UK-wide Travel
Gurdwara in one county, reception in another. We travel across the UK from our London base and plan multi-venue Sikh wedding days well in advance, with travel built into your quote.
A safe pair of hands for Sikh weddings in Chesham, from the kirtan to the final ardas, and albums that keep the colour of the day alive for decades.
★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 539 reviews
Wedding photography from £750
Bespoke packages · fast response · free consultation
The short answer
More than a thousand weddings in, Kaushik Bathia still photographs each Anand Karaj personally. Couples in Chesham get an award winning Sikh specialist rather than whoever happens to be free that weekend. Low light rarely troubles us; darbar halls, evening receptions and winter afternoons are handled with fast lenses and a steady hand rather than harsh flash. Anand Karaj coverage in Chesham begins as the sangat gathers before the Guru Granth Sahib, takes in the kirtan, the sikhia, each of the four laavan and the closing ardas, then carries on to langar. Trust from granthis and sewadars is earned slowly and lost in a moment, which is why the habits of the hall matter more to us than any single photograph we might get. Albums are hand finished and made to be passed down, engagement shoots are relaxed and unhurried, and a second photographer is available for large celebrations. Travel to Buckinghamshire and across the UK is welcomed.
Chesham station is the furthest point from central London on the Underground network, the terminus of the Metropolitan line, which is worth knowing when Sikh guests travel in for an anand karaj and a De Vere Latimer Estate reception. The ceremony itself belongs to the sangat: shoes off, heads covered, the Guru Granth Sahib attended as a living Guru through kirtan, the four laavan and ardas. Lowndes Park serves for portraits before the doli. Chartridge Lodge is the smaller alternative, and Bovingdon and Ley Hill take overnight guests.
Serving Chesham
Chesham is a Chilterns town in the Chess valley. The gurdwara halls and banqueting suites of Buckinghamshire are familiar ground for us, and we have worked at a good number of the venues near Amersham, Berkhamsted and Great Missenden. Inside the darbar hall we work with our heads covered and our movements slow, positioned discreetly to one side so the ceremony before the Guru Granth Sahib is never disturbed.
Mechanical noise has no place in a darbar hall, so our cameras are set to silent before we enter and stay that way until the last ardas has been said. During the anand karaj we photograph from the sides of the darbar hall, never crossing in front of the Guru Granth Sahib, so the ceremony continues exactly as it should. Our documentary style means the day is followed rather than staged, so your photographs show the wedding as it actually happened, laughter, tears and all.
We are booked in and around Chesham throughout the wedding season. Chesham is a Chilterns town in the Chess valley, and we cover Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Giles with the same care. Local wedding venues we know near Chesham include De Vere Latimer Estate and Chartridge Lodge.
Chesham is a Chilterns town set in the Chess valley, with a long history as a market town. Chesham station is the terminus of the London Underground Metropolitan line and the furthest station from central London on the network. For relaxed couple photographs, we like Lowndes Park, the open green space and pond in the centre of Chesham, and St Mary's Church, the parish church beside Lowndes Park gives the day a strong sense of Chesham.
Check your date
What we offer
Gurdwara in one county, reception in another. We travel across the UK from our London base and plan multi-venue Sikh wedding days well in advance, with travel built into your quote.
Every image is delivered colour-corrected and in full resolution, ready to print, frame and keep, with no watermarks and no limits on how you use your own photographs.
When the Anand Karaj is in one town and the reception in another, we plan routes and timings in advance, so long journeys between venues never cost you any coverage.
Every Sikh ritual
The moment the fourth laav is completed and the flower petals rain down, we are ready for it, photographing the shower, the smiles and the congregation calling out in joy. As the bride's brothers and cousins stand at each corner for the laavan, we photograph their steadying hands, a detail of the anand karaj that families treasure years later. We treat the darbar hall as the sacred space it is, covered, barefoot and unobtrusive, and couples tell us afterwards they barely knew we were there.
Sithniyan sung by the bride's side are teasing, funny and completely untranslatable, and we photograph the aunties delivering them and the groom's family taking it in good humour. Bhangra circles form and dissolve all evening, and we work from inside them, low and close, because a photograph taken from the edge of a dance floor never carries the noise. We photograph the first dance for the small things, the way you hold each other, the kalire still on your wrist and the friends crowding in as the song closes.

The whole celebration
The mehndi night is a slow, happy gathering, and we work quietly through it so the henna, the songs and the teasing all stay in the story. Half an hour of unhurried portraits before anyone leaves, using nothing but window light, gives you images of the outfit at its freshest, long before the day has creased it.
Two venues, several hundred guests and a fourteen-hour day is a normal Saturday for us, and the pacing that makes it work has been learned across twenty-five years of them. Children asleep across chairs by ten, cousins still going at midnight; the shape of a Sikh reception is familiar to us, so we know when to keep working and when it is done.
Why choose us
Long service has made us reliable in the plainest sense: early to arrive, fully prepared and unflustered whatever the day brings. Langar halls sometimes welcome photography and sometimes do not, and knowing to ask beforehand rather than assume is exactly the sort of small judgement a long career teaches.
Two venues in one day is the normal shape of a Sikh wedding, and we plan the route between your ceremony and reception in Buckinghamshire so the album shows no gap where the journey was. The move from the gurdwara to the reception venue is part of the story, and we travel with the family convoy when it helps the coverage.

Where we travel
Rail, road or a night before, whatever gets us to your venue in Buckinghamshire in good time and in good shape, is our problem to solve rather than yours to worry about. Scouting a venue we have not worked in before is part of what you are paying for, so we arrive early in Buckinghamshire to walk the darbar hall and the reception room before anyone else does.
Check your date
Good to know
Everything arrives in a private online gallery that works on any phone, tablet or computer, protected by a password you control. From there you can download the images, build favourites lists for the album, and share the link with family overseas so nobody has to wait for a USB stick to be posted around the world. Chesham is easy to reach: Chesham station is the terminus of the London Underground Metropolitan line and the furthest station from central London on the network.
With summer weekends and school holidays going fast, six to twelve months out is wise, and sooner still for the busiest gurdwara dates near Chesham. Even so, calendars move around and decent dates do open up at shorter notice. Do not assume we are full, just ask, and we will look immediately and tell you honestly either way.
Yes, whenever you want us to. There is real beauty in langar, the sangat sharing the same floor and the sewadars serving each person alike, and it reflects so much of the spirit of a Sikh wedding. We cover it with discretion and always check with the gurdwara ahead of time, because some do prefer no photography in the langar hall itself. Around Chesham we have photographed at De Vere Latimer Estate and Chartridge Lodge.
Gladly, and it works best with a quick brief beforehand. By settling angles and positions ahead of the Anand Karaj, neither team gets in the other's frame or presses too close to the palki sahib. The gurdwara's rules and the limited space near the Guru Granth Sahib always guide us. We have partnered with most Sikh wedding videographers around Greater London. Outdoors in Chesham we like Lowndes Park, the open green space and pond in the centre of Chesham.
A good many couples opt for one, and we can often include it within a wedding package at a gentle rate. It is simply a relaxed hour or two at a place you cherish, whether in {COUNTY} or a little further out, letting you get comfortable with the camera before everything begins. The resulting images work wonderfully for invitations, welcome signs and a signing frame. Chesham and neighbouring Ley Hill, Chartridge and Bovingdon are all covered.
We build protection in from the first frame, as each image is captured to dual cards inside the camera. Back at base, everything is copied to multiple separate drives before any card gets cleared, and the files sit in several places until your gallery has been delivered and saved. That means your wedding exists in more than one copy from the outset. We know Chesham well, including St Mary's Church, the parish church beside Lowndes Park.
It is Kaushik behind the camera on your day, so the very person you meet, plan with and trust is the one doing the work, not a substitute. When larger weddings call for a second photographer, they are experienced, fully briefed on your family and the moments that matter, and shoot in the same understated way. You will never be passed to a stranger. In and around Chesham that has included De Vere Latimer Estate and Chartridge Lodge.
More in Chesham
The same team, experience and care across every wedding and service we cover in Chesham. For weddings of every tradition in Chesham, see our wedding photographer in Chesham page. Browse our Sikh wedding photography page, the wedding photography overview, all areas we serve, or nearby Amersham and Berkhamsted. We also photograph Sikh weddings across Buckinghamshire, including Amersham, Beaconsfield, Marlow, Buckingham, Denham and Milton Keynes.
Hindu, Sikh, Gujarati, Muslim & Tamil
mandap, pheras & saptapadi
the nikah, mehndi & walima
studio & location portraits
LinkedIn & corporate
newborn to multi-generation
events & product
characterful pet portraits
Guides
Recent weddings
Milni · Anand Karaj · Laavan · Mehndi · Jago
Tell us about your celebration and we will send availability, ideas and pricing, wherever it takes place.
Check your date