Your Surrey Wedding- April/May 2020 (Issue 82)

COOL CATERING We’re getting married in July and want a menu that will wow our guests. Do you have any ideas? ❤ Planting is really important. We use micro herbs, edible flowers and coloured plates to make the food look more appetising and as I always say in prep – make it look like we’ve made the effort. ❤ Elevate your tables to give your guests the wow factor and when the food comes out, serve it on amazing dishes with edible flowers and dry ice. ❤ Ask your caterer how they serve each course and ask to see a sample of the kind of crockery they use. An absolute must is clean, shiny cutlery! My pet hate is smudgy, flat, old fashioned beaded cutlery that’s dated. ❤ I created a dish that we served on a black plate that looked amazing. I added popping candy at the last minute and loved watching the guests laugh and smile when it started popping in their mouths. ❤ Opt for a themed serving platter. For an event at Wimbledon, we found some old tennis rackets in the local charity shop and decorated them with ribbons in the Wimbledon colours. Guests are looking for simple, locally produced fresh food. My advice is to keep your menu relatively simple. If you use fancy sauces, put the descriptions on the menu card, so everyone knows what it is and aren’t too embarrassed to ask. We lead such busy lives and really want to spend the time catching up with old friends and family without having to worry about not understanding what’s on the menu. Melanie Williams Catering specialist lavendercatering.co.uk parkershots.com COLOUR POP My wife-to-be and I love strong colours and want something unusual for our cake. Do you have any suggestions? If you love strong colours, then go for it! It’s not an unusual choice anymore with lots of couples moving away from pastels in favour of statement hues. Painted cakes, strong concrete-like metallics, cakes that follow the lines of the bride’s dress, designs rooted in modern art, sculptures and patterns are all great places to start if you’re thinking about trying something different. I love mixing the traditional with the unexpected. Huge, bold coloured sugar-flowers against a traditional, white canvas can look amazing. I’m also a firm believer that anything can be made to look beautiful. I’ve nestled flags, family silhouettes, models of the wedding venue, sketches of significant places amongst beautiful flowers and clean designs. There’s no reason why you can’t add vibrant personality to simple elegance. If you’re after something bespoke, I would stop looking at cakes and go for a walk together and see what flowers, textures and colours take your fancy. Alternatively, think about a painting that you love or a place you have travelled to and ask your cake designer to incorporate elements of it into your design. I based my wedding cake around some old wallpaper, everything from the buttonholes to the stationery had a tiny hint of it running through. I have built my brand on the whole idea that every cake tells a story, so think about what reflects you and find a designer that can tell your story. Nia Cummings Cake specialist cakesbyniacummings.com YOUR DAY, YOUR WAY I imagined getting married in a traditional hotel ballroom, but my partner really wants us to look at a marquee option. What does a marquee offer that makes it worth the additional spend? A hotel ballroom or full-time wedding venue can recommend a great deal in terms of keeping things simple. It can generally be considered a well-oiled machine, with everything in place and ready for you to turn up and say ’I do’. However, for some couples, this can be a drawback. A marquee offers you the opportunity to personalise every moment and present the venue as a backdrop, unveiling who you are as individuals and a couple. It’s an expression of your marriage and is a blank canvas which you can use to paint your history, hopes and dreams. Starting from scratch means there are no compromises. A marquee can offer you the option to do away with a wall altogether, meaning you don’t need to compromise on heavily patterned carpet or bold wallpaper choices. The structure can be located almost anywhere, from your family’s home to the grounds of a country house. It can be climate controlled for any season and incorporate everything from kitchens to toilets. Outdoor spaces can be added so you can enjoy the views and most importantly, the décor is only limited by your budget and imagination. You could opt for clear ceilings for stargazing, sunken dancefloors or secret rooms that can be unveiled throughout the day. Marquees can be modern-chic, elegantly stylish or romantically traditional you can easily incorporate all the elements you might have leaned towards in a ballroom, without any jarring compromises. Simon Sinclair Marquee specialist berrymarquees.com 58