Roshan & Rachel’s Multicultural Fusion Wedding at Thornbridge Hall, Derbyshire.

Roshan & Rachel’s wedding planning journey.

When I first met Roshan & Rachel in 2021 they had a few ideas of the kind of celebration they would like to host, but the how, where and overall details weren’t completely clear. I began working with them from the very beginning and Roshan and Rachel entrusted my full wedding planning services. Initially, we began with in-depth meetings, budget allocations and a full venue search based on their preferences, family locations and aesthetic preferences. Working with Roshan and Rachel closely, I was able to gain a comprehensive understanding of both of their visions and their story as a couple. It was particularly important to enable Roshan and Rachel to celebrate both of their cultures and heritages, so a key importance within the venue search was space in which to capacitate two ceremonies.

Wedding planning client priorities.

Your vision and your priorities will always be paramount to me and I believe my success as a wedding planner is largely due to my ability to listen and extract key parts of information which then, in turn enables me to work with these ideas to reflect you. It was clear to me initially, that the wedding ceremonies, food and drink were really important to Roshan and Rachel. They wanted their guests to feel looked after and to ensure hospitality of their guests was at the forefront.

Multicultural wedding: the Poruwa ceremony.

To honour Roshan’s Sri Lankan roots, we planned for an outdoor Poruwa ceremony which is a traditional Sri Lankan wedding ceremony, which was hosted within the grounds and temple of Thornbridge Hall, in Derbyshire. The Poruwa (Pour-ru-ah) ceremony is the traditional Sinhalese marriage ceremony in Sri Lanka. It has existed as a marriage ceremony since before the introduction of Buddhism to the country in the 3rd century B.C. and elements of the ceremony are still adopted by many in Sri Lanka today. The ‘Poruwa’ is the name of the beautifully decorated wooden platform on which the ceremony takes place. Incorporated into the Poruwa are various symbolic elements such as the drumming procession, the blessing of the triple gem at the foot of the Poruwa, Necklace presentation, finger tying, the presentation of gifts to family and the lighting of a lamp. Following the Poruwa ceremony, guests celebrated with traditional Sri Lankan Patties and basked in the grounds of the wedding venue.

Civil wedding ceremony within The Great Hall at Thornbridge Hall.

Following an outfit change from the gorgeous Rachel we then moved into the civil ceremony within the Great Hall of Thornbridge Hall. This ceremony was the legally binding element in which married Roshan & Rachel. Within the civil ceremony, both Roshan’s & Rachel’s sisters gave readings in their own special way! Following the wedding ceremony we celebrated with fizz and a vintage ice cream bike.

The design process of wedding planning.

Designing your wedding is completely personal, some of my clients know exactly what they want, others know a little and some find it all a little overwhelming. Wherever you are on the sliding scale of preferences, I make it my priority to work with you to find what you love. If we’re working together on your wedding design, I work with you to create a design blueprint for your celebrations, working with super suppliers to make the magic happen. I worked with Roshan & Rachel to produce a tasteful yet pared-back simple look. With hints of lilac and pops of colour in the beautiful blooms from Dreamboats and Carousels, the results were perfect for Roshan & Rachel.

Food and Drink

Food and drink was always high on Roshan & Rachel’s list of priorities. With a love of fine dining and home comforts, we found a perfect balance of cuisines, weaving through both British and Sri Lankan styles. Following the Poruwa, guests enjoyed traditional Sri Lankan patties. The wedding breakfast was a beautiful menu of Spinach and Feta Tart with Creamed Leeks to start, Braised Derbyshire Beef, Anna Potato, Buttered Cabbage, Roast Carrot and Red Wine Jus for mains and the tastiest Trio of Desserts: Crème Brulee, Champagne & Elderflower Jelly and Chocolate Brownie and Vanilla Ice Cream. Traditionally, tea and coffee are served following a meal but for Roshan & Rachel we decided to mix this up a little and offer espresso martinis to guests! They went down a storm. For evening supper, we incorporated the Sri Lankan elements again and treated guests to a mirage of Sri Lankan street foods.

The Party!

Guests were entertained by the wonderful team at Virsa Entertainment in the carriage house of Thornbridge Hall, when the clock struck 11pm however, we moved guests down to the secret underground nightclub and boy could those guests party!! What a night!

Wedding planning with Jessica Sharpe Weddings: UK Wedding Planner

I’ll be there with you every step of the way, executing your vision to the highest standard, working with your ideas and making sure that you feel in control the whole way through.

Keeping things stress-free for you is my priority, but it’s also about fun. The planning of your wedding should be filled with joy. I’ll facilitate the admin, get everything moving, and leave you to enjoy the bits that get you feeling excited.

With my full planning, I really will stop at nothing to ensure you’re not only supported but also understood throughout. Once we’re working together, my first port of call is to really get to grips with your visions, priorities and concepts, then I can begin my work.

Let’s chat to discuss your plans.

“Without Jessica we wouldn’t have gotten married. We would have squabbled so much and have been stressed throughout. Luckily, we did hire Jessica and everything went completely smoothly. I don’t think my stress level went about 4/10 during the whole engagement and wedding. She offered her honest opinion, found incredible suppliers which were well suited for us. At no point did we feel pressured into making decisions or purchasing something we didn’t want. Guests at our wedding even commented on how well planned the event was – we would have liked to take credit for this but it was all Jessica. Nothing was too much effort and response times to queries was rapid. Overall, would recommend and our day wouldn’t have been the same without her.”

Roshan & Rachel

Image Credits: Barnaby Aldrick Photography