Suzi and Adrian's beautiful day at Combe Manor

The weather was beautiful for the marriage of Suzi and Adrian on the weekend. A drinks reception was set up in the courtyard at Combe Manor where the guests enjoyed deliciously summery mojitos with fresh mint and lime in the sunshine. During the reception, our waiters and waitresses brought canapés to the guests;

Suzi and Adrian chose Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Horseradish and Beef, one of the most popular of our canapés and there were compliments all round from the guests!

There were lots of children at the wedding and this canapé was a huge hit with them; Goats Cheese and Spinach Flat Breads are a hit with everyone!

The canapé selection also included Carrot, Cumin and Spinach Filo Parcels, Devils on Horseback and White Bait with a deliciously creamy Tartar Sauce. All served on slate boards, guests could not resist our beautifully presented treats.

The barn was decorated with twinkling fairy lights and simple table decorations. Combe Manor's barn is full of historic tapestries and so it does not need a huge amount of decorating to look great. 

The tables had bouquets and an array of jars and bottles, topped off with cut out newspaper heart confetti which was a really lovely touch. There is a huge variety of heart confetti on Etsy.com, ranging from tiny pastel hearts to delicate vintage newspaper cut outs.

When the guests were called into the barn for their Wedding Breakfast they made their way to Suzi and Adrian's unique table plan. Each jar was filled with something different, and was tied with a tag featuring the names of everybody on the table and their table number. Some were filled with different nuts, pinecones, shells and stones. It was a really beautiful and natural way to feature the table plan and we loved it.

For their main course, they enjoyed a selection of barbeque platters with delicious local sausages from Vicar's Game, slices of tender lamb, Teriyaki Salmon and a range of fresh salads including a spicy Thai Sum Tom Salad 

For dessert, we served the guests platters of Suzi and Adrian's wedding cake with fresh berries, cream and coulis.

After the meal was served, the Céilidh band began playing traditional Gaelic folk music, encouraging guests to join in with folk dance. The tables were cleared and moved away to make space for all sorts of moves to take place on the dance floor. The Pot Kiln Anywhere opened the bar, where we served local ales, lagers, spirits and wines.

With all the dancing, the guests needed something to keep them going! So our chefs served evening food on slate and wooden boards, featuring a beautiful local cheese tower decorated with figs, pomegranate and grapes. Delicious!

A sweetie buffet was also set up by our staff for the guests to enjoy during the evening. Labelled with vintage luggage tags, the wedding party's favourites were the choice of sweets for the evening. Suzi's top pick was flying saucers, which looked great in a vintage sweets jar. Suzi and Adrian had a fantastic time and so did we. It was an honour to be part of their big day.

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!

Mike's Crisp Sea Bass, Crushed Violet Potatoes and Samphire Beurre Noisette

(Serves 2)

1 Sea Bass (filleted, scaled and pin boned)

400g washed violet potatoes

500g marsh samphire (alternativly sea purslaine)

1 lemon

Knob of unsalted butter

Salt and pepper

Flour for dusting

Flat leaf parlsey to garnish

Extra virgin olive oil

This is a nice, simple and quick dish that anyone can rustle up after a hard days work and best of all its packed full of flavours and amazing colours.

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft enough to break up with a fork. Drizzle with some olive oil, season and set aside somewhere warm

2. Lightly flour the skin of the sea bass and place in a cool, oiled, non-stick pan and place on a high heat. When cooking fish like this, it is important not to fiddle with it whilst its cooking. You want to leave it until its 80-90% cooked (You will notice the flesh changing colour and a nice brown edge starting to creep up the sides)

3. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon on the fish and throw in a small knob of butter before flipping it over. Keep basting the skin with the foaming butter until the fish is just cooked through before taking it out and letting it rest on some kitchen towel

4. Whilst the pan is still hot, add another small knob of butter and add the samphire. You want to let the butter turn brown and nutty (Beurre Noisette = Nutty Butter)

5. To assemble, place the potatoes in the centre of the plate and lay the fish on top. Spoon over the samphire and butter. Finally sprinkle with some choppped parsley and another squeeze of lemon juice

Happy New Year everyone! Last year was host to many fantastic weddings and events that have made the year such a special one. However, we're extremely excited to see what 2014 has in store for us. We are using this post to sum up the themes and trends of last month, and speculate what exciting themes are to come in the new year.

Winter warmers seemed to be the main theme throughout wedding breakfasts and canapés. During the winter months, our guests seemed to crave comforting game and familiar, traditional dishes. Venison was very popular and often teamed with a classic - creamy dauphinoise potatoes. This often had our mouths watering! Clare and Dave's wedding at North Hidden Barn featured big rustic dishes of venison and dauphinoise on each table for their guests to share.

Venison and shallots with rosemary at Clare and Dave's wedding

Crispy and creamy dauphinoise potatoes

Another favourite was pork belly. Whether this be as a canapé with black pudding and apple sauce, or paired with caramelized apple as a hearty main course. Daisy and Martin's Japanese themed wedding also kept with traditional winter themes, and they too had pork belly and braeburn apple as an option for their guests to enjoy at the wedding breakfast in Ufton Court's Tithe Barn.

Pork belly was a popular option for guests at Daisy and Martin's wedding

Cheese towers were definitely very fashionable the whole way through 2013, but especially during the winter months. Everybody knows how important cheese is during December, we just can't get enough can we! Who doesn't love a great selection of local cheeses with a great red wine? We witnessed some truly artistic towers and hope that the theme doesn't die down in 2014, because we loved it!

This cheese tower was beautifully decorated with brightly coloured fruit

If you haven't witnessed the naked wedding cake of 2013, we're not quite sure where you've been? Especially popular over the last month, this cake doesn't feature any icing on the outside, just different flavoured sponges layered with butter cream and jams. We think this cake was so popular in the winter months because it is so beautiful to decorate in Christmassy decorations. We saw many dressed in icing sugar and winter fruit, and also some sprinkled with edible glitter and cream roses. At Daisy and Martin's wedding, there was a naked wedding cake that featured a spiced apple sponge; perfect for a winter wedding.

A stunning example of a naked wedding cake at a wedding at Wasing Estate's walled garden

Daisy and Martin's Christmassy naked wedding cake

Location, location, location. One of the first things on the to do list. During the winter we found ourselves very often in beautiful countryside barns. Yes, they are a fantastic venue for all months of the year. But they really do come to life in the winter, and there is something so comforting about enjoying each other's company in a barn covered in fairy lights and rustic timber.

Ufton Court's Tithe Barn is somewhere we found ourselves often in the winter months of 2013. Their Christmas tree and fairy lights are a stunning backdrop for your winter wedding.

Festive strings of fairy lights at Ufton Court's Tithe Barn

Sally and Lisa's ceremony at Ufton Court's Tithe Barn

Ufton's beautiful Christmas tree

2013 has been a very busy and exciting year. We have seen many trends that have held on throughout the whole year - including shabby chic crockery, pick n mix sweet tables, cheese towers, naked wedding cakes, vintage reception drinks and traditional game and British cooking. We are left wondering what this year will hold. Will we shy away from the whole 'shabby chic' craze or will it be so popular that it shines through 2014 too. Will we dress our naked cakes back up, or keep them going throughout the next year. A little birdy gave us a heads up for all the future brides and bridesmaids; this year, mismatched shades and styles of bridesmaids dressing are going to be very popular, so get ahead of the game!

We feel there are going to be big changes in the year to come, visit our twitter @potkilnanywhere and tweet us the changes you think are coming to the wedding and event scene of 2014.

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.