Kirtan & Ardas
The ragis, the prayers and the stillness of the darbar hall, recorded gently so the sound and spirit of the morning come back to you every time you open the album.
Sikh Wedding Photographer in Glasgow
Your lead camera for Sikh weddings in Glasgow, through the jago night and the morning at the gurdwara, and coverage that stretches from the maiyan to the doli.
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Wedding photography from £750
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The short answer
Your Sikh wedding photographer in Glasgow, at a glance
Recognised with five European Gold awards, Kaushik Bathia is an award winning Sikh wedding photographer based in London who welcomes enquiries from couples marrying in Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland. Discretion in the hall, energy outside it. The bhangra at the gates and the dhol in the car park are photographed low and close, then we drop straight back into stillness at the door. Two families, two households, and often two venues: we follow the sehra bandi at one, the choora at the other, then bring both together for the milni and the Anand Karaj in Glasgow. Couples often tell us the day felt calmer with us in it, which after twenty five years is the compliment we value most. Whatever you need alongside the coverage, from an extra photographer to a pre-wedding session and a printed album, can be arranged, and journeys to Scotland or further afield are part of how we work.
Relatives travelling north by rail arrive into Glasgow Central, so an anand karaj morning here tends to begin with the milni rather than sehra bandi at a distance. Inside the darbar hall the working position is seated and to one side, shoes off, head covered, with the ragis' kirtan carrying the four laavan. Ardas and the sikhia close the ceremony. House for an Art Lover or Trades Hall of Glasgow then take the reception, and Kelvingrove Park is minutes away should the doli leave in good evening light.
Serving Glasgow
Meet your Sikh wedding photographer in Glasgow
Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, with a vibrant South Asian community and grand venues. Whether the celebration is held in a gurdwara hall, a hotel or under canvas in a country garden, we have photographed Sikh weddings at that kind of venue all over Scotland and Pollokshields, Govanhill and the West End. Palla in hand, you rise for the first laav, and we photograph the moment of standing rather than only the walking, because the hesitation before that first circuit is entirely human.
We pace ourselves deliberately across a long day, so the eye behind the camera is as sharp at the doli as it was at the maiyan. 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. A fast-moving celebration suits us; the bhangra outside the gurdwara is photographed low and close, so the energy of the dhol reads straight off the page of your album.
We will have Glasgow mapped out long before your wedding day. Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, with a vibrant South Asian community and grand venues, and the venues in Edinburgh and Dundee nearby are just as familiar to us. Glasgow and the towns around it offer venues such as The Corinthian Club, Grand Central Hotel and Trades Hall of Glasgow.
Glasgow is Scotland's largest city with a vibrant South Asian community, and Kelvingrove Park hosts the Glasgow Mela, one of Scotland's biggest South Asian festivals. Glasgow Central is a major railway station and transport hub in the city centre. When there is time for couple portraits, Kelvingrove Park, with the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum nearby is a favourite, and George Square, the principal civic square, overlooked by the City Chambers makes a memorable setting.
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What we offer
What is included in your Glasgow Sikh wedding coverage
Reception Coverage
From the grand entrance to the speeches, the bhangra and the last dance, we stay for the whole reception, so your evening in Glasgow is told as completely as the morning ceremony.
Kodak Gold Awards
Five European Kodak Gold awards sit behind our work, earned across decades of weddings, so the standard of your photographs is proven rather than promised.
Every Sikh ritual
The milni, the kirtan and the four laavan
During the anand karaj we move only between verses, timing every step to the kirtan so nothing we do ever draws an eye away from the ceremony itself. Between the ardas and the karah prashad the hall relaxes almost audibly, and we work the rows at that point, gathering congratulations, embraces and the relief on both sets of parents. We photograph the groom waiting before the Guru Granth Sahib as the bride is walked in, one of the stillest and most charged moments of the entire anand karaj.
The choora stays on long after the wedding, and we photograph it through every event that follows, a thread of red and ivory running through the whole album. Turban tying before the baraat is done seriously and slowly, often by an uncle who has done it a hundred times, and we photograph the concentration as well as the finished pagri. Doli endings ask for restraint rather than technique. We hold back, use a long lens, and let the family close around the car without a photographer pressing into the middle of the goodbye.
The whole celebration
Maiyan, mehndi, Anand Karaj and reception
Across Scotland the pre-wedding nights follow their own rhythm in each family, and we learn yours before we arrive. Breakfast before the gurdwara is a rushed, funny affair, with somebody eating in full bridal jewellery, and we cover it because these are details nobody thinks to ask for but everybody loves.
From the dhol at the gates to the doli at the end, we pace the day to the ceremonies rather than the clock. When the doli leaves and the noise falls away, we are still working, because those last quiet minutes are often the truest of the day.
Why choose us
Experience that shows on the day in Glasgow
Families pass our name along precisely because nothing needs explaining to us mid ceremony; we arrive knowing the palla, the laavan and the ardas. Multi-day celebrations ask for pacing, and decades of maiyan nights, jago parties and wedding mornings have taught us how to keep the eye fresh across all of them.
Once your venues in Scotland are confirmed, we will look at them properly, check the timings against your running order and tell you honestly if anything in the schedule will not work. Two venues in one day is the normal shape of a Sikh wedding, and we plan the route between your ceremony and reception in Scotland so the album shows no gap where the journey was.
Where we travel
Wherever your gurdwara sits in Glasgow
When the ceremony and the reception are held at different venues, we plan the route, the timings and the stops so the album never shows the gap. Whether your wedding keeps us in Scotland for a single long day or brings us back over a weekend of events, we plan each journey so the photography always comes first.
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Good to know
Wedding photography in Glasgow, frequently asked questions
There is nothing office-hours about a Sikh wedding, so rather than count against a rigid clock we plan around your actual schedule. A full day generally begins with the morning preparations and the baraat, takes in the Anand Karaj, the langar and the family portraits, and continues into the reception. If the timings drift, as they tend to, we stay put. Outdoors in Glasgow we like Kelvingrove Park, with the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum nearby.
We always sort this out first. Rules vary between gurdwaras on standing points and on whether video is allowed, so a quiet word with the granthi and the sewadars, well before the day, matters. Once everything is agreed for your Glasgow ceremony, there is nothing to interrupt the flow of the Anand Karaj.
We love it, and the dhol gives us some of our strongest frames. A word with the drummers before the baraat tells us when the peaks are coming, so we can stand where the drumming, the dancing and the faces all land in one shot. At Glasgow receptions we cover the dhol entrance and the rush onto the floor. Our job is simply to stay near that energy.
We would love to. Mehndi nights brim with colour, music and detail, which makes them a treat to photograph. We catch the henna patterns as they are drawn, the dancing, the outfits and the loved ones gathered by the bride. Held at home in Glasgow or in a venue, either way we plan lighting that keeps the feel of the night while still showing the intricate work clearly.
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. Getting to Glasgow is straightforward for us: Glasgow Central is a major railway station and transport hub in the city centre.
From inside it. The baraat is pure energy, the dhol, the dancing, the groom's arrival, and we move with the procession rather than watching from the kerb. We photograph the build-up as the families dance towards the gurdwara in Glasgow, then turn to catch the bride's side waiting to receive you. It is loud, fast and brilliant, and we love it.
For sizeable celebrations we advise one, and for packed multi-event weddings it is nearly a necessity. One of us can be inside the darbar hall for the laavan while the other takes in the guests, the arrivals and the broader picture. With so many hundreds attending and things unfolding at once, two cameras catch a fuller, truer version of the day. In and around Glasgow that includes The Corinthian Club and Grand Central Hotel.
More in Glasgow
More wedding & photography services in Glasgow
The same team, experience and care across every wedding and service we cover in Glasgow. For weddings of every tradition in Glasgow, see our wedding photographer in Glasgow page. Browse our Sikh wedding photography page, the wedding photography overview, all areas we serve, or nearby Edinburgh and Dundee. We also photograph Sikh weddings across Scotland, including Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Guides
Wedding guides for Glasgow couples
Recent weddings
Recent Sikh weddings near Glasgow
Milni · Anand Karaj · Laavan · Mehndi · Jago
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