Your Kent Wedding - May/June 2020 (Issue 90)

REAL WEDDINGS 39  bourbon fanatics, so she’d accumulated an assortment of cute bottles that the pair had polished off over the previous six months, and used them to hold additional blooms and greenery for the tables. The big-day bake boasted three tiers in different flavours including vanilla, lemon, and Belgian chocolate. Sunita remembers, “It was a beautiful cake, decorated with a ruscus garland, and sat on a wooden stand atop a whisky barrel.” FOOD FOR THOUGHT The morning of the wedding, guests were served tea and coffee with butter croissants in the venue’s small hall. There was no formal seating plan as the wedding breakfast was buffet-style dining, catering for all dietary needs. The couple’s nearest and dearest helped themselves to an array of traditional Nepali food laid out in the servery, before heading into the main hall to tuck in. Sunita recalls, “It was such a lovely sight to see loved ones from both sides of the family striking up conversation, and bonding over the meal.” For starters guests were treated to vegetable pakora, vegetarian spring rolls, chicken tikka masala, chili chicken, aaloo ko achar (spicy potato salad), sel roti (rice flour doughnuts), and tomato chutney. For the main course they enjoyed a feast of basmati rice, chicken curry, mutton curry, muttar paneer (paneer with peas), tadka daal (lentils), aaloo gobi (cauliflower and potato curry), naan, poppadoms, tomato chutney and mixed salad. Gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream was served for dessert. CELEBRATE IN STYLE Violinist Amanda Wyatt played classical and contemporary pieces prior to the ceremony, as guests awaited the bride’s arrival. Sunita says, “I loved walking down the aisle to my brother playing Canon in D on his acoustic guitar.” The bride and groom were lucky to be joined by friends and relatives who’d travelled from far and wide to be there. Having an opportunity to catch up surrounded by the beautiful Kentish countryside was entertainment in itself. A DJ played a mix of Nepali and English music in the evening, which was enjoyed by all. SUNITA’S WORDS OF WISDOM “We have numerous email accounts in this day and age, so I allocated my icloud address to wedding planning exclusively, which helped me keep track of everything. “Don’t forget to stay hydrated, especially at a summer wedding. Assign a bridesmaid or a friend to help you out. You get so busy, that hours pass by before you realise you’ve had nothing to drink. When a friend offered me a drink, I was extremely grateful – even more so when it turned out to be prosecco!”