Your Sussex Wedding - April/May 2021 (Issue 90)

BLOG OF THE MONTH It’s easy to forget what oracles of wedding knowledge local wedding suppliers are. Yes, we know that photographers are experts on photography and cake-makers are cake aficionados, but thanks to the sheer amount of time they spend on all things wedding, they actually have a pretty good knowledge of anything and everything. That’s why we love this blog post by Tania Jonas of Steve and Tania Photography. TO ICE OR NOT TO ICE? A quick Google search and you’re given a thousand theories of how the wedding cake came to be. I quite like this one, from the Food Network in Canada who state: “ The origins of the wedding cake date back to ancient Rome, when weddings concluded with the groom breaking a loaf of barley bread over the bride’s head, symbolizing fertility. Guests would scramble to pick up the crumbs in order to take home some of that good luck.” How wonderful! Although, I’m not sure how much the bride would appreciate that after spending so much time and effort getting her hair done! Why three tiers? Apparently, it was traditional that the bottom tier would be eaten at the ceremony, the middle tier for distributing after the event, and the top tier was saved for the first child’s christening for good luck. Dressed or naked? During the Victorian era, the white icing was used, they say, to symbolise purity. Perhaps so, or perhaps it’s more to do with preservation? Whatever the reason, nothing says tradition as much as a beautifully white iced wedding cake. Personally, I can’t bear fruit cake of any description, but Steve loves it, so it’s wonderful that today wedding cakes can be tiered, traditionally iced and filled with fruit or they can be a stack of doughnuts, a pyramid of fairy cakes, wheels of cheese, a pile of macarons, or a tower of chocolate cream puffs – quite frankly anything one desires! Nowadays, it’s really popular to have naked cakes. They’re incredibly beautiful and, dare I say, a little more healthy? What does the cutting of the cake symbolise? According to The Secret History of Wedding Cakes (Food Network, Canada), the ceremonial first cut of the wedding cake is symbolic of the newlyweds’ first task together and their eternal love for one another. The hand of the groom is placed over the hand of the bride when cutting the cake to represent his support for her and her promise to take care of him and their family. They would cut from the bottom tier to symbolise the longevity and continuity of their relationship. Uncover more wedding wisdom at www.steveandtaniaphotography.uk SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT… JACQUIE KEELEY, FAB FOOD FOR YOU “For me, food and its presentation are the most important parts of any wedding,” Jacquie says. A farmer’s daughter, this expert wedding caterer has a keen eye for well-farmed food and only uses local suppliers, meaning she can trust that the animal husbandry is of the highest standard. Here, she sources ingredients such as outdoor-bred pork; free-range pasture-fed chicken, duck and eggs; and grass-fed cattle and lamb. She also supports her local gamekeeper by using game that’s in season. So, you can be sure that your meal hasn’t travelled thousands of miles, leaving it’s mark on the environment, and has also supported local Sussex businesses. Jacquie is fortunate enough to live in a listed cottage in Sussex complete with huge garden. She’s a keen gardener and delights in growing as much of the produce used in her catering as possible. All flowers and herbs featured in her dishes are homegrown, while salad stuff and vegetables are grown within a mile of her cottage. She tells us, “In this day and age clients expect to be able to have whatever they’d like, so I do have to source elsewhere if my grower doesn’t have it in the ground, so to speak. I still try to use local and British though, and if that fails, I’ll opt for Fairtrade, as that will assist those in less affluent situations.” A wedding and event planner, Jacquie feels at home organising all aspects of her clients’ big days, but for her it’s the food that guests will remember: “You could be in the most stunning venue, but if the meal isn’t good, that’s what you’ll recall.” Discover more at www.fabfoodforyou.co.uk Images courtesy of www.steveandtaniaphotography.uk 10