Let Them Eat Cake.....

Let Them Eat Cake – A Look at Our Recommended Cake Suppliers

What an enjoyable Blog post subject! Over the coming months we will be exploring the different categories of recommended suppliers here at Coombe Trenchard, giving an insight into the handpicked selection of talented folk that we trust to bring our couples wedding dreams to life. The obvious place to start was Cake. 

Currently we recommend two cake makers, both possessing enviable skills and enviable access to their delicious creations. 

View fullsize

For starters: the delightful Laura at Sugar Mama’s Cakery. Breathing life into world of cake making, Laura channels retro charm and vintage glamour and boasts a flavour menu to tantalise all taste buds. Rising to the challenge to make ‘deliciously different’ cakes, Laura’s creations are bold, unique and stand out from the crowd. Happily, she will be celebrating her own wedding at Coombe Trenchard in September and we are already excited to see her celebratory cake extravaganza! You may remember that we hosted a stunning Spring shoot for Wed Magazine back in April, Sugar Mama’s Bakery was asked to design a cake that fit the fresh, whimsical Spring brief by the lovely ladies at Blue Fizz. It’s no exaggeration to say that the whole team were blown away by the intricate, towering and highly impressive cake that Laura brought along. You will be able to see the full set of images from the shoot in the summer issue of Wed Devon, but for now here’s a sneak preview of Sugar Mama’s talent:

View fullsize

Kate Burt designs and makes exquisite cakes. Elegant and stylish, these cakes showcase the depth of Kate’s passion and experience.   Relishing creating such an important component of a wedding (and life!), Kate’s favourite cake is always the one she is making at the time. We highly recommend booking as far in advance as possible for one of Kates marvellous creations; she is a lady very much in demand! We are always hugely excited to see a Kate Burt cake here at Coombe Trenchard, she is both lovely and wonderfully talented. 

View fullsize

Kate Burt cake

image by Lucy Wallace photography

I think it’s time for a cup of tea and a slice of cake; these pictures are making me awfully hungry!

May blog from Nikki, our 'Real Wedding Blogger'

Gosh I can’t believe its May already! People are always telling me that even though we’re not getting married till next year the time will fly by … and they’re not wrong!.

I’m happy to say though that we have got so much done since my last blog post and since we booked Coombe Trenchard back in January. 

As I mentioned before I was conscious that because we were getting married on a bank holiday that in order to secure the suppliers we really wanted that we should get things organised quickly … especially as we were moving house as well this year.

So since we last spoke we have booked our photographer, our catering, entertainment, florist and cake designer. 

One of the most fun parts so far has been picking out entertainment! Me and Ant met at a festival so music was always going to be an important part of the day. We got a recommendation from a fellow wedding stationer for a band down in Plymouth so headed down there in February to see them at a gig. We were planning on seeing a few other bands before making a decision but they totally blew us away! They were absolutely perfect for our wedding with lots of Indie / Rock classics which I know are going to have at least me and Ant up dancing … if perhaps not some of the older guests! But our feeling is this is our wedding and we just can’t stand the thought of music we hate being played just so we cater to everyone.

The other exciting thing was sending out our Save the Dates! As a wedding stationer designing something for myself turned out to be pretty nerve wracking … although also massive fun! I sort of treated it as though it was a brief from a bespoke client and tried to encapsulate our characters and liked in the style of the stationery.

We decided fairly early on of a colour scheme of Navy, Blush, Dark Pink and Ivory – with hints of dark green foliage. I also find it best to not just pick one or two colours for a colour scheme as it can start to look a bit too ‘matchy’ and quite dated – so a range of colours which blend well together was always the aim. We’re both love Navy ( our new lounge is being painted this colour! ) but I also love florals and ferns so wanted to include a botanical element.

We also want the wedding to be fun and light hearted and really wanted to incorporate some of our geekier side so the wording of the Save the Date cards relates to how we met and our love of Star Wars and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – and I couldn’t help myself but include some very small Stormtrooper helmets in with the floral motifs on the pink envelope liner!

Sending out the Save the Dates I was really nervous but everyone seemed to like them – even though not everyone got the geeky references! I’ve already started to think about the design of the invitations so that will keep me occupied for a while!

In the meantime we’ve just moved house in to a bit of a renovation project so I’m really glad that we have all the big things booked for the wedding and we can relax and concentrate on the house for a few months and look forward to our Engagement Shoot with our photographer Clare Kinchin later in May.

Nikki x

A Bespoke and Highly Personal Ceremony Option

Cornish Celebrants – A Bespoke and Highly Personal Ceremony Option. 

‘Your Wedding, Your Way’ is something we firmly believe in here at Coombe Trenchard. You will see this phrase in our digital brochure and on our social media feeds; we like to be as flexible and accommodating as possible to ensure a unique and personal experience for each of our couples. We have licensed 12 different locations within our house and grounds for legal ceremonies and shy away from formal packages or standard set ups. The luxury of opening our home for a select amount of weddings each year means we can get to know each couple and ensure we help them create their perfect celebration.

Cornish Celebrants share our ethos of flexibility and allow couples to tailor make their celebration in a whole new way. We were excited to find out more and so arranged for Nicola and Denise, the lovely ladies behind this wonderful new venture, to visit Coombe Trenchard and enlighten us. 

Currently in England you need to be in a licensed area underneath a permanent structure to legally wed. This may be a Register Office, a Church or one of the beautiful locations dotted around Coombe Trenchard. The ceremony needs to contain specific phrases and if you are not getting hitched in a church you cannot have any religious content in your ceremony. The wording is very hard to personalise and music/readings will be checked for suitability. As we meet and get to know the lovely couples who choose our home for their Big Day, we realise just how varied and diverse their expectations and preferences are. 

Nicola and Denise, in their combined 29 years working for the Registration Service in Cornwall, saw the same need for bespoke options to provide a more personal and befitting ceremony and set about making that happen. Whilst the legal ceremony must still take place in a licensed area and could take place on a different day, Cornish Celebrants are on hand to conduct a separate celebratory ceremony purely of your making, with no guidelines or rules. This follows the continental model of a small ceremony at a registry office followed by a huge celebration in the setting of your choice.  

Therefore, if you want your ceremony on our bridge, within our stunning woodland, or even in the stream you can now have a tailored service conducted by friendly professionals to make your day as individual as you are.  Mix religious, spiritual and non-religious readings, rituals and hymns with words chosen only by you and your partner for that special moment. Perfect for larger celebrations after intimate elopements/destination weddings and lovebirds who do not wish to conform to the rules imposed on traditional services, we are happy to be working alongside Cornish Celebrants to offer their bespoke services to our happy couples. 

 “We loved Coombe Trenchard – such a stylish venue with such welcoming hosts. It encompasses the best of the Devon countryside with the far reaching views of Dartmoor, fabulous gardens and woodland and a beautiful Arts and Crafts house nestling in its setting.  Simply stunning and we are so looking forward to conducting ceremonies here.” – Cornish Celebrants.

For further information about the Cornish Celebrants, contact Denise or Nicola on info@cornishcelebrants.co.uk cornishcelebrants.co.uk

 

The Luxury of a Mid-Week Wedding

The Luxury of a Mid-Week Wedding

Here at Coombe Trenchard, we don’t like to see things go to waste. We have worked hard to restore our beautiful 'Arts & Crafts' country home back to its former Edwardian glory, we make use of our glorious grounds by growing seasonal blooms for blushing Brides and love to put our home-grown fruits to good use in jams for Devonshire Cream Teas.  When we see our terrace bathed in sunshine on a Thursday afternoon we can’t help but wonder if this is a wasted opportunity.

So we’ve decided to offer Mid-Week weddings, a flexible and exciting new option for your Big Day. Whilst there are the obvious financial benefits from choosing a mid-week wedding (please download our beautiful digital brochure or get in contact for pricing structures), the perks don’t stop there....

View fullsize

Every Bride and Groom is aware of just how difficult it can be to find preferred suppliers that all have availability on the same day. This is especially true when trying to plan your nuptials in a shorter time frame than an average engagement of 13-18 months. If you feel you want to become Mr & Mrs as soon as possible but are concerned about rushed plans, fully booked suppliers and time to save: a mid-week wedding may be the way forward. At Coombe Trenchard we offer in-house assistance with planning and liaise with suppliers to make your wedding experience as stress free as possible. Discounts and savings offered by suppliers and Coombe Trenchard can ensure you may not need as long as you think to be financially ready to tie the knot. 

Mid-week weddings are on the rise, with a total of 21,700 couples getting married on a Thursday in the last year alone. Couples are enjoying more time to decorate their venue in a relaxed manner, more time to spend with friends and family, and the benefit of a weekend after the wedding to bask in its glow and re-live the Big Day. This can mean better deals on honeymoon flights and packages, as well as the luxury of time to enjoy a weeklong celebration! Those working within the Education system may also take advantage of Half Term and School Holiday weekdays without the concern of being at work directly before or after saying ‘I Do’. 

Couples seeking a quieter day will already be spoilt for choice with 12 different licensed locations of various sizes dotted around our home and grounds. Nestled in the Devonshire countryside with far reaching views of Dartmoor, we offer accommodation in our fully restored and luxurious bedrooms for up to 8 guests and can provide both in house catering and cut flowers fresh from the garden. Cosy log fires and original Edwardian features will ensure a spectacularly stately festive celebration, or soak up the spring sunshine and tie the knot underneath the Clock Tower overlooking our bubbling stream.  A mid-week wedding at Coombe Trenchard may be just the ticket for a relaxed, intimate and truly memorable day. 

We genuinely believe no two weddings should be the same and it’s important to us to provide a personal service to the couples who choose our beautiful home for their special day. We still have some mid-week availability for 2016 and we would love to hear from you to discuss your plans. 

Contact: sarah@coombetrenchard.co.uk

Meet Nikki...our 'Real Bride' Blogger

I'd like to introduce you to Nikki Ward.....I have known Nikki for a couple of years through the wedding industry, as she produces some of the most beautiful wedding stationery you can imagine. I was so delighted when Nikki and fiancé Anthony decided that Coombe Trenchard would be their perfect wedding venue, and equally thrilled when Nikki agreed to be our first 'real bride' blogger. Nikki is getting married here in May 2017, and I am really looking forward to reading how she progresses with her wedding plans.... 

View fullsize

Hi I’m Nikki and I have been working in the wedding industry for the last 6 years … gosh that makes me sound like I’m standing up at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting! I am also a bride to be after getting engaged on Boxing Day to my lovely other half Anthony, who got down and proposed in front of a camel on the edge of the Sahara desert whilst we were on a tour of Morocco. It was perfect … even though we both had stinking colds and felt really ill!

When we got back from Morocco I immediately jumped into wedding planning mode … we wanted to get married in 2017 and I knew that dates at really lovely venues would fill up quickly, especially in the post engagement frenzy following Christmas & New Year.

Having run my own business as a wedding stationer, over the years I have visited some really lovely venues for photo shoots and wedding fairs etc. so I had a fair idea of some of the venues I really loved in Devon and Cornwall. Ant was happy for me to show him some of my favourites and some of the most popular venues in the area so we could narrow it down to a shortlist to visit quite quickly.

We instantly knew we didn’t want something run of the mill and, as neither of us are religious, wanted a venue where we could hold both the ceremony and reception in one place. In fact it became clear very quickly that we also really wanted somewhere which we could have exclusive use of for the whole weekend. We only moved to Devon 3 years ago so nearly all our close friends and family are based in either London, Surrey or near Birmingham. So we decided that we didn’t want our guests to feel they were having to travel all the way down to Devon for just one day. 

We both love places with history and character and so the shortlist of 4 venues we looked at over one of the first weekends in January all were very individual and full of character for different reasons. We actually made a bit of a rod for our own backs as each one was ‘so’ different it was difficult to compare them!

View fullsize

Coombe Trenchard won out though in an enormous part due, not only to its beauty and historic character, but because of the flexibility that it and Sarah offered us. It is also an Arts & Crafts House which has always been one of our favourite periods of architecture and although it has a definite ‘wow’ feeling it also felt loved and relaxed and like the family home that it is. We didn’t want our day to feel in anyway stuffy or formal so Coombe Trenchard was perfect!

Sarah has been so helpful and accommodating in our booking of the venue and I’m really looking forward to organising our wedding with her.

Our plans and ideas for the day are already starting to come together and we are currently finalising evening catering and music and entertainment, which are the couple of things other than the venue which we are anxious to book well in advance to secure the date of the suppliers we really love.

Plus as Sarah has already discovered I’m a stupidly organised person and as we are also moving house this year I wanted to get on top of the wedding planning straight away!

I’m looking forward to writing future blog posts for the Coombe Trenchard blog and keeping you updated to our progress.

Nikki

View fullsize

Nikki will be back again soon, keeping us up to date with here wedding plans.

To see some of Nikki's lovely stationery designs, on the Knots & Kisses logo above.