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.

Easter Weddings at Ufton Court

After doing a Pinterest board and blog about Easter Weddings, we were very excited to see how last weekend's brides and grooms incorporated the Easter theme into their big day. It was great to see how differently two couples can take the theme and make it their own; Friday's wedding had a mixture of two themes; they had a very traditional Easter theme, but also a record theme too.

Pimms and Buck's Fizz were served in the Archer's Hall along with a selection of nibbles. The Hall was kept plain and simple, with only cream bunting and Ufton's Coat of Arms which hang on the back wall of the Hall. The vinyl records and album covers were placed around the room on the window sills, making sure the hall didn't look too overcrowded. The Easter theme was kept to one small table in the middle of the room which was a table set up for the children to do an Easter egg hunt. There were traditional chicks and eggs in bright and pastel colours, it screamed Easter!

The mixture of themes were also present in Tithe Barn. After reception drinks, the guests made their way to Tithe Barn to enjoy the Wedding Breakfast. The tables were decorated with beautiful Easter flowers, and the table names were records on stands.

The vinyls were put onto a table plan so that the guests could see where they would be seated. We hadn't seen a table plan like this before, it was really fun and unique.

MENU

Starter

Coarse Hampshire Wild Boar and Gresingham Duck Pate with Spiced Apple Chutney, Cornoichons and Mixed Salad

Main 

Lemon and Rosemary Roasted Bass Fillet, Cauliflower Puree, Pommes Anna and Beurre Noisette with Spring Greens

Dessert

Chocolate Wedding Cake, Fresh Fruit, Cream and Coulis 

The evening then took a sweeter turn, with a fun and bright sweets table with cupcakes and classic pick n mix sweets in big retro jars with traditional pink and white bags. Dotted around the cupcakes and sweet jars were the traditional chicks once again, keeping the theme incorporated throughout every aspect of the day. The guests then took to the dance floor and enjoyed a bar full of some of our local favourites like West Berkshire Brewery's Mr Chubbs Lunch Time Bitter.

The wedding on the Saturday didn't have such a strict theme, and subtly introduced Easter through the colour scheme rather than Egg hunts and bunnies. The flowers weren't traditional for Easter, however the delicate pastel colours were exactly those you would expect at an Easter Wedding.

The tables were decorated with brightly coloured napkins with a mismatched jam jar tied with pink ribbon. The guest names were featured on small luggage tags, handwritten in black ink on decorated jars. The idea of the jars was that the guests would go up to the sweet table at the end of the Wedding Breakfast and fill it with their favourite sweets and take it home.

Also on the table were cute little vintage tea cups filled with different coloured roses and textured leaves. The whole style was really charming and pretty.

The weddings showed us that even in the same venue, you can really make a theme yours. Even a theme as traditional as Easter. A lot of people might worry that having an Easter wedding will mean covering your whole venue in chicks and bunnies, but this really was not the case at Ufton Court; even the theme of Easter can be done in a classy, elegant and subtle way.

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