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Wedding Planning by the Dart
♥ ♥ PART THREE . . stnemal
“Honey and mustard sausages are massively important to me.” So begins Nick’s contribution to the meeting with our wedding caterer, Elaine Day. Lainey runs her business, Entertaining Food, from Kingsbridge where she lives with her two daughters. She covers the South Hams area and further afield and has been recommended to us by various locals – Lainey’s rustic but sumptuous style is exactly what we’re after and from her reputation we know we won’t be let down. We rendezvous one chilly winter’s afternoon at
Browns Bar in Dartmouth. Lainey swings brightly through the door, sporting a gorgeous tan leather jacket – I have to stop myself from asking where she got it – and with a fresh-off-the-slopes rosy glow to her cheeks. She joins me for a glass of Tasmanian Fizz (one great thing about getting married is it presents a dozen excuses for stopping for a glass of bubbly in Browns) and we settle down to go through our options. It would seem however, that we don’t need options. Nick apparently has it all planned out. In addition to the sausages – which must feature amongst the canapes – we will be serving antipasti platters for start (and here parma ham is the must), followed by a main of baked porchetta with apples, the obligatory chocolate dessert and rounding off with bacon butties as an evening snack. He relaxes back into his chair and sips his beer; ladies you have been told. “Wonderful dear, “ I say, “But don’t you think that’s rather a lot of
by PHILIPPA
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Pork?”..... Or more to the point – has it not crossed your mind that the girl you’re marrying doesn’t like the stuff?! He shrugs, “Yeah maybe. I guess. Okay, so what’s the alternative?” He leans forward. Lainey produces a long list of suggested dishes
and our mouths begin to water. Suddenly a glass of bubbles on its own seems rather dull – I am craving mint and pea fritters with wild garlic mayo, smoked salmon with orange hollandaise and thai spiced Salcombe crab cakes. Nick also looks hungry. The food sounds heavenly and I love the local emphasis; just perfect. We make some choices and agree that Lainey will
be in touch with a quote. “I’ll give you an idea of price and we can go from there;” the great thing about Lainey is that she can work to any budget and will do her utmost to help you save cost where you
can......although if there’s one thing I can assure you; it’s that we won’t be scrimping on the sausage front. I wouldn’t dare. Sorting the food is a huge weight off my mind. Much as we brides like to kid ourselves, food and booze are what your guests remember – they are far more likely to tell their friends about the fantastic mini roast beef and yorkshire pudding nibbles than to rave about the detail on the bride’s gown.
one great thing about getting married is it presents a dozen excuses for
stopping for a glass of bubbly in Browns
Still, deciding the menu is all very well – but without a venue to serve it in, you are completely lost. PAUSE; Is it just me or is this
wedding malarky a constant hunt for something? If it’s not the groom it’s the dress; if it’s not the dress it’s the food; and if it’s not the food it’s somewhere to
serve it in! Whatever it is, it’s tiring – but I plough on.
“Ploughing” – funny I should mention that –
because when you’re trying to find a venue near Kingswear that seats one hundred and fifty people,
it’s about your only option. The gradient of the Dart valley is so steep that unless you’re prepared to hurl yourself on the sympathies of a local farmer, your choices are extremely limited. Mum and I explored the possibilities. We considered the Royal Dart Yacht Club – but this would be too much like a day at work for Nick – and we even went as far afield as Gurrow Point in Dittisham – where they offer the use of one of their expansive lawns as a site for a marquee. The setting, close to the water’s edge, was pretty but it didn’t hit that personal note for me (being that I’m not from Ditt’sam) and I began to give up hope. That was until the National Trust came to my rescue. I was desperate and so emailed them to see whether Greenway House might be available. I had read somewhere that they occasionally did
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❀ ❀ ❀ n Third of four i g n ❀ ❀
nail-biti
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NUTTALL
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