Spring ’17 Summaries

Food

How is it possibly May already? Typing away, the sun is shining and the birds are singing! Spring is most definitely here and that can only mean that Summer is just around the corner and with it event and wedding season is upon us. Although we’ve already had quite a few events and a wedding, summer is the traditional time to say ‘I Do’, however our season starts mid-April and continues through to September. Busy (but fun) times ahead! Intermingled with some corporate events (one tomorrow actually) and a few big birthday’s and special occasions this year looks set to be a big one.

Before we have all these though, let us recap a little over the past 3 months. So what have we been up to…well you would think that these months are the quietest; not exactly! Although not literally, we have been making hay whilst the sun shines, in other words prepping for the many events and weddings that the year holds. We have been busy with tastings galore, looking at our menus and re-jigging them, coming up with some exciting new menus and ideas and organising ourselves and our staff ready for when it’s all systems go.

We also have some exciting plans for our premises and are hoping to create and install something quite special! You’re going to have to wait for a few more details, but let’s just say it’s going to good!

Amongst all of the prep and admin, we’ve had a weddings and events galore! It’s never really quiet for us! One of our lovely weddings fell on Valentine’s Day – how romantic! Guests were treated to a sumptuous buffet full of goodies and brimming with food. “I just wanted to touch base and say thank you for helping our wedding day be amazing! The lamb was the hit of the day as were the burgers and chips and the puddings were also super yummy! I wish I could do it all again and sit and eat it all again! You and your staff were wonderful on the day and really helped with the smooth running of things.” Such fab feedback received too, which always makes us smile!

Weddings

It’s fair to say we have been busy little wedding planning bee’s at the start of this year. As with the food and events side, in the ‘quiet’ months, it’s great to get everything in order, planning, prepping and generally making sure you are being productive and finalising plans for your summer weddings. All this, mixed with meetings and some tastings keeps us busy, but we do love this part when all the plans start to take shape and the couples can really start to see their big day coming together. Absolutely love seeing that!

In addition to all of the planning, we’ve also been asked to help style a few wedding inspiration shoots and organise a couple of our own. We sadly can’t give much away yet, but once we know when they are published, all shall be revealed. We also had a few previous shoots feature on Bridal Musings, Fine Art Wedding Boutique  You & Your Wedding Online and in Perfect Wedding Magazine and You & Your Wedding Magazine. The feeling you get seeing your work really is quite special; getting to be creative and working with some fellow amazing industry pro’s is just amazing and is something that we just love to do and help other suppliers do too. We don’t just plan, we also style and that seems to be quite a popular request currently; not only for fellow suppliers, but for couples who have the planning side nailed, but need some help with the creative side and bringing a vision to life. In this visual and social media driven world, couples are wanting to be more and more unique and décor and styling is one way to do so…mixing up linens, the way you fold a napkin or have a runner, installations and florals and various lighting effects. There are so many ways to inject personality and style and we totally love this part of weddings and events. Another biggy is on the day management, which we have a lot of this year. From doing over 500 weddings, we like to think we know a thing or two about the wedding day and if it means our couples can relax the whole day through, knowing we have everything sorted, then it works for us! We always aim to please!

We also received some exciting photos this week from the fab Melia Melia Photography from a wedding we planned and catered for last year at Wickham House. Seriously dreamy images and we are so excited! We can’t wait to share these with you all soon.

However with all this in mind, we have to get back to a final few plans and finish prepping! The smell wafting from the kitchen is H E A V E N L Y!

Until next time…Emma & Team GB. x

Goose & Berry are a Luxury Boutique Catering, Wedding, Event & Brand Experience Planning & Design company who specialise in Weddings, Social and Corporate Events.  We are based in Marlow & London and cover London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Home Counties.

www.gooseandberry.co.uk

Did you know we also Plan and Design Weddings and Events!

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/weddings-goose-and-berry

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/events-gooseberry

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Delivering December & our 2017 Wedding Trend Predictions

Happy New Year you lovely lot! We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year. 2017 has arrived and we are back at work and ready for all of the exciting events and weddings ahead of us. Our December was full of Christmas parties galore and lots of super fun events.

In amongst the canape and drinks parties, we had some dinners mixed in and some festive lunches too. Christmas parties are all about the fun and the festive treats, think mulled wine, Christmas cocktails and a few hundred or so mince pies to boot! Turkey, trimmings, beef wellington and some seriously tasty sticky toffee pudding. We were lucky enough to be back at Windsor Guildhall for a Christmas Dinner and it really was a beautiful setting. We also got to provide some cute Christmas canapes for the lovely ladies at B.loved for their festive mingle.

We were also invited to a few Christmas parties and gatherings ourselves where we got to catch up with fellow wedding industry pros and celebrate the year with some festive cheer. One of the highlights included a scrummy afternoon tea at The Bingham – such a beautiful hotel in Richmond, with a riverside setting that is ideal for weddings.

December certainly flew past and we can’t believe it’s another year and January already! As event and wedding professionals, people always ask us what we think will be popular in the forthcoming year…well here is our top 5 predictions for weddings and catering.

1. Greenery – Pantone’s colour of the year is Greenery – quite a vibrant bold green which is quite the contrast to last year’s pastel hues. Whether used as a theming throughout your wedding or event, we think foliage will be used in abundance and in a loose, wild and natural way.
2. Tropical – The tropical trend was popular last year, but mixed with the Greenery, we think this will really take off. Long reign the pinks, oranges, flamingos and pineapples!
3. Industrial Luxe – Think copper, marble and warehouses with metal, stone and metallic elements, mixed with geodes and geometric contemporary designs and décor.
4. Foodie Heaven – couples want to go BIG on food and splurge a little. Food after all is a big part of the day! Choosing their favourite food and going all out, matching wines and drinks too. P.S – keep any eye out for completely raw, vegan and gluten free menus too!
5. Food stations and informal catering will be key – as will drinks stations. We have no doubt that artisan gins and craft beers will be big as will botanical drinks.

Are you getting married in 2017? Will any of the above be featuring? We would love to know and find out more about your plans. We have a busy January ahead – focusing on some upcoming weddings and events and finalising plans, also prepping for a Valentine’s wedding too – how romantic!

Until next time…Emma. x

November Noted

Festivities have well and truly begun and party season is upon us. November has kicked off the season in style and we have had some seriously fun filled weeks and we are now fully in the Christmas spirit. Largely because we have spent the weekend surrounded by Christmas spruces and decorations galore at the Country Homes & Interiors Christmas Show, but more about that later…

Food and Events

November has bought a wonderful mix of lunches, dinners, weddings, Christmas parties and a big country show, all completed by a super exciting award! We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to have been voted the English Wedding Awards South East Caterer! How fabulous! This has made our month and year, so thank you very much. We have some lovely events this month. November has certainly seen the festivities begin and we’ve had a few seasonal gatherings – from brunches, to lunches, buffets, canapes and cocktails and some elegant dinners. We get to incorporate some festive and seasonal produce and our cinnamon and mulled wine poached pears are proving popular as is our Venison main. Towards the end of the month saw a couple of weddings at Micklefield Hall. The barn lends itself beautiful to Autumnal and Winter weddings and we had rich reds and some elegant navy and white tones used as the décor. Berries were still popular as ever and our winterberry mess went down an absolute treat! We took the mid of the month to finish off some tastings for events early next year and also start to look ahead to December where party season will truly have its hold on us.

We also released our full raw, vegan and gluten free menus for wedding guests. We are the first caterer to do so and can’t wait to get creating some raw magic in the new year for our couples and their guests.

Finishing off the month we catered for 3 days and thousands of visitors to the Country Homes & Interiors Christmas show at Stonor Park. Visitors were treated to seasonal and Christmas coffee’s and hot chocolates, festive sweet treats and savoury snacks such as our local pies, which were raved about by the end of the weekend! We absolutely loved being there and being part of the show, enjoying getting into the Christmas spirit. It’s fair to say we could have spent a small fortune on some of the wonderful gifts on offer – our office may be featuring some of the decorations on show.

Weddings

Following on from last month and quote gathering, November saw a little more and finalising some suppliers for next years’ weddings. It’s so good when everything falls into place and means that our couples can relax and enjoy the festive season, assured that all is booked and the fun of the details and styling lies ahead.

As members, we attended an NAWP event too, which are always good fun; getting to catch up with some familiar faces and meeting new. Networking events are always good to make some industry friends and catch up; all whilst trying some drinks and nibbles at a new venue which you may have not yet discovered. This was the case on this occasion. The event was held at the Museum of the order of St John and wow, it really is a stunning place. Hidden in Farringdon, we had no idea it was even there, but are so pleased we are now. It’s so beautiful and the spaces and history are quite magnificent. We also got to visit ‘Elevate your senses’ Wedding showcase at the Shangri La hotel at the Shard. Even on a slightly rainy day, the views were incredible and it was lovely to see some of our faves; Armorial, Emmy Shoes, Twobirds Bridesmaids and Abigail Bloom Cakes.

Last month we mentioned how delighted we were to have our Autumn Copper inspiration shoot featured on B.Loved and we are still loving the tones and autumn vibes the shoot brings. We’ve had a bumper month of features and we have been featured once again in Your Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wedding Magazine for a styling feature and earlier in the month we had our stunning Jane Austen Georgian Serenity shoot featured on top US blog Burnetts Boards – how amazing! You can see a little more here. It brings back fond memories of Spring, which was a warm welcome in these chillier times!

Until next time…Emma. x

Goose & Berry are a Luxury Boutique Catering, Wedding, Event & Brand Experience Planning & Design company who specialise in Weddings, Social and Corporate Events.  We are based in Marlow & London and cover London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Home Counties.

www.gooseandberry.co.uk

Did you know we also Plan and Design Weddings and Events!

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/weddings-goose-and-berry

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/events-gooseberry

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April Adventures!

So it’s been a little while since the last Blog article and as well as detailing certain events and useful tips we thought it might be quite nice to give a monthly update about what is happening in the world of Goose & Berry.

This year has already been a busy one, probably our busiest yet and whilst we get a chance (and a kind of belated New Year’s resolution) we have given ourselves a little task of making sure we write a monthly blog, no matter how busy we may be. It’s never ending I’m sure! However luckily we love what we do at G&B and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, I hear you ask, what have you been up to! Well, read on…

What’s New?

The big news this month is our new premises! We have moved into bigger and better premises. It’s looking amazing and we are ready for the busy season ahead. What I personally am most excited about however is my desk. Yes, I am a full on desk accessories and stationery geek and rather proud of it. That added to my rather ridiculous obsession of all things copper and rose gold. Now I know these colours and metallic are everywhere now and seem to be a key trend but let me tell you…I have loved them for years. I love their warm and rich tone, whether it be in accessories, clothing or jewellery. I guess this love has stemmed from my background working in property and interior design. I’m fascinated by the way certain fabrics, colours and shapes all work together and have a different effect in different settings.

The joy about our new premises is that is a rather industrial warehouse chic appeal to it. Yes, it will have a working kitchen (like we don’t already struggle enough to try and resist eating ALL THE TIME!) but it will also feature our desks, a tasting space and meeting space. Multi functioning dream space right here! With this joyous space, which I might add is super light and airy, brings a natural lure to all things copper and metallic, to contrast against the white walls and hard industrial shell. Just you wait until I get started on the soft furnishings…I can’t wait to look at the various fabrics, chairs etc. and then the shelving units…basically we’ve all gone interiors crazy and it’s only just started with the desks.

Food and Events

Aside from moving into our new pad, we’ve been keeping busy on the catering front with many events and weddings already this year. We’ve had some lovely end of winter and Spring weddings and lots of fab dinner parties. April has been a busy month for tastings, confirming final choices and entertaining clients with our tasty treats. We love tastings and seeing what couples and clients choose and seeing the look on their face and hearing their feedback when finished. It also gives us a chance to learn lots about the couple, particular tastes, wants and needs, whilst also giving me a chance to understand and learn more about our menu…i.e. taste everything on our menu!

Weddings

I get the fun job of heading up Goose & Berry Weddings. This month (and at the end of March) I have been quite the busy bee indeed. At the end of March I had one of the highlights of my year so far. Part of my job involves organising styled shoots with some other fab wedding lovelies and superstars. I had arranged for 2 shoots to take part in one day (mammoth task!) at the simply breath taking and world famous Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons (quite the privilege). Now I won’t spoil the fun and tell you too much about it until the shoots get published (fingers crossed!) but I met a serious all time hero of mine – the one and only Raymond Blanc. Fair to say I was a little star struck, but he was a true gentleman and had such charisma. He was genuinely interested in what we were doing, polite and just an all-round lovely man. For a serous foodie like myself, this was a huge highlight, not only of my year, but yes…my life.

At the start of the month, we were invited to Quintessentially Atelier at The Dorchester Hotel. G&B adore this luxury wedding and bridal show; it has the perfect mix and selection of suppliers for the luxe market and you will always see a few fellow wedding suppliers and lovelies there, so it’s always nice to stop and have a catch up over a glass of fizz. It’s a wonderful showcase, not only showing off a stunning venue but also the crème de la crème of wedding suppliers, from photographers, bridal designers, florists, cake designers and entertainment. Several of our preferred suppliers were there and it was great to see our local neighbours Eight Ray Music who had several acts performing. Can’t wait until one of our summer weddings has one of their bands playing; it’s going to be super!

This month has also involved quite a few final meetings for 2 weddings we are planning this summer. One couple few in from America to sort out all plans in a week, so we had a fun time meandering around Windsor, from one meeting to another, all amongst the backdrop of the Queen’s 90^th Birthday. What an experience for them it was…although getting around Windsor was not so easy. Last week has also seen final plans taking place for another couple and involved my favourite discussions…no not food, but flowers. Aside from copper and rose gold, my big passion is all things floral. I have taken a wedding floristry course because I am so fascinated by the world of weddings and floristry. (Next on the agenda is calligraphy, excited much!). We went to visit Lily’s Flowers and boy do they have a dreamy workspace. Surrounded by horses, flowers and then the cutest office dog, I genuinely wanted to take up residence (I know…new premises, excited, etc.…but they lack horses!). That aside, flowers are all finalised, followed by wine tasting and then a good old run through and chat over a cuppa…and wine…of course!

One of the most fun points of my month involved taking a couple of days and mixing work and pleasure, oh yes, it can be done! G&B Weddings went on a little Cotswolds tour…and in this case what happens on tour doesn’t stay on tour! The visit started at a favourite of mine and having a delicious lunch at Dormy House. After followed a tour and also a little jaunt to Foxhill Manor, one of the three hotels on the Farncombe Estate. This one is a serious WOW factor – 8 sumptuous bedrooms with the most magical views. Honestly, true escapism and bliss, ultimate luxury. If you want true exclusivity and a hidden away retreat, event or wedding, look no further than Foxhill Manor and look at taking all three hotels. They are all divine and the attention to detail is superb.

Next up was Thyme, the most idyllic rural Cotswolds retreat. I had booked to stay in one of the Cottage Suites and wowsers, it did not disappoint. Beautiful furnishings, super cosy and comfy and just beautiful! Fun, herb infused cocktails (my fave) in the Baa…such fun! Followed by a super tasty dins in The Swan, which is a couple of minutes’ walk along the village. Imagine a true country pub and you have The Swan. Returning to my cottage, I was welcomed with a hot water bottle in bed and the cutest little nightcap. Little touches like this were so spot on and make Thyme a beautiful luxury country retreat. Breakfast was served in the Tythe Barn and served was some of the most delicious sausages and granola (not together I might add) I have tasted. The service was faultless – friendly, smooth and efficient. Heaven for a lazy morning! I was treated to a tour of the beautiful space where ceremonies can be held, Thyme House – an interiors dream– antiques and rustic but classy furniture. I also took a little wander past the lambs to the kitchen garden. Full of wonderful offerings and lots more to be grown and used at Thyme; clucking chickens, quails, some feisty pigs and then my new friend, Salty the family pig. Such a cutie, although I did feel guilty after eating those sausages!

After a tough goodbye and a promise to visit again soon, I made my way to Barnsley House, stopping off at The Village Pub. It was definitely a foodie Cotswolds Tour as much as a venue one. Barnsley House is a true masterpiece. A stunning Cotswold village manor house, set amongst the most picturesque gardens and a blissful spa hidden in the grounds. The temple and gardens offer the most perfect ceremony spot, whilst you get the use of the restaurant and lounges for the wedding breakfast and reception, or a marquee at the bottom of the garden. Just so dreamy! These signs were the sweetest, so sweet and a great fun, talking point for guests. Fully in love with all venues, I then had a little jolly around Cirencester, Bibury and Daylesford Farm – I couldn’t resist and definitely bought my other love – gin. Always have to invest in gin wherever I go. Feeling rather tired after a relaxing, but rather fun packed couple of days I returned home longing to return and full of ideas for the dreamiest of weddings I could plan at the venues.

So there you have it….quite a fun packed month, full of excitement! Next up is May…which we will update you about in a few weeks’ time.

Emma. x

 

Goose & Berry are a Luxury Boutique Catering, Wedding, Event & Brand Experience Planning & Design company who specialise in Weddings, Social and Corporate Events.  We are based in Marlow & London and cover London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Home Counties.

www.gooseandberry.co.uk

Did you know we also Plan and Design Weddings and Events!

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/weddings-goose-and-berry

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/events-gooseberry

Twitter: www.twitter.com/gooseandberry / www.twitter.com/gooseberrywed

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gooseandberry 

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/gooseandberry

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2016 Wedding Trends

So the New Year has arrived and with it arrive the latest wedding and event trend predictions. We were fairly accurate with our trends last year, particularly on the foodie side of things (you can take a peek here) So what trends do we think are in store for 2016.

Well catering wise, we believe being interactive will continue to be key – food stations, food created in an instant, ethnic food, pizza ovens, wood burning stoves and ‘low and slow’ – think beef brisket and fall apart shoulder of lamb. Combined with lots of salads and buffet style sharing platters. Lots of food, big flavours but less formal. Heavenly!

Personalisation will also be huge. Not only when it comes to wedding food and drink, but also in the wider wedding planning world.

You can also read a little more in depth about our trend predictions on Amara Weddings where we have given our foodie trends for 2016, as well as on Love My Dress  and we also feature on the Wedding Academy, International Wedding & Event Planning ‘Wedding Trend Report 2016’.

Image – Kate NielenKate Nielen

Goose & Berry’s sister company Goose & Berry Weddings have a few ideas about what will be popular this year and what wedding and event styles and trends they think they will see.

More intimate and personalised ceremonies and receptions are really starting to show prevalence amongst weddings. Making your wedding day about you and showing off your personality as a couple is increasingly popular. Couples no longer feel the need to satisfy every single person in their life and show off, they want the day to showcase them but not in a showy, ‘look at me’ way and they want to celebrate their special day with their nearest and dearest, instead of every single person they meet in their life, like Mr Jones from the corner shop. With couples often footing the bill themselves, costs and budgeting are so important and keeping the guest list down is a way of managing this. In addition, do couples really want to spend time going around 200 guests and not spending quality time with them, not the greatest fun I can think of!

The informal trend is certainly starting to take over and with this I think styling will follow. By this I mean formal table settings and florals. Round tables may develop into some being round, some being square, some being long. Informal banqueting is a serious trend in the wedding and event catering world, and this is filtering through into how tables may be set up and styled. Food could be set up on stations or at the tables themselves and therefor having a formal table plan isn’t as important as it would be should couples have food service. Where and how people sit isn’t as important and so tables can be placed in an informal manner and dressed that way too.

I’m sure it’s been said many times, but I do love a good cocktail. Especially if they are signature ones! If you have a favourite cocktail or you perhaps create your own, I love to see these served. However, for me, I am a HUGE tea fan. My favourite personal touch I have seen is a couple creating their own blend of tea and using it, not only as favours, but served as their tea with dessert and also used to cure their smoked salmon starter and infuse their panna cotta dessert, whilst also incorporating into one of their cocktails. I really would love to do this! Such a dreamy idea.

Another little touch I love is using materials or belongings from family members that may have been passed down. It fits the ‘something old’ or maybe ‘something borrowed’ phrase perfectly and adds that sentimental touch, which I adore.

We have seen bouquet trends demonstrate a wild, loose, natural and flowing style recently and centrepieces and table arrangements are following suit (which is absolute heaven for me!). Rustic is still incredibly popular and the wild, natural arrangement works beautifully well with this style, however burlap and mason jars will slowly fade out and more natural, perhaps mismatched vases will be in and would pair so well with the informal table set up and arrangements.

The wonders of technology and the ‘I want It Now’ nature of this modern age command new and evolving services and products. 3D printing and same day edit videos of weddings are just starting to emerge and are giving couples the entertainment and interactive edge on their wedding day. I have seen mini models of guests being made on a 3D printer recently – who needs a characteurist or silhouette artist! Couples also love seeing photos and now videos of their day as soon as possible. Developing on from Instagram, polaroid and photobooths, there are screens displaying photos and a video of the day, turned around in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

Whilst trends are great to gain inspiration from and follow, it’s best to follow loosely and take snippets of inspiration from, perhaps in the form of colours or a menu design. Trends are wonderful and help us wedding stylists and planners out, however trends do come and go and you want to look back on your wedding in years to come and still have the fondest of memories, not left thinking ‘why did I choose that’, especially if it doesn’t represent you as a couple. In addition, yes, you have guests and you want them to be entertained and enjoy themselves. However, remember the day is about you two and the day should show this off. You don’t have to go completely ‘me, me, me’, however think about little touches you can give to your day that you know you will both thoroughly love, from the music, to the flowers or the food and drink. Most of all have fun in choosing these and pick a strong team of suppliers, they will make your wedding day into the magical day it should be.

 

Last 3 images – LG Fine Art Weddings

Words by Emma

Goose & Berry are a Luxury Boutique Catering, Wedding, Event & Brand Experience Planning & Design company who specialise in Weddings, Social and Corporate Events.  We are based in Marlow & London and cover London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Home Counties.

www.gooseandberry.co.uk

Did you know we also Plan and Design Weddings and Events!

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/weddings-goose-and-berry

http://www.gooseandberry.co.uk/events-gooseberry

Twitter: www.twitter.com/gooseandberry / www.twitter.com/gooseberrywed

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gooseandberry 

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/gooseandberry

Instagram: www.instagram.com/gooseandberry / www.instagram.com/gooseandberryweddings

Google +: https://plus.google.com/106611460730365369102/posts