Sunday 1 June 2014

The first wedding at The Byre at Inchyra.

Hand strung flower garlands from the gardens of Pyrus hung like magic high above white clothed lines of tables and between the apple trees to the front of the Pavilion. The troughs were filled with clumps of mosses and wild flowers, as if they had grown there for ever. Caroline told me to go look in the walled garden, but she was cleverer than daft old me - wearing sunglasses to hide her genuine tears at the loveliness of it all. I, of course, burst into spontaneous tears at the sheer beautifulness of the simplest of transformations; and the colours; and the eye of glorious artists who happen to be florists who took what was already lovely and made it even more so. I knew that the day would be beautiful and that the sun would shine; that the stone bound lily pond would be the perfect place for us to sneakily perch and watch a ceremony that was full of song and words and laughter and Irish accents and French accents and Scottish accents. And love.

What you see here are the behind the scene shots because I know that the wonderful Zoe Campbell's photographs are going to blow you away. I hope that mine give you some sense of a day which all of us involved wanted to be perfect for a beautiful, relaxed and genuinely lovely couple, their family and their lovely lovely friends. These are in no particular order because I'm lacking a bit of energy today (can't imagine why!), but hopefully you might also recognise some of the purchases to which I have recently been alluding.

We served drinks to Eoghan and Mireille in the walled garden on a vintage writing case that I recently found. If you look closely at the calendar, you'll be able to see the date circled in pencil. I love this. A lovely verse from Alice in Wonderland was read at the ceremony.

The Pyrus team are incredible. They floated the simplest of garlands to create sets and frames. The one hung in front of the pavilion, (where the ceremony was to take place) reduced Caroline to tears. Me too when I saw it. I don't know why I was so emotional, except that I knew how much Mireille was going to absolutely love it.

This is the moment that Mireille saw her beautiful cake, made by her close friend. It was a huge talking point on the day - and possibly the most photographed . I'm deliberately not showing you the front detail - you'll have to wait for Zoe Campbell's photographs.!

The dessert was affogato with hazelnut liqueur. For a vegan option we created jam jar fruit cocktails with a dark chocolate and coconut sauce. We garnished with chopped pistachios and edible flowers. They were collectively pronounced as the simplest/best vegan dessert ever to be served at a wedding. Happiness.

We all kind of knew that the sun was going to shine. And boy did it shine! Mireille and Eoghan soo wanted to be married in the walled garden, and to have their post ceremony drinks served there as well. So before the ceremony was taking place in front of the pavilion we set out the champagne glasses around the lily pond. THE LILY POND! How many more perfect things could this wedding possibly have!

We couldn't obviously pour the fizz until the ceremony was over. So instead we quietly got ourselves organised and took the chance to watch the ceremony. Somehow this connects us all to the significance of the day and it is these quiet, behind the scene moments that I think we probably all enjoy the most.
 



We were excited to introduce the Lazy Sunday Ladder of Loveliness to the proceedings. Mireille and Eoghan wanted a very relaxed feel to their wedding afternoon, so once drinks had been served and the cake cut, guests were able to enjoy huge bowls of strawberries, pork rillete and smoke salmon pate.I think this worked really well, with guests able to return at their leisure. You'll note that my recently purchases old fashioned sledge also makes an appearance
Beautiful Mireille with her stunning bouquet. This dish of cheesy biscuits is facing the wrong way - turned round it has BUTTER printed. It's a huge and heavy platter. 
And I love it.

Through the eye of the Ladder of Loveliness.

I also recently bought a 50 year old surf board. Once oiled with rapeseed oil, it is the perfect food server! Nearly as perfect as lovely Ola, the daughter of my fabulous chef Tomasz.

bits and pieces that made me smile on the day.
This is the lovely Kasia - wife of my fabulous chef Tomasz - who occasionally comes to help out on the day. Here you can see her carrying one of our delicious tasting platters comprising venison and wild boar salamis, and antipasti style meats from Great Glen Game and Rannoch. WE also added some scallops, hummus dips and served a huge amount of breads to the table. The picture on the right is a little peek into the bit before service!


Mireille and Eoghan's wedding was a long time coming. All the way through a miserable, wet  and cold winter I looked forward to seeing the day come together. I remember meeting Mireille and Eoghan for the first time in Ikea. They were both passionate about the food they wanted served on the day, and determined that it should reflect the kind of simple, local and generous food that they most enjoy. Mireille was interested mostly in the creative detail; Eoghan with the logistics of the day. Together they make the most beautiful couple and I don't think it would have been possible for anything to have been more perfect for them. 

The Byre at Inchyra Team have created something unbelievably beautiful. Inchyra has heart. And  it has Soul. Owners Caroline and James care from the bottom of their boots to the tips of their ears and have paid attention to the kind of glorious detail that makes every single element a pleasure to be a part of. You can't really care more than that. 

Oh, and just for your information, there is something about an Irish accent that makes my heart thump!!!

Venue                The Byre at Inchyra
Food                  My lovely Lazy Sunday team
                         Starter - huge sharing platters of Scottish charcuterie
                         Main - Perthshire roe deer and canellini bean casserole with bashed buttery broad                           beans, wild garlic mash and orange spiced rhubarb jelly.
Florist                 Pyrus
Photographer      Zoe Campbell Photography
Lazy Sunday Rosettes - hand crafted by the fabulous Tori Gray Illustration.