Braxted Park is a beautiful exclusive use wedding venue located in Essex. A Georgian country house, surrounded by 500 acres of quintessential English countryside, Braxted Park is one of the most sought after wedding venue’s in Essex. Since 2024 we have been recommended Wedding Planners for couples getting married here, providing bespoke wedding planning services for those seeking a truly personalised and thoughtfully planned celebration at Braxted Park.
PLANNING A MULTICULTURAL WEDDING AT BRAXTED PARK
Zanesh and Melike first approached Senel Besim Event Design in early 2023, seeking an experienced wedding planner to bring their ambitious vision for their celebrations to life. Importantly, a wedding planner who was highly experienced in planning multicultural fusion weddings, competent in understanding the intricacies of both their Indian and Turkish cultures.
A CIVIL CEREMONY IN THE ORANGERY AT BRAXTED PARK
The wedding day at Braxted Park commenced with a deeply personal civil ceremony, taking place in Braxted Park’s Orangery. With just the couple’s immediate family present, it was the perfect way to begin the celebrations. After the Civil Ceremony, guests made their way to the Walled Gardens for an alfresco brunch featuring Melike’s favourite Lavender Scones, sourced on their behalf from her Grandfathers favourite bakery in Norfolk.
THE INDIAN WEDDING CELEBRATIONS
Afrer Brunch, it was time for the celebrations to start. Beginning with Zanesh’s Jaan Ceremony, arriving down the sweeping driveway on a vintage open top London bus – in another nod to Melike’s Grandfather who had once worked on the London bus network. Lead by a duo of Dhol Drummers, guests made their way to the Outer Lawns where the rest of the Ceremony took place. Lead by one of the first female hindu priests in the UK, the ceremony was a unique and modern take on a more traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. The ceremony took place under a bespoke Mandap adorned with fresh flowers in a bright and vibrant colour palette. We commissioned a stationer to create a bespoke order of service, explaining each element of proceedings to the guests that were not familir with Hindu wedding ceremonies, translated into both Indian and Turkish.
Following the Ceremony, the couple hired Gullys, an Indian Street Food truck, for a thoroughly modern take food! Gullys created a completely bespoke menu for Zanesh and Melike based on their favourite dishes. Featuring Masala Fries and Mango Lassi’s, this was a truly mouth watering menu!
THE TURKISH WEDDING CELEBRATIONS
It was soon time to move onto the next part of the wedding celebrations, centered around Melike’s Turkish hertiage. Proceedings began with a collaborative performance piece featuring the Dhol Drummers from earlier in the day and leading Turkish musician Akleheni music. Guests were then invited into the Walled Garden for cocktails before moving inside the Pavilion at Braxted Park for the evening reception.
Working with a well known caterer in the Turkish community, guests were served a mouthwatering menu of meze’s and traditional turkish grills before indulging in handmade Turkish Delight alongside Pistachio flavoured Gelato, sourced from Melike and Zanesh’s favourite Cambridge Gelato parlour. Following dinner, guests were invited onto the dance floor to witness the Testi dance with Melike’s cousin’s and of course hear the heartfelt speeches from both of their families.
THE WEDDING OF OUR DREAMS
Melike and Zanesh’s wedding at Braxted Park was a spectacular day of celebrations, full of vibrant colours, joy and dancing. Drawing on our many years of experience planning exceptional celebrations for couples from around the UK and further afield, combined with our extensive knowledge of planning multitcultural weddings, we produced a remarkable day of celebrations that both sides fo their families could embrace, while ensuring that all of the elements that Zanesh and Melike held close to their own hearts were included.
“Şenel is an extraordinary, hard working and highly organised planner who helped us to have the wedding of our dreams at Braxted Park. She was integral to curating a complex multicultural affair, containing English, Indian & Turkish components all in one day. Throughout the planning process she was dedicated, attentive to detail and responsive. It was invaluable to have guidance from someone so experienced and connected in the industry. It helped that she was always easy to talk to, guiding us in the right direction and understanding how important it was to encapsulate all aspects of our combined cultural heritage’
Zanesh and Melike, Braxted Park, 2024
WORK WITH THE UK’S LEADING LUXURY WEDDING PLANNER
Şenel Besim is the UK’s leading weddding planner with 20 years of experience planning weddings at some of the most esteemed luxury wedding venues in the UK. You can read more about Senel’s experience here.
Şenel and her team specialise in thoughtfully planned weddings where the vision you hold close to your heart guides every last intricate detail to ensure your special day is everything you imagined it to be, and more. Şenel is of Turkish and British descent and her mixed background has naturally attracted couples from multicultural families.
She deeply understands the nuances and sensitivities which surround multicultural weddings and her consideration for traditional etiquettes and values will ensure your wedding day flows seamlessly from your initial conversation to your last very toast.
Please do reach out to arrange a time to speak, where Şenel can guide you on the steps you need to take to plan a wedding that your guests will talk about for years to come.
hello@senelbesim.com
