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.

Jenny and Dave's big day

On the Friday the 4th of April we were at Ufton Court once again, for the wedding of Jenny and Dave.

Although it wasn't as gloriously sunny as it had been on the previous event, Ufton Court was full of Spring time vibes. The blossom in the orchard looked beautiful against the main house, and the daffodils were still in full bloom. The garden looked lovely.

Jenny and Dave had their ceremony at Ufton Court. There were pieces of white fabric draped across the rustic timbers, laced with twinkling fairy lights. It brought the ceremony together beautifully, along with the pretty trees and bouquets tied alternately to the aisle seats.

After the ceremony, everyone made their way over to the reception drinks held in the Archer's Hall, which was also dressed in canopy-style fabric. Our waiters and waitresses served Champagne and soft drinks. Over at the far wall of the Archer's Hall was a fantasticly whacky cupcake display; featuring one particular cupcake which caught our eye... A jammy dodger cupcake! They all looked delicious, and we would have loved to devour the whole lot.

What made the cupcake display even more tempting (yes, we know that cupcakes on there own are pretty tempting already) was Lindsey Kitchin (from the White Horse Flower Company)'s stunning flowers. She really wowed us, and the guests at Jenny and Dave's wedding. The flowers were exquisite. Visit the website to see more of Lindsey's creations; http://www.thewhitehorseflowercompany.co.uk/.

During the reception, our chefs served up an array of delicious canapés including the wedding guest's favourite; honey and mustard glazed sausages. After a couple of hours, the guests were called into Tithe Barn to be seated for the Wedding Breakfast.

The barn had been transformed since the ceremony. The tables had been set up by The Pot Kiln Anywhere with cutlery, napkins and glassware. The napkins were held together with candy necklaces which acted as really unique and cute favours for the guests. They each had a small brown, rustic, luggage tag featuring the guest's name.

Lindsey had dressed the barn beautifully in her creative array of flowers. The bride had provided The White Horse Flower Company with higgledy piggledy ceramic vases which worked really well with the flowers Lindsey had picked out.

MENU

Starter

Wild Boar Pâté or Vegetable Terrine 

Main

A selection of Individual Pies;

Venison

Chicken, Leek and Chorizo

Rabbit and Parsnip

Pork and Apple

Served with Creamy Mashed Potato, Mustard Mashed Potato and Broccoli

Dessert

Lemon Cheesecake served with Cream, Coulis and Raspberries 

Vegetable Terrine

Wild Boar Pâté

Individual pie 

Lemon Cheesecake

After the Wedding Breakfasts, guests enjoyed tea and coffee and cupcakes back at the Archer's Hall. After resisting the cupcakes due to being told that the cupcakes were for later, the guests were extremely pleased to be able to tuck in! Jenny and Dave cut the wedding cake, then it was back to the Barn for dancing and drinks, followed later on by bacon rolls for evening food.

It was a lovely Spring time event and the bride, groom and guests seemed to have a fantastic time at Ufton Court.

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.

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