Today I’m going to be spilling the beans (lol) about our wedding food and drink!
Food to us as a couple is really important! And we wanted to really have fun with our wedding menu, break traditions where we could and choose our dream menu that not only was fitting with our venue and vibe of the day but also that we loved!
Before I get into the details, I wanted to mention that our caterer Marie-Laure at Easy Gourmet was absolutely incredible and without her and her team, the day wouldn’t have been quite so incredible. Marie made our dream menu come true, offered suggestions on how we could make each dish immersive and theatrical and our guests LOVED our food. Working with her on the day was so special as she wasn’t just a caterer but completely helped us re-imagine and plan our day with her mega spreadsheet and multiple zoom calls – she really helped us plan the logistics of the day, made it run so smoothly, walked us through the venue and the day multiple times and helped take so much stress off planning a wedding. Marie if you’re reading this, Geoff and I love you!!
Wedding Reception Canapes:
We had three canapés during our wedding reception between the ceremony and the meal and we were genuinely so excited for them all. My favourite (because I just thought it was the coolest thing ever) was an English Breakfast Skewer, complete with quail egg, bacon, sausage, ketchup and a potato slice – I’d never had a canapé like it and it was perfect for the day as brunch is V important to G and I (haha!) and it was like brunch in a bite.
We also had little cones of fish and chips with tartare sauce (again very British and delicious) and also Pork belly with cider, grain mustard, parsnip croquette with apple sauce which everyone loved.
Three Course Wedding Breakfast:
We really wanted to have fun with our wedding breakfast and choose a three course menu that was theatrical and fitting with the venue, but also very us – not stuffy or small portioned in any sense!
Our starters consisted of a Scotch egg (one of our favourite dishes) with beetroot slaw, pickled red onions, piccalilli and salad, served in a picnic box tied with twine and a twig of thyme. I loved the fact guests could open their boxes and explore the flavours and the scotch eggs were perfectly runny and delicious!
For our main course we had an East End Pie and mash complete with mushy peas, red onion and wine gravy and liquor sauce! I grew up in East London and pie and mash is a traditional dish that my family and I love so we were really excited to surprise our guests with this. To make it theatrical Marie had the idea of having some of our guests help serve our pies so we selected 8 of our friends to be our secret VIPies. We hid a golden envelope under their seats and after starters I made an announcement for everyone to look under their seats to help us with a secret mission. If they found a golden ticket they were taken away with our caterer and given a chefs hat and apron and then came back into the hall with huge pie crates to serve our food. This was such a funny, memorable moment, seeing our friends so excited to have got a golden envelope and to have them laughing with each other to serve our food. There were three pies available – Steak and ale with cracked black pepper, chicken, leek, ham and white wine as well as a Vegan version – a forest mushrooms and quinoa stew pie!
For dessert, we had ice cream sundaes with hazelnut brownie chunks and ALL the toppings which couldn’t have been more enjoyable. We chose: sprinkles, smarties, chopped hazelnuts, gummy bears and popcorn for our toppings that were served in jars in a little wooden crate that my dad made himself for each table, a lovely added touch. Also Chantilly cream, strawberry and chocolate sauce was served on each table so our guests could embrace their inner children and have fun creating their own dessert.
Wedding Cake:
Choosing our wedding cake was one of the most stressful parts of the wedding planning (haha!) because they are all SO expensive and because we are so indecisive! To save money I loved the idea of just having a couple of big Colin the Caterpillar cakes but about a month before the wedding we decided to delegate the task to my Mum. She kept it a secret but managed to get me my dream wedding cake had money not been a problem and it was such a lovely moment during the day when we first saw it! I was a big fan of the 90’s style frosting and Geoff’s fav cake is a Black Forest gateau, so my mum booked London based Lily Vanilli and it was delicious. We took some of the leftovers with us on our mini moon in a Tupperware which we ate in the hot tub – it was magic!
Evening Food:
Our evening food was a no brainer and so in keeping with the East End London theme, Marie sourced Brick Lane bagels that were served on crates around the dance floor between the band’s sets. We had three fillings; salt beef, pickle and mustard as the first, salmon and cream cheese and also a vegan houmous and grilled vegetables. Our wedding cake was also sliced up and served to the side of the dance floor so everyone could grab some and dance or take some for the food!
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Drinks:
We had to supply all of our own wine and beer for the wedding day, luckily without a corkage charge, and so we were both very excited at the prospect of choosing our wedding wine. After discussing with friends who had got married, we originally thought we would buy our own from the supermarket (we were recommend Aldi for good quality but affordable wine) but after buying some bottles to try, we struggled to find a good red and white and we both liked and agreed on.
Instead we booked an appointment at Majestic and after having a tasting session in their South Woodford store, we decided to buy all of the wine and beer from them! We tried a red and white from a brand called Guv’nor and thought they were delicious, very likeable and easy to drink so we purchased those and also found out they did a Prosecco too, so we had a Guv’nor wine wedding. Majestic have amazing deals where if you buy 6 bottles the price comes down, as well as a use or return scheme where if you have any wine leftover, you can return them so it was a no brainer. They delivered all of the wine and beer to the venue on the morning of the wedding which also took that stress from our hands.
Prosecco Tower: After our ceremony we decided to surprise our guests with a Prosecco tower for the wedding reception which again was one of Marie’s ideas! I thought this would be a lovely photo opportunity and also nice for our guests to walk in and see us pouring and handing out fizz to our guests!
Mr + Mrs Cocktails: Between our wedding breakfast and the party, we served up Mr and Mrs cocktails. I had a Johnnie Walker old fashioned and G had a summer berry Gin + Tonic and they went down a treat. I unfortunately didn’t even get to try one though which I regret!!
Trou Normand: As another surprise for our guests, we had a Trou Normand served after our main course as a palette refresher before dessert. The original Trou Normand is lemon sorbet and limoncello which helps wake you up and refresh you, so we had ice and limoncello which was again a lovely moment during the meal – doing shots with our parents on the head table!
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I hope you enjoyed this post all about our wedding food and drink! If you’re planning a wedding I couldn’t recommend really embracing your personalities with your wedding food! Make it memorable and a talking point to keep what could be a long day for your guests, fun and enjoyable!
Lots of Love,
Katie
Venue:Wiltons Music Hall | Photographer: Ed Godden | Catering:Easy Gourmet | Flowers: Minoux Florists | Videographers: PaperTwin (complimentary) | Dress:Catherine Deane | Shoes: | Bag: Vintage via Vinted | Earrings: Helix and Conch | Suits:Jack Bunnys | Bridesmaids: Highstreet | Entertainment Band: New York Brass Band | Transport: London Bus | Cake: Lily Vanilli | Makeup:Jennifer Makeup + (complimentary) | Hair: Jack + Samantha Cusick (complimentary) | Perfume: (Complimentary) | Confetti:Proper Confetti | Bow: Gigi + Olive | Lashes:Nouveau Lashes | Brows: HD Brows | Save The Dates:Wilbert and Willow | Wedding Invite Design: Kristyna |
