Congratulations Claire and Jon!

Ufton Court was looking beautiful as always on Saturday for Claire and Jon's big day. Dark clouds threatened the venues gorgeous spring time vibes, but the rain held off and the weather stayed lovely. The reception drinks were held in Ufton Court's Archers Hall which was dressed in hyacinth and plum bunting; the main colour theme for the day.

The Archer's Hall is so versatile when it comes to decorating your reception drinks. The wooden beams provide a great space for hanging bunting or garlands. The neutral colouring of the Hall means that the bride and groom can be free with their colour choice, so that their reception drinks can be as unique as they wish.

Champagne, Sloe Gin, Apple Juice and Ales were served at our brightly coloured reception. Our waiters greeted the guests with summery Sloe Gin and Champagne on our unique wooden champagne trays. Drinks receptions are a great way to inject colour into your wedding from the start; against a white table cloth, the pink Sloe Gin really popped, looking deliciously refreshing!

Whilst the drinks were flowing, so were the canapés. Our chefs served Seasonal Tempura Vegetables with a Soy and Sesame dip (top), Spinach, Carrot and Cumin Filo Parcels with a Yoghurt Dip (bottom), Apple, Black Pudding and Pork Belly Ballontine wrapped in Parma Ham, Carpaccio of Venison with Pear Puree and Blue Cheese and Tuna Tartare with Capers and Lemon.

After enjoying some live music in the Archers Hall the guests were called to Tithe Barn to enjoy the wedding breakfast. The same colour scheme was kept in the barn; even the wine bottles matched the bunting! The centrepieces were beautiful; Green Parlour created such beautiful bouquets that really brought the whole colour scheme of the barn together. Visit http://www.greenparlour.com/ to see more of their lovely flowers.

We loved the pretty little vintage tea cups and saucers on the bunting. Against the painted brickwork of the barn the colours and patterns looked fantastically rustic.

The Bride and Groom had even transferred their bunting to cute little glass jam jars to make tea lights for each table. So simple, but so effective. The happy couple opted for a buffet style wedding breakfast;

BUFFET MENU

A selection of Freshly Baked Bread

Spatchcock Chicken with a Moroccan Dry Rub

Salmon with Radish and Fennel

Homemade Chickpea Falafel 

Homemade Broccoli and Stilton Quiche

Roast Garlic New Potatoes

Grilled Marinated Vegetables

& 

Homemade Fennel and Red Cabbage Coleslaw

DESSERT

Lemon Posset with Mixed Berries and Shortbread Biscuit

Bitter Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Tort 

&

Caramelized Pear and Ginger Bakewell Tart

Judging by the amount of guests up at the buffet table for seconds, we imagine they were enjoying it immensely! The dessert was brought to the buffet station on slate and wooden boards, arranged beautifully by our chefs with mixed berries. Yum!

Evening food was served after the guests took to the dance floor; they enjoyed delicious homemade sausage rolls, scotch eggs, a cheese board and wedding cake (which looked beautiful before it was massacred into slices!) We had a lovely day catering for Claire and Jon at Ufton Court and can't wait for the many more spring events to come.

St John's Beaumont Denim & Diamonds Party

On Saturday the 15th of March, we catered for 192 guests at St John's Beaumont Denim and Diamonds party in aid of St John's Beaumont Chosen Charities. When we entered the hall, it was great to see how thoroughly they had incorporated their theme into the event.

The hall was dressed beautiful in blue, white and silver; representing the theme of Denim and Diamonds. Each of the tables were cleverly named after a brand of jeans or a type of diamond. In the centre of the tables were trees that had been crafted out of childhood favourite sweets, these were sold during the event in aid of the charities. To add a little sparkle to the table, little diamonds were scattered in amongst the denim napkins.

One of the corners of the hall was completely denim crazy! Guests had their photos taken on denim sofas with a backdrop made entirely of jeans.

The event started with a champagne reception, and the bar was opened where the guests could enjoy a selection of wines and proseccos. The bar was dressed with huge ice buckets full of a range of lagers and soft drinks, accompanied by big rustic crates full of wine. Against white table cloths, this set up looked fantastic.

After the reception, the guests were called to dinner and welcomed by the Head Master Mr Delaney. The guests then enjoyed a three course meal cooked by our wonderful chefs:

MENU

Starter

Crab Cakes served with Chilli Jam and Frisée lettuce

Salt Baked Beets, Goats Cheese Mousse and Pickled Beetroot Dressing (v)

Main

Chard Duck Breast, Potato Hash, Spinach, Balotine Duck and Orange Pureé

Ratatouille served with Corn Bread (v)

Dessert

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake and Raspberries served with Fruit Compote and Edible Diamonds

Coffee, Tea and Truffles

During each course, the Head Master auctioned different prizes and after the meal the silent auction began. After coffee and truffles were served the evening entertainment began; a live band took to the stage and the guests took to the dance floor. We thoroughly enjoyed catering for the event, it was lovely to see the generosity of all of the guests to the St John's Beaumont Chosen Charities. Everyone had a wonderful evening and we look forward to the next one!

Colour of the week - Yellow!

As usual we are aiming to brighten up these rainy days and today we're doing this with our cheery, sunny colour of the week. Tying in with spring and Easter we thought yellow was the perfect colour, the colour of daffodils, sunshine, bumble bees and little chicks.

We gathered some inspiration from pinterest to bring you this cheery blog post. If you head to our board -http://www.pinterest.com/potkilnanywhere/spring-yellows/ you can have a look yourself!

We thought we'd start with a very important part of the wedding - the cake! We have managed to find a variety of styles, suiting all sorts preferences.

Whether you like to keep it simple or go all out we've found some inspiration for you. We even found some lovely yellow cupcakes, perfect for a tiered cake replacement. Daisies feature heavily on yellow iced cakes which we think look great. White and yellow make a great combo. Take a look at some other examples of white and yellow!

It's those macarons again, how lovely do these look?

Yellow and white gingham, perfect for honey or home made jam favours! Very rustic.

Very stylish combo, ideal for spring, we're loving the gingham!

Charming table set up, perfect for late spring or summer. We offer coloured napkins with your wedding package at The Pot Kiln Anywhere so if you choose us, don't be shy, go bold!

We found a variety of beautiful bouquets, some very simple with just daisies and others with lashings of texture and colour!

We love a bit of rustic so the bouquet in the crate stands out to us, it's ideal for a spring barn wedding or a woodland wedding. The small hints of yellow really stand out and cheer up the white. 

Hopefully this blog will inspire those who are stuck on a colour choice for this spring or summer or maybe it'll lift your spirits on this dreary rainy day! Head on over to our twitter for even more inspiration. https://twitter.com/potkilnanywhere

Colette & Karl's

Last Friday we had the pleasure of catering for Colette and Karl's wedding in the lovely Tithe Barn in Ufton Court. The Barn was beautifully decorated and even the sun decided to show its face.

Straight after the ceremony the reception drinks started with soft drinks and bubbles whilst canapés circulated. These snazzy looking canned drinks would look great at a summer wedding in rustic tin buckets filled with ice.

The tables looked lovely, this couple went for a cheerful fuchsia colour for their table theme. Usually couples tend to go for the ivory napkins but we think coloured ones can look really good, it's great to be creative with your table set up! The flowers were in huge glass vessels in the centre of the tables surrounded by petals.This photo really shows off the lovely timber beams of Ufton Court's Tithe Barn.

Standing proudly on the way into Tithe Barn was our chef's masterpiece. Instead of the traditional tiered wedding cake, this couple opted for a croquembouche which looked absolutely delicious! Each bun was filled with creme patissiere and decorated with white chocolate-dipped raspberries and mint.

After a champagne toast the starter was served, breaded pig cheeks with caramelised braeburn apple and frisée salad. The starter was followed by a hearty venison stew with roasted root vegetables.

The poached pear dessert went down a treat, which doesn't surprise us as it looks delicious! This photo may well make your mouth water.

After the meal the tables were cleared and the bar was open for business. The guests danced away to a live band who performed some really unique covers of well known classics.

Clare and Dave's Big Day

Yesterday, we catered for Clare and Dave's wedding at Folly Farm in Brightwalton. The reception took place in a rustic barn situated in the middle of picturesque rolling hills.

The theme for the wedding revolved mainly around winter and Christmas; There was an enormous Christmas tree on the dance floor, covered in twinkling fairy lights, that really set the mood for the bar and evening entertainment. All of the table decorations featured festive pine cones and sprigs of fir trees. A country theme was also brought onto the table with pheasant feathers and jute string to tie the napkins together.

 Other winter decorations included the big stag heads that were featured on either side of the entrance hallway and festive blooms suspended from the rustic beams of the barn. Jane Lawrence Flowers did a fantastic job on decorating the barn, it looked breathtaking! Visit www.janelawrenceflowers.com to see her beautiful work.

 The food carried the winter and country theme as well as all being locally sourced. Canapés were circulated during the reception drinks; there were mini Yorkshire puddings with rare beef and horseradish, honey mustard sausages, carrot and cumin filo pastries, fish cakes with a chilli dip, lamb koftas with mango chutney and lime and garlic king prawns.

To start, the guests shared baskets of locally baked bread followed by a comforting winter meal. Our chefs prepared butterflied legs of venison with caramelized shallots, creamy dauphinoise potatoes with rosemary, bowls of buttered curly kale and braised red cabbage. It was a perfect winter warmer and there were compliments to the chefs all round! The guests had a choice of a hearty sticky toffee pudding or classic creme bruleé with homemade shortbread biscuits.

The evening food was a selection of cheese from the couples unique cheese cake tower, a range of breads, carving ham, game terrine, olives, sunblushed tomatoes and different chutneys. Pippin Doughnuts provided a range of chocolate, cinnamon and berry jam doughnuts which went down a treat! 

All in all it was a lovely event, stunning location, beautiful barn and friendly guests. Everyone enjoyed the food and drinks and had a wonderful time.

This Week's Winter Weddings

Today, we are at the wonderful Ufton Court, celebrating Sally and Lisa's big day.

This weekend marks the first of the winter wedding season and we're all very excited to be involved! Ufton Court have already decked the halls with a beautiful traditional Christmas tree complete with magical fairy lights and red baubles. Tithe Barn now has the perfect atmosphere for the perfect Christmas Wedding.

Check out our 'Christmas Wedding' Pinterest board for the latest Christmas Wedding trends; http://www.pinterest.com/potkilnanywhere/christmas-wedding/. You'll find everything you need from decor to dining so you can create your perfect day! Here is a sneak peek at what you can expect. 

Berries are very popular this winter, you can even incorporate them into your wedding menu, perfect with poultry dishes.

Sally and Lisa's menu is certainly not straying from winter themes! With the options including Rosemary Roast Chicken with Roast Garlic Mash, Winter Greens and Red Wine Gravy, followed by a comforting Apple and Blackberry Crumble with Madagascan Vanilla Custard. Winter comfort food executed with the upmost quality by our wonderful chefs!

Take a look at our twitter and website and browse through our favourite winter recipes and wedding breakfast menus to tantalize your taste-buds this Christmas. Ufton Court have posted a festive photo of today's happy couple and we're excited to post about tomorrow's winter wedding and our delicious food to be served.