12 years in the making, Yanika and Develin’s cross-cultural love story turned into a gorgeous mixed wedding to remember. “We first met in Essex, and started dating almost 12 years ago. Soon after, I met his mum and family who were so lovely and welcoming. His meeting with my family was a very different situation to most conventional Asian ‘meet the parent’ situations as this was the first multi-cultural relationship in our family. But I was very fortunate to have such a warm family who loved and accepted him from the beginning” shared the bride looking back at the early days. With an appreciation and understanding of each other’s cultures, the couple in love started planning the wedding of their dreams.
The Vision
“We had around 300 guests for the ceremony and 240 for the evening with close friends and family. My vision was to ensure both cultures were celebrated on our big day, this was the most important factor for me. From the start, our planner understood the mixed wedding concept and how important it was for us to embrace both our cultures. She managed everything that we needed from creating our traditional Hindu wedding that was both modern and chic to sourcing a full East African production for the evening.”
The happy bride shared, “we started planning 2 years ahead of the wedding. The amazing Sheleena of Coco Blush Event and her team were the 2nd vendors I booked and I would recommend anyone doing a big and especially fusion wedding to use them to bring your vision to life.”
The Décor
The couple wanted “a Kenyan fusion wedding, a fairy-tale morning followed by a luxury safari evening experience.” And luxury wedding planner, Sheleena of Coco Blush Events planned a fully immersive experience to make their celebrations special with her broad vision and fine taste. “We opted for different food stands and a grand table setting with bespoke printed table cloths and large bright umbrellas to create an Indian food market feel.”
The couple opted with minimal white décor and bold coloured outfits to contrast for their wedding. The table setting featured a splash of colour with bespoke table linens by Casa De Gaia. “Our decorator in collaboration with our planner created an amazing production of moving screens, a bespoke bar, grand table settings and a dreamy dance floor. It was as if you walked into a luxurious safari experience.”
The Wedding
For their multi-cultural wedding, the couple wanted to include each other and their families in every events and tradition. The bride always wanted to have an outdoor wedding and choosing Braxted Park as their venue worked out perfectly. The planner enhanced the couple’s wedding with unique personalised touches of a Bantu Arts performance and a zebra stilt walker. The celebrations continued into a grand reception ceremony with a gorgeous cake by Ann’s Designer Cakes.
Word Of Advice
“We used to always have fortnightly date nights where we didn’t speak about the wedding and just remembered to enjoy ourselves and continue doing things we both love which was mainly eating out” shared the bride. “Truly trust your wedding planner‘s advice and suggestions, they have the knowledge and know how to bring your vision to life seamlessly and beautifully.”
The Bride: Yanika Patel
The Groom: Develin Omol Wasonga
The Venue: Braxted Park
Photography: Mohsin Ali Photography
Wedding Planner: Coco Blush Events
Wedding Décor: Peekaboo Events and Casa De Gaia
Videographer: Film Art Pictures
Mehndi Artist: Apni Mehndi
Makeup and Hair: Sandy D Makeup
Catering: Ragamama Ragasaan
Cake: Ann’s Designer Cakes
Entertainment: Iconic DJs
Invitations: Created by GG
