Right on the home page of English Wedding you’ll see “This website is for everyone. It’s about love.” Sharing love stories of every kind brings so much joy to our screens, and while it’s been a little while since we’ve shared a proposal story, Jacob and Sneha’s is incredibly special. I will admit, as I did to their photographer Priti Shikotra on a quick email yesterday, that the way Jacob described the moment was so romantic it made me cry. And I’ve been writing about weddings for sixteen years! Over to Jacob who was kind enough to share their story, with those breathtaking images from Manchester wedding photographer Priti Shikotra. This is utterly gorgeous in every possible way. Enjoy!
Sneha and I have been friends since we were kids, growing up together in the same church. On a church camping trip, we ended up spending a lot of time together organising games for the kids and helping out. Somewhere between the laughter and shared moments, we began to see each other as more than just friends. When we started dating, it didn’t take long for me to realise she was the one. Just three weeks in, my birthday was coming up, and Sneha surprised me with a handmade scratch-off poster of a Bollywood film for us to watch together. I only mentioned the idea in passing, but she had spent hours making it. That simple, thoughtful gesture captured who she is: attentive, caring and always willing to go the extra mile in everything she does. It’s just one of many moments that made me fall in love with her.
Sneha has a gift for making special moments extra special, whether it’s staying up all night to bake and decorate a cake for her nephew’s birthday or planning the perfect getaway for her mum’s 50th. So when I decided to propose, I wanted to give her a night and day with the same love and care she provides. With help from my friend Amir, I recreated our first date, filling my living room with balloons, candles and flowers. We’re definitely not as good at decorating as she is: at one point, the helium tank spun uncontrollably around the rooms while we dived for cover, surrounded by popped balloons and chaos! Thankfully, she loved the finished product.
The next day, on our anniversary, I took her to brunch and then to Chatsworth House and gardens. After a lovely day, we walked down to a quiet spot by the river, which Amir, my brother Nathan, Sneha’s best friend Aneesha, and I had scouted beforehand. Amir had even driven all the way from Manchester to set up the spot beautifully, complete with a rose vine and white cloths, while our amazing photographer posed nearby, pretending to take scenic photos. When we reached the spot, the moment was emotional and magical, a little too much actually, as Sneha started crying and I forgot most of my speech. I must have said enough of the right things, because she said yes!
I am so grateful to my mum, dad, brothers and my friends who helped me in every way to make this moment so memorable. Proposing to Sneha was one of the happiest experiences of my life, and I feel incredibly blessed to be marrying such an incredible woman.
Absolutely Amazing! Priti photographed my proposal, and we honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience. From the very beginning, she was fantastic, great at communicating, helpful in the planning stages, and so lovely to work with. On the day, she was incredibly smooth and discreet, managing to stay hidden until the perfect moment. She captured every emotion beautifully and then took so many stunning photos afterwards, making us feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. I’d 100% recommend Priti to anyone looking for a photographer. Thank you so much, Priti, for making such a special day even more unforgettable! Jacob’s Google review for Priti Shikotra Photography
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How to plan a surprise proposal with a photographer and still keep it real
Loads of couples are nervous about their wedding photography experience. If I could share one tip with every person reading this blog it would be to do everything you can to keep on top of your stress levels in the run up to your wedding day. One thing I hear all the time is nerves and worries around wedding photography – you might feel like you’re not photogenic, or you’re awkward in front of the camera, or that you’ll feel silly posing for pictures on your wedding day. None of those things need to be true, and you can crush pre wedding photography nerves by having an engagement photo session.
In a nutshell, having an engagement photoshoot, or a pre wedding photoshoot, breaks down any tensions you have about being in front of the camera, and helps you and your photographer get to know one another.
Perhaps only one of you has really been responsible for booking your wedding photography, and has had a few back and forth emails with your photographer. I’m guessing you might also follow them on insta, and perhaps you’ve done a deep dive and read their ‘about me’ posts from the last three years. (Well done you!) Your partner might not be as familiar with them – but if you spend a little time together with your photographer, both of you will feel like you’re with a friend on your wedding day – and that’s SO important. You’ll relax more, which will help make your photos look amazing – and you’ll enjoy the day even more if you’re not worrying about the pictures!
I had a little email chat with one of English Wedding’s lovely members, Manchester wedding photographer Priti Shikotra. Priti told me, “Engagement sessions are such a fun & relaxed way for couples to get comfortable in front of the camera, but also a great time for myself to get to know the couple better!”
“The sessions are very much a collaborative process between myself & the couple. If they want to have the session at a gorgeous location in a nature setting I’ll get my scout on for a location! If they want a more urban aesthetic to the session I’ll guide them to locations that suit that aesthetic.”
If you book an engagement photoshoot – and please do, if you can! – do ask your photographer for advice about anything you’re not sure of, from locations to what to bring – if you’d like advice, even what to wear!
Priti says, “where needed, I can recommend outfits too as styling an engagement session somewhat helps create stronger images. The couples get to know how I work on the wedding day if they have also booked me for a wedding & if it’s a one off session like Barti & Kartik’s then it’s still a great way for them to get comfy in front of the lens ahead of their wedding.”
We’ve included some of the gorgeous photos from Barti and Kartik’s engagement photoshoot with Priti.
“We really enjoyed getting the engagement shoot done prior to the wedding, partially to experience getting photos taken prior to the big day, and also to help with the wedding preparations.
We are going to use them for wedding invitations (e-invites) and also for decoration purposes. We met in the UK so were wanting to have one done here to share it with family and friends back home in Malaysia. The shoot was really fun and relaxed, and we were at ease the whole time.” ~ Barti & Kartik
Thank you to Priti Shikotra Photography for sharing her advice and these gorgeous photos with us today, and huge thanks to Barti & Kartik for such a lovely review and these stunning engagement shoot images!
https://www.pritishikotraweddings.com
I can quite happily say that country house weddings aren’t for everyone. I’m one of those people: a fancy pants English stately home with landscaped gardens just wouldn’t suit me – and it wasn’t for Hannah & Laith either. This gorgeous, music-loving pair chose iconic Manchester venue Band on the Wall for their wedding party. The vibe is beyond amazing, the ceremony styled with vibrant sunflowers, and I’ve fallen head over heels for their epic modern wedding day! Images are by lovely Priti Shikotra Photography, who’s based in Manchester and gets a fabulous review from the happy couple!
Wedding photographer’s website
Priti Shikotra https://www.pritishikotraweddings.com
Wedding photographer review
Priti was just brilliant! She was organised, reassuring, lovely to chat to, and of course, the pictures were perfect. Priti met with us a few months prior at the venue to pick out some good picture shots for on the day, which was such a good idea because we could go straight to each planned shot on the day and get the formal photos out of the way nice a quickly! We got a selection of photos just a few days after the wedding, then the full lot just a few weeks later. Honestly, she was worth every (extremely competitively priced) penny!
Your best wedding moment or memory
Oh it’s so hard to pick! I did love walking down the aisle, and meeting Laith at the front. The room looked so beautiful, all our friends and family had dressed so colourfully and looked amazing, the sun was shining and the room was full of light… it was perfect! I also loved the cake cutting, it was a lot of fun, we just laughed a lot and made lots of jokes. I’m also in a community choir called SHE choir, and they did a surprise performance just before the evening party started!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
I suppose we did things slightly differently from the beginning. For a start, Laith helped me pick my wedding dress and came with me when I tried it on and picked it up from the eBay seller! We booked venues that weren’t usually wedding venues, and we had a Jamaican buffet for our wedding breakfast and patties for the evening food! We had no first dance or videographer, we just weren’t that bothered about those things, and we had the frontman of Dutch Uncles DJ the evening do!
Venue name + review
The ceremony was held at the People’s History Museum and the drinks reception, wedding breakfast and evening reception were held at Band On The Wall, both in centre of Manchester. Both of these venues are Manchester institutions with very unique buildings with lots of character. All the staff at both venues went above and beyond, and were instrumental in the day running as smoothly as it did. My biggest shoutout goes to Laura the Operations Manager at Band on the Wall, she was so helpful, reassuring and really was a delight to work with!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
The dress was a gorgeous second hand Willowby by Watters white lace dress, bought off E-Bay. It was lovely and figure hugging, showed off my tattoos, and had a tiny train so was practical all evening!
I loved my veil! It was beautiful lace white chapel length with embroidered white dots all over it – it was so different and felt very ‘me’ and not at all stuffy and traditional. It was hired off By Rotation, and the brand was AM Faulkner Studio in London!
My heels were Irregular Choice (bought second hand off Depop), and I slipped into some white Jordan 1 Mids for the evening. My necklace and earrings were from a lovely indie jewellery maker called Ray Makes Things.
Laith’s suit was mostly from Moss, with a few bits from other small suit shops. He decided to go full black-tie, with a STUNNING plum/burgundy velvet blazer, tuxedo shirt and trousers, bow tie, the lot! (Except the cummerbund, I put my foot done on that one haha). We helped each other find and put together what we were wearing, and were both very proud of the results. We enjoy trying out different clothes a lot, so this was the fun part for us!
Florist name + review
The bride and bridesmaid bouquets were from the Dried Flower Shop in Bolton. She made me the most beautiful dried sunflower and autumn greens bouquets, they looked and smelled amazing, and best of all, I still have mine! My granny did all the fresh flowers for the ceremony, she did the flowers for her daughter’s wedding, and now mine, and they were just perfect. Finally, I did all the dried flower arrangements on the tables for the wedding breakfast myself! I bought bunches of autumnal dried flowers from a wholesaler and arranged them into about 24 vases. The hardest part was trawling charity shops and Vinted for months picking up vases – I was very picky!
Cake maker name + review
The Teatime Collective. They do the best vegan cakes – no one at my wedding could tell the cake was vegan! Catherine is incredible, get your cakes from her whether you’re vegan or not!
Stationery maker’s name + review
My little sister designed our invitations, she was a fine art student at the time, and has just graduated! She is absolutely looking to pick up more design work – @pinktillypaints on Instagram! All the other stationery, table labels and so on, I made myself from parcel labels, ink and stamps, and a nice pen!
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
Probably most of it! Our invitations were designed by my sister as greeting cards, and then I wrote them all myself, I made all the table labels myself, and found lots of pinecones to put on the tables too! I made dried flower arrangements for the tables, and the seating plan was made up of bookmarks that my sister made and my dad wrote everyone’s names and tables on in his best handwriting!
Wedding readings?
Invitation to Love by Paul Laurence Dunbar, read by my mum
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
No first dance! But we did have the choir I’m in do a surprise performance instead! They even sang a reworking of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own which went ‘I’m at the altar, saying my vows, ohhh…’, they had re-written it specially for me!
Wedding planner name + review
Haha, I’m an event manager by day, and I’ve run a fair few weddings in my time, so I planned the whole thing myself! If I were to review me I would say I did a pretty good job by and large but probably could have been a little less stressy towards the end! It turns out it’s quite different on the other side, even when you know how everything works, and I have a extra sympathy for all the brides I’ve worked with in the past!
Hair + makeup name + review
Hair and makeup: Jodie A. Smith – @jodiemakeupuk
Jodie was wonderful! She is the loveliest person, and my makeup and her were perfect on the day – I honestly couldn’t have asked for better! We also happened to have very similar music tastes and spent half our time sharing new artists with each other and talking about them. I highly highly recommend her!
