds, we knew the decor wouldn’t need much. The ceremonies were all outside, surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees. I was able to be creative with making some welcome signs, including a painting of Dewsall for the order of the day. Our table decor aimed to complement the sunset colour scheme, as well as the colours traditionally associated with marriage, such as oranges, reds, and golds. I had a lot of fun creating a seating chart from homemade books to represent our shared love of reading.

Issy & Bella created beautiful aisle bunches for the Indian ceremony, which we then separated and reused for the wedding breakfast tables the next day. We had a floral arch for the English ceremony, and petals lining the aisle. The bouquets were a stunning combination of garden-inspired seasonal blooms in oranges, reds and pinks.

Emily Rose Cakes, a lovely cake maker from Hereford, made our cake. It was a sensational lemon cake.

Catering was all done by the venue itself, and the food was the best wedding food we had ever tasted, and this was reiterated by pretty much every wedding guest. The ingredients are seasonal, with some grown at the venue itself. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. We haven’t had food this good since!

We had an arrival dinner on Thursday for our closest friends and family in the venue conservatory. Our Indian wedding day meal was an Indian buffet outside in the gardens. I think some people even went back for thirds! Then the English wedding breakfast was a traditional three-course seated meal, and the food didn’t stop, with a late-night pizza spread.

Our photographer Sam was incredible. He felt like one of our guests, and the photos speak for themselves. He put us so at ease throughout. We wanted a candid, documentary-style feel to our wedding photos, with minimal staged group photos. He hit the brief perfectly. The photos capture so many lovely moments that capture the joy of the weekend. We couldn’t be happier!

For the Indian wedding day, it was the Baraat. This is an Indian wedding custom, where the groom has a procession to meet the bride and her family. The procession includes music and dancing. For us, we changed it slightly – everyone was involved in the procession, and we had Dhol drummers playing around Dewsall’s grounds, leading us to the wedding ceremony space. To break up the procession, we had multiple stops along the way with games, starting with a tug of war: Team Groom v Team Bride. Team Bride won every round, which may be my highlight! Our final game involved Indian dancing before we all sat down in and around the Mandap. We loved the dancing, the music, and coming together with all our loved ones for such a special moment.

For the English wedding, it was the ceremony on the lawn outside under a canopy, with a view of the hills in the distance, string music by Serenity Strings, the most beautiful gardens we could imagine, and all the people we loved most. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Add your own personal touches to the wedding that represent you as a couple; it’s the most fun part, for sure. Enjoy the process as much as possible!