We're not just about the food. We've also got your back!

Couples write me the loveliest letters and cards after their wedding - well, they come to me (in the post - which I love) but are, of course, really a thank-you addressed to the whole Lazy Sunday team. I was wondering recently why I was so moved by one such thank-you . In it, the bride wrote that the food was wonderful, which as her wedding caterer was lovely to hear, because at the end of the day, that’s the whole point. But she also referred to me as ‘one of the world’s shiniest stars’ and that I had reminded her of  ‘why she was getting married' instead of panicking about minor details.’

When I first started in wedding catering I was barely ever able to step out of the kitchen Occasionally I would sneak out with my camera to photograph some of the detail. I loved then, and still do now, seeing my lovely brides for the first time in their dresses, and usually I cry at this point because without doubt every single time I really do feel like I have got to know these lovely people.

Now, the Lazy Sunday Shiny Star team is growing and I can honestly say that, for each and everyone of us,  it’s not just about the food that we produce on the day. The reason that I love sneaking out to see the detail, and the colour, and granny in her queen mum hat and groom nervously refining his speech in a corner is because usually I will have met with the bride and groom, or spoken with them on the phone. Lots. Often, discussing the food is relatively straightforward – you quickly get a sense of how the day will unfold and the kind of menu that would best suit the spirit of the occasion and the personalities of the people involved.

And then the talk becomes something more: A gradual getting to know; an understanding of personalities; an awareness that there are underlying worries that perhaps can’t be shared with friends and family too closely involved. And before you know it, you really really care about these lovely lovely people because for a while they are part of your world and you are part of theirs. And you help when you can with whatever you can. ‘Virtual valium’ is how I was once referred to a long time ago by one of my first ever grooms- to - be and gosh that made me happy. And when, recently, I have been bringing people on board to work with me, and as I write this now, I realise that they have all passed the 'virtual valium' test.  They're calming and they care, not just about the timings of your day or whether the food is hot or not (you get my point!) but that everything - that all elusive sense of how you imagined your day to be - is exactly how you wanted it to be. We've got your back.

And I guess it's also why food is so central to what we do. We've been told many times recently that we're so 'on trend' with the type of sharing, family style, generous, wholesome and visually WOW food that we serve. That was never our intention and I'm not really bothered whether we're on trend or not. The type of food we serve, and the way we serve it, is how I've always loved to eat. With friends. With family. With noisy chatter and laughter. Making people feel looked after and welcomed into your home. So the food we serve, the way we serve it, stems from that very very very deep rooted intention to make your guests simply feel 'at home' at your wedding: As if they could kick of their darn shoes, lounge on your virtual sofa and enjoy a good old knees up taboot.

I’ve been very fortunate (cue soft music!!) over the years that I have been involved in the wedding industry that all of my brides and grooms have been quite simply the nicest of people: The kind of people that you would choose to have in your life and for whom you wish all the wonderful things in their lives also. How lucky is that and how lucky am I.

And that is why thank you's to The Lazy Sunday team move us so much. We didn't just cook good food for you. We looked after you, and your friends, and your family. The best that we possibly could.

Tullibole Castle Open Day

I love Tullibole Castle. Totally tucked away, yet totally accessible, it's a proper little castle with a turret and a maze and a water mossed moat. The carriage house with white washed stone walls can host ceremonies and dinners and dances whilst the characterful grand hall (not too big and not too precious) is perfect also for castle style ceremonies. Honestly, you cannot help but fall in love with Tullibole and its slightly eccentric and totally loveable owner.

So its open weekend was a lot of fun. Tipis in the grounds, peacocks in the trees. A Harpist (the lovely Mary Garrad). We barbequed and served up hot pumpkin soup. Lovely couples - some falling in love with the castle from the minute they set eyes on it. Cake (thankyou The Occasional Cake Company!) Autumn very definitely in the air and some fiery red leaves reminding us, if needed, that the weather was chilling. We had a ball.

One of Tullibole Castle's very scary guard dogs saying hello to our lovely Ola

Lazy Sunday display

Fun biscuits from The Occasional Cake Company

Lovely detail

Delicousness from The Occasional Cake Company

Jute Jam and Journalism - The Broons had a great day at the wonderful Hill of Tarvit Mansion

Hill of Tarvit is a stunning National Trust Property just outside Cupar. With a 9 hole hickory golf course, lovely grounds and a beautifully maintained house, the house and its surrounds played a big part in Emma's childhood. She grew up riding in the lanes, walking with family, enjoying fete weekends - and when Emma and Chris chose it as the venue for their wedding (along with a marquee), Emma felt like she was coming home.

Now living in Dundee, my lovely lovely couple were determined to do things their own creative way. The theme of jute, jam and journalism, combined with the married name of Brown, leant itself to the really special touches that made the day very true to them - the Broons photograph booth was genius; the hessian and the books and the Broons Annuals made everyone chuckle; the flowers and wreaths were stunning; the wedding cake was not exactly a cake, but rather hundreds of absolutely delicious strawberry danish pastries handmade by local baker Fisher and Donaldson - we stacked them on my trusty ladder of love for impact:  and if ever a day reflected the hours of care and attention and artistry that went into it, this one certainly did. 

Huge congratulations to Chris and Emma. We loved being able to enter into the spirit of your day with tin buckets and jute accessories. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!

the cake ladder

wee game pies on the ironing board - now also known as The Game Board!

Delicious puffy chips in newsprint cones

The top table sharing platter being shared by lovely tweed suited groom Chris

lemon poppyseed drizzle cake

the cake ladder

a wee bit of the pudding table

rungs of strawberry danish pastries

lovely bride Emma

a mountain of meringues and chocolate tiffin

canapes

more canapes

the broons corner

Ola and Kasia coming out to play

table detail

table detail

A wedding. By the sea. With haybales. And a driftwood arch. Very Lazy Sunday!!

Barefoot Bride.............Check

Beach.........................Check

Haybales.....................Check

Woolly wraps..............Check

Beachfront venue.......Check

Driftwood Arch............Check

Deckchair colours.......Check

Sunshine.....................Check

Seagulls.....................,Check

I don't actually think that it would be possible to have a more beautiful setting for a wedding by the sea. Originally a brick built net making factory for the herring industry, the fabulous glass fronted conversion of Cardy Net House is the perfect place for a beachside wedding. Beautiful garden to the side (where Jen and Nick's friends erected a gazebo and created a driftwood arch and laid out haybales topped with bright coloured rugs); outstanding view across the Forth towards the Bass Rock; a timber decked verandah from where you can watch the sunset; the most amazing social space that spills out onto the verandah and can comfortably seat 70 for dinner.

I fell absolutely head over heels in love with this wonderful house. Unusually, the kitchen is part of the open plan party space, so were able to watch everything going on. We were able to listen to the speeches; join in the toasts; mingle with lovely guests; feel the sun on our faces; be part of this stunning setting and this amazing view.

Jen and Nick are adorable. Adventurous adventurers with chickens and kayaks and lovely friends and lovely family. Jen has also amazing creative vision (she puts colours together brilliantly - bridesmaids in bright yellows and shocking pinks - fabulous!) - and pulled everything together so that the house, the gardens and the beach were put to best use. Their guests loved it . We loved it. Just wonderful.

A friends-made driftwood arch and haybales

The surfoard in action as a sharing platter for the top table. Featuring Wild boar salami and pheasant salami, chicken liver and orange pate, mango and sweet chilli salsa, Great Glen Charcuterie venison salami, cheeses.

Canapes - raw queenie, mango and cucumber sticks with rocket mayonnaise; Pork rillette brushcetta with purple radish shoots

The view over the wall

Waiting for the bride (the photograph on the left reminds me of a Vettriano painting. Why is that?)

Hard at work but what a view across the open plan kitchen/party space

the timber decked verandah overlooking the beach. The open plan party space.

A beautiful bride

My lovely chef Tomasz coming over all romantic with his lovely wife!

Fabulous colours

Beautiful wild flowers

Getting ready!

Here comes the barefoot bride

The amazing dessert table - with puddings made by lovely family and friends

Amazing light. Amazing views

Venue                 Cardy Net House, Lower Largo
Menu                  Tasting platter starters; Hill lamb casserole with apricots and cannelini beans; honey                             and raisin couscous; flame grilled summer vegetables; flat breads. Dessert table                                   gifted by family and friends.

Catching up, new ideas, some recipe testing - welcome to my wedding catering world!!

The last three weeks have been a busy mix of small weddings, cooking demonstrations, meeting with brides, recipe planning and general catching up with myself. Enquiries have been coming in fast and furious for next year - and I am genuinely delighted to be catering so many weddings that are completely 'out there' in terms of the food that will be featuring on the day. We are also taking a lot of bookings for day before and day after food - creating bespoke bbq's, picnics and grazing tables for couples keen to make the most of having friends and family all in the one place.

One of the challenges in all of this is that not having fixed menus means that a lot of my time is spent at the moment creating very tailored ideas - I love this, but it's time consuming and I also have to make sure that whatever we jointly (the couple and I) come up with is doable in terms of numbers; and, as importantly, will work in the kitchen space (or not kitchen space!!).

We then have to test everything out to make sure that the flavour combinations are spot on, and that I've got the timings right. So this week I have been experimenting with a variety of vegetarian momos (Nepalese dumplings) and cauliflower vadas (asian spiced fritter/pancake) for a vegetarian couple who have recently returned from 6 months travelling around the world. They are really keen for the majority of their menu to be vegetarian and want to wow their guests with incredible flavour combinations and textures.

We have come up with the concept of a Grazing Table of the foods that they have most enjoyed from their travels, but using seasonal local produce as the base. I've only just started doing grazing tables, and will have photos soon. Essentially though they work really well in place of canapes/starters - enabling people to graze at their leisure during the drinks reception, and then go straight into main course dining. 

This is an incredibly sociable, convivial and relaxed style of eating - set out like a buffet, looking incredibly awesome, but designed so that people come back frequently to try another bit of culinary delight and I love that we can incorporate a couple's favourite things in this way. We've also designed a Scottish charcuterie Grazing Table - showcasing the best of Scottish meats and cheeses and game pies - and again this is proving incredibly popular. 

Another lovely couple have introduced me to the concept of the Groom's Reception. You all probably know exactly how this works, but I had never heard of such a thing before. The Groom's reception is effectively a ploy to keep the groom relaxed and unflustered prior to his lovely bride's arrival at the ceremony. You'll recognise these moments - when the guests start to arrive and typically the groom is standing at the front, nervously chatting to his bestman and trying not lose it emotionally in front of the congregated throng. The Groom's Reception is a well thought out alternative to this uncomfortable scenario: guests are greeted with some 'manly' canapes and possibly some ale shots whilst they chat to each other and to the groom. Those emotionally charged tense moments are beautifully dissipated as the Groom relaxes into the occasion. I love this idea and am sending a virtual hug to the lovely couple who shared this with me.

In between these busy times, I have been enjoying reading cookery books, watching the finals of masterchef (Ping soooo deserved to win) and adding to my collection of vintage crockery. A fleeting visit to friends on The West Coast saw me coming home with a skip in my step and some freshly laid eggs. Simple pleasures.

And this coming fortnight I'm heading up to Comrie Croft to meet a couple who are holding their very laid back wedding there, Monchlymhor to meet a couple who are getting married at the beautiful Altskeith House on Loch Ard later this year, and inbetween times starting the preparations for the first wedding at The Byre at Inchyra at the end of this month. Today therefore, is a feet up, plan a nice Sunday dinner, potter in the garden, watch the tide come in kind of day. I hope that you are all enjoying something similar!