Sikh Wedding Photographer Edinburgh

The short answer

Your Sikh wedding photographer in Edinburgh, at a glance

Kaushik Bathia himself photographs each Sikh wedding he books in Edinburgh, holding five European Kodak Gold Awards and more than twenty-five years in the profession. If the baraat forms on a city street near Waverley and Princes Street, we move on foot within the procession, in step with the dhol, without crowding the family. Inside the gurdwara, from the kirtan as the sangat settles to the palla placed in your hands and the four laavan, we work by available light alone, with no flash fired. Before the day we plan around the reception room, whether a suite at The Balmoral or the Upper Library at the Signet Library, and we carry spare equipment so nothing rests on chance. Fine art albums, parent copies, engagement shoots and second photographer cover are all offered, and although the studio is in Northwood, weddings anywhere in Scotland or the wider UK are welcome.

Edinburgh Waverley sits next to Princes Street, which matters when sangat travel some distance for an anand karaj followed by a reception at The Balmoral. Inside the gurdwara, coverage is quiet: shoes off, head covered, the four laavan and ardas photographed with the Guru Granth Sahib never made a backdrop. Princes Street Gardens or Holyrood Park take the choora and kalire portraits.

Google reviews

What couples say

4.8 from 580+ Google reviews

A superb and highly professional wedding photographer. Throughout the registry and wedding ceremonies Kaushik Bathia took beautiful photographs ensuring he captured all the special moments. His friendly personality put everyone at ease and his unique ideas resulted in some wonderful family pictures which we will treasure forever.

Deepika G., Google review, 2016

I needed some photos in a rush and Kaushik was very accommodating and helpful. He has a nice studio too. Happy to recommend!

Himansu U., Google review, 2022

I had hired Mr Kaushik as our photographer for my son and daughters wedding fir all the ceremonies conducted and found him to be friendly professional with all the guests The quality of his photographs are excellent and are of high quality I was also very impressed when he had completed the albums He also give extra hours if needed and does not complain I would recommend to anyone

Malti B., Google review, 2021

Read all the reviews on Google

Serving Edinburgh

Working inside an Edinburgh gurdwara

No gurdwara works the way a hotel works. Its furniture does not move, no light gets added, and nobody should be asking for the room to be turned round. What that leaves a photographer is one decision about position, taken early and then lived with. Our place is chosen before the sangat come in, the lenses are long, the working height is the floor, and any picture requiring a walk across the hall is a picture we simply do without.

An evening reception inverts all of that, since a hotel function room can be shaped, dimmed and relit to suit whatever the night becomes. Between the two sits the crossing of the city, an hour that is easy to leave out of the booking. Put it in.

Check your date

Bride in a pink lehenga with her groom in a garden

Every Sikh ritual

Sacred mornings, told in pictures

The Guru Granth Sahib's orientation rules out most of the angles a photographer might otherwise reach for, and it does so before anybody has raised the subject of light. One line across the floor, and the shot list shortens by half. Four laavan get walked slowly, which is a mercy, though the palla binds a pair into one moving subject of an awkward shape, wider than a couple and narrower than a group. We expose for the pair rather than either face.

A milni happens at a door, in whatever weather Edinburgh has decided on, loud and crowded and finished quickly, so a second camera repays its cost there. Langar is the quietest hour anybody gets, and frequently the most photographable. A doli ends it, and that one we take from unusually far back, because nobody in the family wants a lens pushed into it. Distance is the courtesy there, and a long lens supplies it.

Bride and groom together in soft garden light

Why choose us

Our place in an Edinburgh darbar hall

We come knowing what has to be left alone and what wants us close in, and telling those two apart is the bulk of this job. You get someone who has understood a room before walking into it, and who will never ask your family to rebuild a moment after it has passed.

Bride's hands with mehndi and stacked bangles

Edinburgh ceremony rooms, reception venues and portrait spots

An Edinburgh anand karaj takes place at the gurdwara, and if you also want a civil ceremony, the City Chambers has the ground-floor Alexander Suite for up to 36 guests and the seventh-floor Council Chamber, under its domed ceiling, for up to 110. For portraits after the laavan, Princes Street Gardens lie below the castle, so we would plan the short drive there around langar and the start of the reception. We travel from Northwood; travel and any overnight stay are quoted in writing before you book.

Edinburgh Castle hosts ceremonies for up to 120 guests in the Queen Anne Building, or for up to 20 in St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh's oldest building, and can hold both ceremony and reception, though it does not take weddings from June to September. ¹
Old Town and New Town World Heritage Site. Edinburgh's Old Town, which keeps much of its medieval street plan, forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the 18th- and 19th-century New Town. ²
Edinburgh Waverley opened in 1846, was rebuilt between 1892 and 1902, and lies between the Old Town and modern Edinburgh, next to Princes Street, Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens. ³
City of Edinburgh Council. Notice of marriage for civil ceremonies in Edinburgh must be lodged at least 29 days before the ceremony, and the council advises submitting forms six to eight weeks ahead. ⁴

Sources

Coverage and booking

What your Sikh wedding photography in Edinburgh includes

What's included

Wedding photography from £750, priced for the events you choose
The milni, the Anand Karaj and the four laavan, and the reception, as you plan them
A pre-wedding planning meeting to agree the timings and the family groups that matter most
A second photographer available for the largest celebrations
An edited private online gallery to share and download
Hand-finished albums and wall art as an option

How booking works

Check your date. Call or WhatsApp 07956 505383, or use the enquiry form on this page.
Free consultation. In the studio, by phone or over video, with sample albums to look through.
Written quote. The events, the hours and any album, with travel from Northwood set out in writing before you book.
Confirm the booking. A simple booking agreement holds your date in the diary.
After the day. Your edited gallery arrives online, followed by any album you have chosen.

Good to know

Wedding photography in Edinburgh, frequently asked questions

Can you photograph our mehndi night?+

Yes, and book the whole evening, not an hour of it. Mehndi runs late, its light is domestic, hands hold still for hours while faces refuse to, so the pictures you keep are ones nobody posed for.

Do we get high-resolution files and the right to print them?+

Yes. Every edited frame reaches you at full size, cleared for print, enlargement and sharing. Delivered files bear no watermark, and no ceiling is placed on how many prints your household decides to run off.

How are our wedding photos delivered to us?+

A private gallery link reaches you first, downloadable in a single pass, and a backup set stays on our drives. Album work is designed separately. Nothing expires quietly; we write to you before any archive moves.

How do you work alongside dhol players?+

Loudly, and from a distance. Dhol players pull a circle around themselves, so we shoot from outside it and let the crowd close in naturally rather than parting it. If one clear pass is needed, they get warned first.

Can our parents order their own albums or prints?+

Yes. Parents can order on their own account from that same gallery, with nothing routed through you. Grandparents may prefer prints to books, and both can be ordered from the day it opens.