Thursday Cake Post

We've been writing a lot about our wedding recently, and there's a lot more to come. However, over the last few weeks it's been nice to start enjoying 'life' again (which we've carefully coordinated with the sun finally coming out and staying out for more than 5 minutes). At the moment 'life' means lots of birthday celebrations, which have been great for catching up with friends and family post-wedding.

Of course, birthdays mean cake, so in a break from wedding posts, here's some birthday cake. I made this for Alan's father, who celebrated a nicely significant birthday last week. 

Points to Note:

1. The recipe is from BBC Good Food. I doubled the ingredients and made two 10" cakes rather than three 8" cakes.
2. It came out a little dense, although very moist, so if I made this cake again I would try a different way of mixing to try and keep more air in there. I ended up with three layers as one of the cakes was a bit too thin to slice in half.
3. My cream cheese frosting seemed to taste overly cheesy, so I put much more icing sugar in and just made it to taste in the end.
4. Raspberries aren't in season yet so I used strawberries and left them in pieces rather than mashing them up. I sandwiched the third layer on with more jam and some of the cream cheese frosting (you would need to make more than the recipe gives for this to work). This gave quite a nice 'strawberries and cream' effect inside.

Just-about-finished product. Happy Birthday!

Wedding Day - Part 2 (from the Bride)

I enjoyed the drive to the church, although all I really remember is a few Saturday shoppers looking at us and smiling as we drive through Ware. Wow. I always like seeing cars of happy bridal parties driving along, and now that's me.

We're slowly approaching the church; although still too quickly,it seems, as we spot a number of guests still making their way down to the church. So much for being late - we're ten minutes early. I smile to myself, as I had told Alan there was no way I would be late.

It starts to drizzle lightly, but the driver literally has it covered, as he pulls a giant umbrella out of the boot. He also has water and mints - I could hug him, as my mouth has gone dry and my stomach is still a little nervous despite my overall excitement.

 

I climb out of the car - really not easy in a wedding dress - and we walk up the path. Astonishingly we are still early, and the vicar comes out to greet us. We can't start until the designated start time - it's a legal requirement. I see Alan inside (it is a small church) and wave like an idiot, forgetting that all our guests can probably see me. I don't regret it either way. The last couple of guests run up the path and past us.

Finally - FINALLY - it is time and we make our way towards the entrance. The organ starts - Pachelbel's Canon in D, one of my favourite pieces - and the vicar and rabbi start to process down the aisle. Phillipa and Juliet follow, and then Ellie and Annabel.

My parents start walking - I had asked both my mum and dad to accompany me down the aisle - and I am right behind them. As I step into the church, I see all eyes on me, but am only focusing on Alan, who I can see at the front. I think a few people take photos, although I couldn't have told you who.

We probably walked down the aisle too quickly, I reach Alan and stand there beaming at him for what seems like an age until the organ music stops and the service begins.

All too quickly - so quickly that I later flick back through the order of service to check we haven't missed something out - we reach the declarations and our vows. I listen to Alan's responses, loud, confident and firm, and I hope I echo that with mine. The rings are blessed, in English and Hebrew, kiddush wine is sipped and we finally get to wear our rings. We're married. We grin. We kiss. We grin some more. 'Smile' doesn't seem a strong enough word.

 

 I float through the rest of the service - the hymns, readings beautifully read by our mothers, the address, the Jewish blessings (more wine - oh yes). I enjoy the prayers, where Alan and I go up to the altar away from everyone else. 

 

Now comes the signing of the register - signature follows signature, mine first then Alan's,then my two brothers as witnesses. Lots of photos, and the marriage certificates are handed over. We're married and we have the paperwork to prove it. Hurrah!

 

We process out and wait for everyone else outside. On our spreadsheet, we timed this as 'scheduled mingling'. Everyone laughed, but that's what they're doing as "congratulations" is the word of the moment, hugs are swapped, and Ross is here, there and everywhere taking photos. I'm overwhelmed at how many of the local villagers, who we know from Sunday services, have turned out to see us get married. We didn't know they would come, and it means a lot to us.

Photo by Maxine von Eye

Confetti time - everyone forms a long tunnel and we walk through, the soft blue and cream petals falling around and over us. Later, I will find a lot of it down my dress. For the moment, it's all in my hair and veil - and yet I still can't stop smiling.

Eventually, we climb back into the car, bridesmaids in tow and off we go back to Fanhams Hall. Just got married!

PHOTOS BY ROSS HOLKHAM PHOTOGRAPHY (UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

Wedding Day - Part 1 (from the Groom)

I wake up at 6:15am. That wasn't in the plan ... breakfast doesn't start until 9am and I was hoping to avoid as much anxious pottering as possible.

I guessed this would happen and am actually surprised that I'd managed to sleep much at all. Usually before something big I'd have lain awake all night with my mind racing, but the night before had been so exhausting that I actually slept very well.

Frances is already awake and grinning at me like a Cheshire cat.

Rather than being stressful, this actually ends up being one of my favourite times of the day. It is too early for us to do anything, and there is gorgeous sunshine streaming in through the window; so we use the opportunity to make ourselves a cup of tea and sit eating Hobnobs in bed, waiting for the madness to begin. Two team-mates preparing for the big game.

The sun did come out - look!

Breakfast, when we do descend, smells wonderful. I am definitely in the category of people who, when presented with a buffet for breakfast, suddenly loses all sense of proportion and embarks on a multi-course feast that would shame a medieval banquet. But indulging can wait for tomorrow - the nerves are starting to kick in now. Especially as people start arriving I feel that I need to keep myself occupied with tasks.

Fanhams Hall have provided us with a room for me to get changed in, which is where I escape to - stopping only to quickly set up all of the candles and lanterns that we have brought that somewhere along the way had skipped my mind. We're far too organised otherwise, so I've really got a lot of time to kill - which I do by getting dressed early and then doing a crossword with Colin and my ushers that my parents thought to provide (excellent idea!). The first two answers I got were "fools rush in" and "runaway" ... I kid you not!

When we run out of things to distract me with, we head to the hotel reception to await the florist who arrives to deliver buttonhole flowers. As we get there the phone rings - it's the photographer. My heart sinks ... he should have been here half-an-hour ago. He must be calling me to say he is stuck in traffic - or maybe something bigger has gone wrong. Panic! "Hello?" "Hi, it's Ross here. We're taking some great shots of the bridesmaids up here. We were thinking of heading down and taking a few of the ushers - is now good?". Phew.

Groom, Best Man and two of the ushers

Groom and Best Man

The photographer brings tidings of a calm and happy room upstairs from the bridal suite; and the DJ wanders over from where he is unloading his van to wish me luck. It's time to head to the church already - where did the time go?! As we start to drive off I see the car that we have arranged to take Frances to the church turn up exactly on cue. The last piece of the puzzle has just fallen into place. For the first time since we started all of this I know that everything is going to work; so I sit back and enjoy the ride.

The Bride's chariot awaits

Wedding Day - Part 1 (from the Bride)

For me, our wedding day starts at 5.30am. I wake up, am instantly wide awake and although I'm tired, I know that I won't get back to sleep properly. Next to me, Alan is still fast asleep - I have to resist bouncing out of bed and running across the soft carpet of the bridal suite to check the weather.

I snooze,on and off, until 6.15am when, finally, Alan wakes up. I throw open the curtains to reveal a softly sunlit May morning. Even though it won't stay so sunny, that early-morning scene is imprinted on my memory.

We have tea and biscuits in bed, eager for the rest of the world to wake up. Finally, we can justify creeping downstairs to look at our reception room being set up. We run into my dad, habitually an early riser, and go off to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Nerves begin to kick in as my bridesmaids appear for breakfast.

I take my leave and go off to make the bridal suite ready for the Charlie and Sarah, our makeup and hair artists. They arrive, as do my bridesmaids a moment later. The next couple of hours pass in a haze of blowdrying, waving, powder and mascara, and a lot of jokes and laughter. Three of my bridemaids are my cousins, so it's a good time to catch up properly on all the family news.

Ross and Lauren, our photographers, arrive and are as chilled as ever. They photograph my dress, shoes and flowers, as well as some shots of us having our makeup done. Then they go off to find Alan and his ushers, who apparently are already dressed and about to leave.

I feel calmer and yet more excited as it all starts to come together. The girls are dressed and look gorgeous; the car has arrived and I can, after what has seemed like both the longest and the shortest morning, start getting dressed. The photographers are back and are snapping away. We're ready to go.


Wait! I turn round and suddenly spy my veil lying on the back of a chair. We've all completely forgotten about it and I need the makeup artist to put it in for me; I have my dress on and the bridesmaid dresses are way too long to run with. We all look at each other - but by this time Lauren, Ross's assistant is already shooting out of the door in pursuit. What. A. Star.

She returns, Charlie in tow, and the veil crisis is averted. A few more photos, a quick debate on the merits of bag/ no bag/ wraps/ no wraps and we're really ready to go. Quick time-check as I think we're running late. It's 13h05. The ceremony is at 13h30. It takes 10-15 minutes to drive to the church, but we need to get downstairs, and the traffic could be bad. Are we early or late? I can no longer decide, so tell everyone firmly: "Let's go".

 

We meet my dad coming upstairs. My dad is not a 'conventional' father of the bride, and there's no way I would ever want him to be, but I don't think I've ever seen him look prouder (a theme which, judging by the photos, is set to continue for the rest of the day).

The driver is ready for us downstairs, and remarks how calm we all seem. I realise, with a jolt, that we seem calm because we are calm. I feel astonishingly laid-back. Let's go and get married.

ALL PHOTOS BY ROSS HOLKHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

What We Did At The Weekend: Our Wedding

Today we realised it's Friday. Which means that this time last week, we were at Fanhams Hall preparing to get married. People were beginning to arrive at the hotel; we started to run into some of our guests every time we left the room. It was exciting. We had managed to wangle the bridal suite for the Friday night as well, and were enjoying settling in to a rather luxurious room.

I was tired, nervous and my head was thumping. I hadn't slept well for the last few nights, and was worried about the meal we had organised for our parents, siblings and bridal party and partners. Would everyone find the place? Would people talk to each other? What if someone couldn't find anything they wanted to eat?

I ended up going to hang out in our room for a bit before we went to eat. I didn't sleep, but an hour of peace to finish a few last minute jobs and read my book was really valuable.

I needn't have worried about the meal, although my head didn't stop aching and my stomach was all nervous. In hindsight, I should have realised that everyone is adult enough to get themselves to a pub and have dinner! Everyone was talking and getting to know those they didn't know already; food and drink was had and enjoyed; I'm sure I even heard somebody laughing at some point ;-) We're very grateful to the Vine in Ware for hosting us (all 22 of us) - we know such a large party can't have been easy. They even helped us celebrate a rather important birthday:

Happy Birthday Euan! - photo by Maxine von Eye

Although Alan and I gave up and went up to our room for an early night and a final details check, it was so nice to hear that everyone else seemed to end up in the bar talking to each other until the small hours:

Photo by Maxine von Eye

Memories from the evening:

• Forgetting the cheese and Alan going back to get it;
• Our usher Euan, giving up his birthday to spend the evening with us;
• Honeycomb and mint ice cream - who knew?
• My father making it from the Alsace and finally meeting Alan's parents - the last details clicking into place;
• Our last night as an unmarried couple - nervous but calm.

Soundtrack of a Journey into Marriage: Warble

4 DAYS TO GO

Over the last few weeks, spring has sprung with a vengence. The trees - including our lovely pear tree - are covered in leaves and blossom, there are more daisies on the lawn every day (wow, they grow quickly) and the sun has shown itself more in the last fortnight than I remember for the whole of last summer. The warm air carries with it the sounds of birdsong of all sorts, reminding us that now is the time for new life, new beginnings and to revel in the sheer beauty of nature.

The sound of melodious birdsong in itself is not really wedding related. However, it is a clear signal that winter is well and truly over, and spring is beginning to turn its head towards the hazy days of summer. And this year, early summer means, for us, our wedding and the beginning of our marriage. As I write this, there are but 4 days to go. And really, everything for this weekend starts on Friday as we pack up the car (probably several times - perks of a venue which is just 15 minutes away) and some of our guests arrive at the hotel.

I am looking forward to this coming weekend so much, even if the thought of being the centre of attention still makes my stomach churn every so often. Every stomach churn is followed by a little skip of anticipatory excitement at seeing everybody together, at finally getting to marry the man with whom I dream of being that elderly couple walking hand in hand in the park picking up conkers.

But the birdsong reminds me of the promise of summer and the start of our life beyond the wedding. I'm as excited for our post-wedding plans for this year as I am for the wedding; in some ways more so - selling this house and buying our forever house, career plans, afternoon teas, walks in the park, our honeymoon and our planned Autumn trip to New Zealand, weekends with friends...the list is endless, and that's the best thing about it.

So, Mr Blackbird, please keep on singing as much as you like. It reminds me of what comes next - and I think I'm ready for it.

Soundtrack of a Journey into Marriage: Chickens

Well, hens to be more exact...

Ah. The Hen Do.

I was always quite nervous about having a hen do. I've actually never been to one, as I wasn't able to make it to my friend's when she got married back in 2010 (a sad tale of having to move house the same weekend).

But I've read all the bridal magazines, I've watched Don't Tell the Bride and I've seen enough photos on Facebook to know that the idea of going round bars drunkenly (or even non-drunkedly) bedecked in sashes and rude straws just wasn't for me.

Enter Phillipa, my lovely maid of honour and organiser extraordinaire. As we lived together during our time at law school, she is fully aware of my love of tea and cake, and the fact that a barcrawl complete with stripper would be nothing further from what I wanted. We figured that afternoon tea was the way forward, and Phillipa also suggested a spa day where she and I could spend some time having a catch up. As we currently live at opposite ends of London and I no longer work across Heron Quays from Phillipa, we don't see each other as much as we should, so a spa day together sounded brilliant - I'd never been to a spa so I was particularly excited about this.

We went to the Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair for afternoon tea (note the coincidental name, although Phillipa confessed that this was completely unintentional. The room had a beautiful garden-like feel to it which, if you've seen the Invitations post, goes well with the general decor of our wedding.

There were 9 of us in total, and it was great to be able to catch up with my cousins and friends from law school who I haven't seen as often as I would like recently (note the general trend - I WILL get better at this after the wedding). Our waiter was hilarious and knew it was my hen party so made a great fuss of me!

 

  We picked our menus. I had a traditional tea, with plain and fruit scones. There was also an option for a 'chocolate lover's tea',which came with chocolate scones and all the cakes/pastries had chocolate in them. Both looked divine when they arrived!

I had a flowering osmanthus tea which, as the name suggests, had a flower in it which gradually opened out when the hot water was added - so pretty. Juliet had a milkshake which came with a chocolate straw - I was a little bit jealous as it looked gorgeous.

My goodness but the food was TASTY. My favourite sandwich was ham with cheese and a tomato chutney; closely followed by egg and watercress on basil bread and chicken with mustard mayonnaise and toasted almonds. I do love sandwiches, and these were some of the best.

As we hoovered up the last crumbs of the sandwiches, our lovely waiter came over and queried which sandwiches we liked best. He then promptly disappeared and reappeared with a plate of MORE SANDWICHES. My favourite kind of person!

I'm at risk of turning this post into a food love-in, but it's so worth it. The fresh warm scones, with clotted cream and jam, were excellent (and they, erm, brought more of those as well). As for the cakes - WOW. Eclairs, brownies, fruit tarts, cupcakes. The eclairs were my personal favourite - they melted in the mouth.

Phillipa had organised a quiz where I had to guess the answers given by Alan and my brothers to various questions. All the girls had bought me little gifts with memories attached - when I got a quiz answer right, I got to open a gift and had to guess who it was from.

It was harder than it sounds - when asked to name Alan's favourite book, I promptly forgot the title of every single book that's ever been printed. There were enough questions for me to be able to open all the gifts though, although I was embarrassed that I struggled with guessing each gift-giver! Each gift came with a story of why that gift had been picked, which was really fun.

Eventually, food eaten and teapots emptied, it was time to leave. Our waiter presented me with a box containing the leftover cakes (I love this place!) and told us to help ourselves to the pick'n'mix sweets round the corner (more love!) - which of course we duly did.

Some of us then went for a drink in a nearby pub (pink prosecco - YUM!) and grabbed a table which was apparently reserved, but they never turned up so we stayed there for an hour and a half before ambling home. I went back to Phillipa's, and we stayed up very late eating soup, cheese (after tea and cake, one of my favourite foodstuffs!) and biscuits and crisps, and watching films.

I'm going to have to put our spa day in a post of its own I think - well done if you read to the end, and apologies for the inevitable mouthwatering!