~~Emma’s Dream Wedding~~
Dedicated to zoop for opening this can of worms
um this will be image-heavy watch out (photos courtesy of butleypriory.co.uk and maggiesottero.com)
Pretty much it’ll be a Christmas-themed wedding. Not Winter, Christmas. Not on Christmas because that would be stupid and no one would show up, but anywhere from the 12th-22nd would work I think. Despite my desire for my groom-to-be to cry when he sees me walk down the aisle, I would take pictures before the ceremony to both take advantage of the light and to not piss off the guests, seeing as this is in the middle of nowhere. The colour scheme will be a cranberry red, a mid-toned forest green, cream, and gold. The bouquet will be primarily made up of poinsettias and cream roses, with some of those glittery twigs you see sometimes.
Venue
Butley Priory is located in Suffolk, England. Gorgeous, right? The hall looks right out onto the gardens which will hopefully either have snow or look satisfactorily chilly.
Because it’s winter and I expect this to be in the evening rather than the afternoon or morning (despite that being more traditionally English), it should be dark enough to maybe have some lights in the gardens.
Idk, I think it would be pretty. The hall for the wedding will be simply decorated, fairy lights and I’m thinking some drapery? Also probably flowers to complement my bouquet.
For the reception there will be more fairy lights, cream tablecloths, with red runners. The centrepiece will be flowers in a cast-iron basket-thing, again matching my bouquet. The gifts will be put under a Christmas tree because I’m a complete dork. Along the sides there will be bigger pots of flowers, kind of like this.
If there’s snow I will cry but I’m not counting on it. I'll check with them on what days typically snow there though.
It also includes accommodation for twelve people the night of the wedding, which is super cool!
Menu
This is kind of a pre-emptive, check this off when you RSVP so we can prepare that way type menu. Both so I can have more options (I really couldn’t choose) and so that people who don’t RSVP don’t eat. Because I will not pay for more food when they couldn’t even be bothered to RSVP (sigh).
Canapés
Soft boiled Quails Egg with crisp pancetta
Mini Yorkshire Pudding, with rare roast sirloin of Red Poll and horseradish cream
Lemon Sole Goujons with seasoned fries, caper mayonnaise served in a paper cone
Spicy crab cakes, wasabi and lime crème fraiche
Camembert and Cranberry tartlet
Suffolk Gold and Guinness rarebit, with crisp pastry
Starters
Course game terrine, fig chutney, sour dough toasts
Twice baked goats cheese soufflé, red onion marmalade, aged balsamic glaze
Fillet of smoked mackerel, beetroot, red apple and watercress salad
Roasted pumpkin sage & chilli soup, with pumpkin seeds Parmesan and sage beurre noisette
Creamed potato soup with sautéed chorizo & herb oil
Mains
Game pie made with all butter short crust pastry, braised red cabbage, buttered greens, minted new potatoes
Honey roast loin of Suffolk bacon, bubble & squeak, redcurrant & cider reduction
Supreme of local guinea fowl, pomme fondant, creamed cabbage with bacon & thyme, button onion and sherry jus
Roast Red Poll beef, goose fat potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, pan gravy & horseradish sauce (£4.00 supplement)
Rump of local lamb cooked pink, celeriac puree, crushed minted peas, roasted shallot, and lamb & mint jus (£4.00 supplement)
Venison & red wine sausage, with mustard mash, juniper jus, pickled red cabbage
Beef & horseradish sausage, champ mash crispy leeks & veal jus
Beetroot and goats cheese pativier, garlic & thyme crushed potatoes, buttered spinach, and a port wine reduction
Wild mushroom Wellington crushed thyme new potatoes, winter greens and veg jus
Classic fish pie, bound in a tarragon & Pernod cream, crowned with buttery mash & cheese glaze
Desserts
Sticky toffee pudding, salted caramel, vanilla cream
Vanilla seed crème brulee, shortbread biscuit
Red wine poached pear, cinnamon mascarpone
Honestly this just very much reflects the taste of my family and friends atm so this is obviously open to change but wow do I love this menu. I spent days cultivating it. And the caterers are specifically mentioned on the venue website and they do promo deals with the venue so hooray for that! It’s all locally-sourced, in-season food, so the carbon footprint is good as well!
The package at the venue I was looking at comes with two glasses of wine plus one glass of champagne per head before they start charging, so that would be great! I probably won’t have an open bar because even without one everyone in my family gets drunk off their asses at weddings (brides included).
Dress
This is The Dress. This is the dress to end all dresses, the dress that takes what I love from almost all of the dresses I have amassed so far and puts them together. Isn’t it so beautiful? It's ivory over nude rather than white, which I prefer. I was thinking kind of 20s-ish makeup, the dark red lip and dark eye
Also some kind of fur stole to go over it if I'll be taking pictures outside too. And I'm kind of fond of the fascinator so I might go similar but not exactly like that. I don't know if I want a veil or not, because I like the half-cathedral train and the back but then it's also a veil. It is the wedding.
Songs
These I’m not too sure about. I mean obviously I need the Conway wedding staples- the Macarena and the YMCA and such- but I’m not sure on all of them. I know I want to dance to Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis version definitely), and I want All I Want for Christmas is You to play so many times people clutch their heads and groan as I cackle, but I’m not sure what else. I was thinking a Disney love song playlist? But that doesn’t quite fit the theme. Probably some modern music too, whatever that is at the time. But I’m weak for slow love songs, so at the beginning there will probably be a lot of those.
During dinner there will be quiet instrumentals of classic Christmas songs and dim lights.
Pretty much Christmas is a really important time for me and spending it with my family is all I ever want to do, so I figure what a better way to bring two families together than by celebrating Christmas with them?