Celebrating our first Hindu Wedding at East Afton

25th January 2021

In December, we were delighted to host our first Hindu wedding at East Afton Farmhouse, and honoured to be part of Ashima & Aditya’s traditional Vivaah Sanskar Ceremony. It was a beautiful, culturally rich event that incorporated the very essence of a Hindu ceremony; the physical, spiritual, and emotional union of two people, and the coming together of two families through prayer and celebration.

East Afton proved the perfect venue, allowing for two separate ceremonies to be held simultaneously by the bride and groom – one in the farmhouse and the other in the adjoining barn - before both families then came together for the marriage ceremony in the colourfully decorated stone barn, across the courtyard. Here, the traditional wedding rituals and blessings took place – a visually enchanting experience.

As is traditional, the bride wore red as part of her beautiful wedding sari and had her hands and feet adorned with henna during the ceremony. The newlyweds then showered each other with rice as a symbol of fertility, prosperity and happiness for their future life together.

The wedding feast was held later in the evening, when the family and guests came together in formal black tie – a contrast to the colourful traditional dress worn for the wedding ceremony – and enjoyed a sit-down, candle-lit dinner prepared by local chef, Kevin Hendy. The flowers were arranged by East Afton’s events team and local florist, Finishing Touches decorated the candelabras and displayed the faux leaves on the tables. Local photographer, Little Isle Photography, took the wedding photographs.

Ashima & Aditya Jayanthi took advantage of East Afton Farmhouse’s special ‘All-inclusive Wedding Package for up to 15 people’ which was introduced in response to the Government’s restrictions on weddings last year – and provided the couple with the opportunity to celebrate their marriage in style, with close family and friends.

East Afton’s all-inclusive wedding package – which is available until the end of 2021 - provides for three days hire of the venue, at any time of the week, allowing for one day set up, the wedding day itself and one day to tidy up. It also includes two nights exclusive hire of both wedding barns, plus accommodation in the Farmhouse (includes cinema room) and adjoining Cottage Annex, in line with the Government Rule of 6. Everything required for the ceremony, three-course sit down meal, photographer etc. are all included. Prices start from £2,800 for a midweek wedding in low season.

An impressive 18^th Century Farmhouse, East Afton has three event barns licensed for ceremonies, a central stone courtyard, stunning gardens, and an adjoining cottage – all set in beautiful rural countryside on the Isle of Wight.

East Afton Farmhouse was awarded Silver for Best Wedding Venue of the Year 2019-2020 at the Beautiful South Tourism Awards.

“Within 6 weeks of first contacting Tapnell's Accommodations Manager, Chloe, about hosting a last-minute wedding at East Afton Farmhouse, we somehow managed to pull off the perfect wedding day! Planning a wedding during COVID could have been a complete nightmare, but Chloe was flexible, responsive, practical, and calm throughout. She constantly thought of things that hadn’t occurred to us and was able to pre-empt all sorts of challenges we might have faced.

The venue is on a magical part of the island, and an ideal set up for small or large weddings with the accommodation and weddings barns all at the same venue.

East Afton Farmhouse’s 15-person wedding package was incredibly good value for money. In a year where everything was turned upside down, East Afton Farmhouse and the team at Tapnell were a stable and reliable hand! Our families have fallen in love with East Afton Farmhouse and we will certainly be back to celebrate the big and small moments.”

Ashima & Aditya Jayanthi