A Braxted Park Wedding | Shaz & Pete

By 2:30 PM, it was over. Forty-four guests had filed out of the Orangery at Braxted Park. The afternoon tea in the Knott Garden had been cleared. Shaz and Pete had two hours to themselves before the second half of their day began. In those two hours, everything changed. This is the most efficient summary I can give of what it meant to photograph this wedding.

The Morning

Shaz got ready in the bridal changing room with her bridesmaids. Serena Thakar worked on hair and makeup. The deep green lehenga hung in reserve for later. Meanwhile, Pete prepared in the Garden Cottage. This space has a visual quality that sits somewhere between a Bridgerton drawing room and a Mayfair bar. Dark walls, dramatic light—this room made groom prep feel like a portrait sitting.

The décor from Miss Carlysle & Co was already in place across the Pavilion by the time the bridal preparations finished. Peacock feather centerpieces, gold cutlery on teal napkins, the S&P monogram neon sign, and the four-tier cake from Claire Brandon, adorned with its own feather detail, all set the stage for a stunning day.

An English Ceremony

The ceremony began at 12:30 PM in the Orangery. This room is one of Braxted's most elegant spaces. Its arched windows open onto the grounds, allowing natural light to enhance the atmosphere. Shaz walked in wearing a white cathedral-train gown, flanked by her bridesmaids in emerald. Guests were arranged on both sides of the aisle, creating a formal geometry that a civil service in such a room naturally finds. Pete waited at the front, anticipation evident in his posture. The moment Shaz appeared at the door is one of those frames where the architecture frames the shot before you raise the camera.

The Broadwalk

At 2 PM, we moved to the Broadwalk for portraits. This long, tree-lined avenue runs through the center of Braxted Park's grounds. It is the estate's most distinctive feature for couple photography. The trees frame everything moving through it, creating a formal symmetry that speaks to the estate's design. Shaz and Pete were still in the first version of their day, basking in the joy of their union.

Two Hours

Guest departure was at 2:30 PM. Evening guests were due at 5:30 PM. In between, Shaz changed. The white gown went away. The deep green and gold embroidered lehenga—hanging in the changing room since 7:30 AM—came out instead. The jewelry was different, the hair was different. When the Dhol players arrived in the Walled Garden at 5:30 PM, the day that had begun as a Bridgerton affair transformed into something entirely different.

A Bollywood Evening

Ninety-two evening guests arrived in the Walled Garden, where the Dhol players were already engaging the crowd. DJ Silk managed the music from a personalized booth. The teal and gold of Miss Carlysle's décor—the backdrop, the candles, the peacock arrangements—looked entirely different under the evening light than it had at midday. The Pavilion hosted the speeches at 6:50 PM, followed by the wedding breakfast at 7:15 PM. The cake was cut, and the first dance began at 8:30 PM on the black-and-white chequerboard floor that Braxted provides in-house.

The combination of the lehenga, the Dhol, the laser dance floor, and the peacock centerpieces creates an energy that needs no orchestration. Each element arrives with its own vibrancy. I simply photograph what they create together. The evening section of this gallery is a different world from the ceremony that began the day. This contrast is exactly the point.

Planning an Asian English Wedding?

If you are planning a wedding where two cultures need to coexist without one diminishing the other, the right venue and photographer make all the difference. Braxted Park's combination of the Orangery, the Pavilion, and the Broadwalk offers formal English estate architecture for a civil ceremony in the morning. The grounds are spacious enough to make the Bollywood evening feel like a genuinely separate event rather than an extension of the same one. As an Asian wedding photographer in Essex who has covered this exact combination before, I understand the visual demands that both halves of the day carry—and how to give each its own gallery.

If you are planning an Asian English wedding in Essex or beyond, I would love to hear from you.

The Suppliers

Venue: Braxted Park

Venue Décor: Miss Carlysle & Co — Beth Carlysle

Cake: Claire's Cakes — Claire Brandon

Hair & Make-up: Serena Worldwide

DJ & Dhol Players: Mr SiLK

Rob Moore is a fine art editorial wedding photographer based in Essex. I cover historic estates, country houses, and destination weddings across the UK and internationally. My work has been exhibited across eight international cities.