An English Wedding

Checklist for An English Wedding

1. Venue 

Preferably in the outskirts of London, in a traditional manor-type with idyllic sprawling grounds.

Check. Northbrook Park in the gorgeous country side of Farnham, only an hour by train from London.

1a) Check grounds

Check. Ah yes, the English garden in full bloom. Very nice!

2. Cute as a button Flower Girl

Check. The groom's adorable niece

3. Hand bouquets

Pretty in pink peonies

4. Guest List & Dress Code

Invite good looking people but always make sure they are not quite as good looking as you are. Any guests who attempts to steal the limelight with inappropriate attire will be kicked out. 

Check. Yeah, stay out, you poser!

5) The Cake

designed to keep the guests in their seats while the speeches are going on.

Check. Three tiers of chocolate cake with three separate layers of passionfruit, raspberry and chocolate filling. Top tier was reserved for the bride and groom. Gorgeous! The best chocolate cake I've had in a long time. Made with real Belgian chocolate! So lovely! Cake from www.cakeindulgence.com

6) Decorations

Check. Assorted sweets not just for display. Good for keeping energy levels up!

7) And lastly, the Bride & Groom

Check. Looking beautiful and so radiant! 

We woke up to a sunny day on the 14th May. Hunky's sister was going to be married to her boyfriend of five years. Its my first English wedding and I still can't wrap my head around having a "wedding breakfast" which was actually "dinner" at four in the afternoon. Despite it being sunny, it was still rather chilly at 14C. The venue at Northbrook Park was lovely. Just what I imagined it would be. It was so nice to just wander around the garden as all the plants and flowers are in full bloom. And the peacock and peahens were the perfect addition to the plush backdrop. After the exchange of vows, we had cocktails and canapes in the garden. Once they finished arranging the tables, we were ushered back in for wedding breakfast. Hunky and I had chosen one of each from the menu so that we could share. Hunky had asparagus with quail egg and smoked salmon while I had the stuffed portobello mushroom with spinach and creamed leek. The colour of the asparagus dish was eye-popping. The bright coral colour of the smoked salmon, grapefruit and cocktail sauce was incredibe against the leafy greens. Taste wise, not as much wow as it looked but still good. The mushroom was not bad but I never like my mushroom cold because the texture gets all spongey and wet. 

The mains were roast rack of lamb with red cabbage and dauphinoise potatoes and globe artichoke risotto. The risotto was slightly under done but tasty nonetheless. The clear winner of the day was definitely the lamb. It was cooked just right for me, pink but not bloody. The slight acidity of red cabbage went very well with the rich lamb. And the potatoes! Damn, I could've eaten the whole tray! Dessert was a lemon meringue pie with a compote of summer berries. My god, the berries were even more tart than the tart! Good pie with a nice crisp meringue crust which I prefer to an italian meringue one. After the very satisfying meal, came the speeches. The bride's mother gave a very short and sweet speech while the best man, who is the groom's brother, went to elaborate lengths for maximum embarassment. Hilarious! Cake was served, booze was overflowing and the DJ was belting out the best dance tunes. It was strange to be dancing the "night" away when it was still light outside at 9pm. By this time, my belly was full and feet aching. And when the conga lined formed, it was sign of things to come. Once everyone started to do the macarena, I knew it was time to go. It was a really lovely wedding and so civilised! We left around 10:30pm, just an hour before the whole thing ended. And everyone helped pack up too. So civilised! 

Thank you M & M for including us in your special day. We wish you both the very best for the many, many wonderful times ahead!