The Story
What made Manor By The Lake stand out for you?
Manor by the Lake stood out due to its experience with Asian fusion weddings. We wanted to have an Indian-Danish fusion wedding to celebrate our cultures and Manor by the Lake had lots of great options (e.g. with Indian food) to make this possible. Additionally, we loved the indoor and outdoor ceremony spaces and the option to choose our ceremony location on the day, which gave us a lot of flexibility and peace of mind with the unpredictable British weather.
Tell us about your wedding journey in the lead up to your wedding and how did you feel?
We were very excited to start planning our wedding but also felt a bit overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done. Manor By The Lake guided us step by step, making the process easy and enjoyable. The staff were incredible, helping us personalise elements to fit our fusion wedding theme perfectly.
What was your theme? Any favourite unique touches?
Our theme was a fusion wedding of Indian and Danish cultures. We had a civil ceremony followed by some Indian cultural rituals such as exchanging wedding garlands. Our favourite unique touches were definitely the fusion cultural elements we brought to the day, such as our traditional Indian outfits, the Baraat (Groom’s procession) with dhol drummers, the brudevals or Danish wedding waltz as our first dance, and Danish wedding traditions such as cutting the groom’s socks.
With several ceremony spaces available, where did you choose and why?
There were several stunning ceremony spaces available which made the choice very difficult for us indeed. We absolutely loved the Maximilian room with its beautiful historic elements and grandeur which fit in with our Indian wedding outfits perfectly. We also loved the Italian Pavilion and the idea of an outdoor ceremony. In the end, we chose the Maximilian room because the weather on the day was slightly overcast around our ceremony time, and we thought an indoor ceremony followed by outdoor drinks reception would work well.
Favourite moment of the day?
We had several amazing and memorable moments of the day and it’s very hard to pick one! Our ceremony itself was very special for both for us. We also absolutely loved the Baraat which set an incredible tone to start the wedding day with dhol drummers and dancing. The live band and dancing during the evening was another favourite moment for us.
Tell us all about your food! What did you choose and why?
We chose Indian food and went with Five Rivers, one of Manor By The Lake’s catering options. We both love Indian food and flavours and wanted to include this in our special day, and Manor by the Lake provided us with some fantastic options for Indian food catering. The guests all really enjoyed it too and the spicy food was a fun experience and challenge for the guests to enjoy.
With unlimited photo opportunities, where was your favourite spot?
We were spoiled for choice with several lovely photo opportunities. Our favourite spots were in front of the Manor arches, the Yew Tree walk and the little bridge on the lake which all gave us stunning backdrops to our photos.
What was your favourite space/area at Manor By The Lake? Why was this your favourite space and how did you use it?
Our favourite space was probably the Maximilian room, because of its beautiful period architecture and designs and it was perfect for our Indian fusion theme. We used the Maximilian room as our ceremony venue.
Tell us about your evening reception, did you party the night away?
Our evening reception was truly memorable and a lot of fun. We had our cake cutting followed by the first dance, which was a traditional Danish wedding waltz where the guests get involved as well, forming a circle around the bride and groom, clapping and slowly inching closer to make the circle smaller and smaller. We had a live band following this, who were amazing and really got people on the dance floor. A couple of special moments during the dancing was a fun Danish tradition where the groom is picked up and the toe of his socks are cut off. This also fit in nicely with an Indian tradition where the bride’s friends steal and hide the groom’s shoes.
Did you and your overnight guests enjoy the afterparty experience?
We really enjoyed the afterparty and overnight stay experience. Spending a bit of time in the rock bar with our close family and friends after the wedding to reflect on the day was a memorable experience. The guests also really enjoyed their rooms and the breakfast the morning afternoon. We had a lovely stay in the beautiful and luxurious honeymoon suite.
Any suppliers that you would recommend to others? Perhaps your photographer or florist?
Some of our incredible suppliers that we would love to recommend are:
Photographer: Greg Shingler
Florist: Your Cotswold Florist – Abbie Digweed
Hair and makeup: Cotswold Wedding Hair and Makeup – Leanne Lishman
Cake: Kimmi’s Cakes
