We had the amazing experience of being married by Andrew's mum Kate, who is a marriage celebrant, which gave such a personal touch to our ceremony. Our marriage included an ancient Celtic "Cup of Life" ritual, A beautiful Pagan blessing and the vows to one another that we created ourselves. There was also plenty of music provided by our muso friends - including a rocking wedding march played on electric guitar by Vaughan - and a beautiful rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" as we signed the wedding register, by our friends Greg and Damon. Being Beatles fans, we went for Beatles inspired wedding favours, which Andrew designed and that we had made for the occasion - they said it all really.....
All of our guests got one of these
Food wise, for our wedding, we wanted to avoid the whole alternating "beef or chicken" formal option that most sit down wedding receptions seem to have (or at least most of the ones I've been to!) and we also didn't want to go for a buffet, as we wanted our guests to be served at their tables. We came up with a great idea that gave our guests the variety of a buffet, with the table service and sense of occasion of a formal sit down dinner - the solution was tasting plates. For the main course, we chose a selection of delicious food to cater for a variety of tastes and had the platters served at the table, where people could graze on whatever took their fancy. A perfect solution that was also very sociable, as our friends and family shared platters, drank wine and enjoyed each other's company in a relaxed way. It was like a big shared family table that included everyone.
We held our wedding and reception at the same place - a Georgian mansion surrounded by acres of parkland that is currently the home of the NSW Writer's Centre in Rozelle. It meant no extra travelling and we could flow from the ceremony to the reception seamlessly. We opted to serve our entrees as canapes, with drinks right after the ceremony. It was a great choice, as we could mingle with our guests before sitting down to dinner. We allocated guests to their own tables, but chose not to allocate actual seats at the table, allowing people to sit with whoever they wanted. It took a lot of pressure off, not having to do a seating plan as such, and it encouraged mingling and a more relaxed atmosphere.
The Bride and Groom
We decided early on to scrap the whole idea of a wedding cake (ludicrously expensive and really, who wants wedding cake when you have just eaten a full dinner and had bucketloads of champagne?) instead we chose to serve three different desserts to the tables in canape form - again allowing our guests to choose what they wanted - they could have one dessert or all three if they felt like it.
Our caterers, The Roo Brothers (yes, the name is an Australian take on the famous French culinary figures, The Roux Brothers) were absolutely brilliant. As well as creating gorgeous food, John Paul and his great team were also incredibly flexible and open to what we wanted to create. Everything went so smoothly and without a hint of fuss and their communication with us was outstanding. The wait staff on the night were brilliant - friendly, efficient and professional. And best of all, we got great feedback from our guests about how much they loved the food. If you are looking for a caterer in Sydney, we highly recommend them. Visit their website for more information: http://www.theroobrothers.com.au/
So, what did we actually serve you ask? Here is what Andrew and I, along with our 70 guests, enjoyed on our wedding day.....
Our Wedding Menu
16 April 2011
Entree Canapes
smoked eggplant and herb tartlet
with sour cream & parmesan fondant and red pepper chutney
pomegranate malasses glazed duck
on a sesame seed praline with lime zest
pork belly
with sweet sherry glaze and apple compote
seared tasmanian scallops
with truffle pea puree
Sharing Platters
risotto cake
with mushroom, asparagus and parmesan
lime and lavender corn fed chicken
with a pomegranate glaze
wattle seed and juniper berry crusted beef
with baby vegetable and wild rocket salad, topped with Illawarra plum jam
king fish
with a brandy and saffron buerre blanc
Accompaniments
salad of butternut pumpkin, tatsui, red onion and cherry tomato
with poppyseed and lime dressing
salad of rocket,pear,walnut and parmesan
with a balsamic glaze
asparagus and green beans
Something Sweet....
creme brulee
raspberry sorbet
lemon tarts
Menu highlights for me were the Tasmanian scallops, the creme brulee and the beautiful Kingfish.
We are now in the process of the final packing for our honeymoon and getting ready to jump on our 9.30 flight to Paris tonight. We will be away for 5 weeks, enjoing the most romantic city in the world, as well as London - where we have manged to secure a reservation at Heston Blumentahl's iconic restaurant, The Fat Duck - as well as his new restaurant, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. After that we are driving up to Liverpool for a bit of a Beatles pilgrimage, then on to the rollicking town of Glasgow for a few days soaking up the amazing art scene there, as well as their live music. Our journey will then take us further north to Inverness, where we get to spend a week with my gorgeous sister and her husband (also called Andrew!), then a weekend on the Isle of Skye before driving south again to London - but not before stopping off in Cumbria to stay in a real castle, the amazing Augyll Castle in the Lakes District. Our final few days overseas will be spent back in Paris, before flying home.
So, there is a lot on the agenda. We will be taking a laptop with us and I'm sure that I will be checking in with you all from time to time while we are away, hopefully posting a few pics too - so visit GG from time to time to see what we are up to. When we arrive home, I will be sure to tell you all about our adventures (particulary the food ones) in more detail - but until then, Bon Voyage until the end of May!
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