Wedding Photography at Bhaktivedanta Manor and Sri Krishna Haveli

Bhaktivedanta Manor is a working Hindu temple on a roughly 70-acre estate at Aldenham, near Watford, and weddings run there as Sri Krishna Haveli. The estate publishes firm rules on catering, music, flame, footwear, decor and suppliers, and those rules shape your day more than any styling decision. Read them before you fix a running order.

We are a wedding photography studio in Northwood, HA6, established 2001, rated 4.8 out of 5 from 580+ Google reviews. We cover this venue and are glad to photograph there. Everything below is the venue's own published information. Where the venue does not publish a detail, we have left it as a question for the Wedding Manager.

★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews

No outside catering, no naked flame, no confetti

A temple first, a wedding venue second. Confirm each rule with the Wedding Manager.

• No outside catering at all. The venue states: “SKH & Bhaktivedanta Manor does not permit outside catering to be consumed onsite. Our Food Safety Policy only permits items that are made on the estate kitchens…”
• Vegetarian only. Non-vegetarian food is strictly prohibited, including fish, eggs, onion and garlic.
• No intoxicants. Smoking (e-cigarettes included), alcohol and other substances are not permitted onsite. The visitor page adds no caffeinated drinks.
• Confetti is banned across the estate. Rice and fresh flower petals are expressly allowed.
• Naked flame is permitted only in the hands of the priests for the Vedic ceremonies. No smoke flares. Decorative candles must be battery-operated.
• Instruments cannot be played in the courtyard or outdoors, due to local authority regulations. Live instrumental bands are permitted indoors only, with final approval for all music from the Wedding Manager.
• Shoes off. Footwear must be removed on entering any part of the Temple building. Kirtan Hall, Seva Hall, Bala Govinda Room and classrooms are also no-shoes rooms. Racks provided.
• Modest dress is expected of guests.
• Priests must come from the venue's affiliated list. An outside priest costs £400 plus proof of public liability insurance.
• Decor must come from Shagun Weddings, Gayatri Weddings or Rivaaj Weddings. Others must be discussed with the venue.

Four things are not published, so ask rather than assume:

• Seated and standing capacity of each hall. Only headcount bands are published.
• Whether a baraat or outdoor procession is permitted, and where. The outdoor instrument ban is published, so ask how arrivals work.
• Whether photography is restricted inside the temple room, at the altar, or during Darshan. Personal photography is permitted site-wide, but no altar rule is published.
• Whether a civil ceremony can be booked independently of the Vedic ceremony.

An 1884 mock-Tudor house, George Harrison, and the Haveli

The Manor is a Grade II listed mock-Tudor house built in 1884, formerly Piggott's Manor. George Harrison bought it in February 1973 and donated it to ISKCON's London chapter. Sri Krishna Haveli is the newer half: purpose-built, completed June 2020 at a final cost of £10.65 million, drawing on Rajasthani architecture inspired by the havelis of Keshi Ghat and the Radha Raman temple, with bespoke teak mouldings made in India. Two buildings, two very different looks.

Bhaktivedanta Manor wedding photography, frequently asked questions

Enquiries for this venue are handled by Kaushik Bathia, FBIPP and FMPA, who has photographed more than a thousand weddings since 2001 and holds five European Gold awards.