M A I N S
Cotswold Cheese Company, who are seeing an increasing demand for their tiered cheese cakes. “Choosing cheese for your wedding is all about fun,” says co-owner Lisa Goodchild. “Be bold, be extravagant, and remember: there’s no such thing as too much! We’d typically recommend five different cheeses, as this gives a nice, balanced cake. Odd numbers work best, so seven would probably be the most you’d ever need. The only thing you have to be aware of, though, is that soft cheeses don’t like warm weather, and if the cake is on show for a long time before being eaten the aroma can spread – especially if there are smelly cheeses involved! This can be off-putting to some people. “The most popular cheeses are Lincolnshire Village Poacher, Barkham Blue and St Eadburgha, but I think we’ll see an increase in ewe’s and goat’s milk cheeses, due to intolerances to cow’s milk.”
Say cheese! Many couples are opting for cheese cakes from Cotswold Cheese Company
GETTING PERSONAL
The most important thing when planning your day, though, is to ensure that it’s exactly what you want – and is a real reflection of your personality. (After all, you’ll – hopefully – only be doing this once.) And wedding co-ordinators are invariably prepped and primed to help bring your vision to life. “You may think that you have a very random question or request,” says Marsha Stubbs from The Swan Hotel in Bibury. “But don’t worry about it. As wedding co-ordinators, we’ll have seen all sorts – and will always do our very best to help you.” “We love it when a couple brings us ideas that are outside the box,” says Zoe David from Stanton Manor. “We’ve had everything from fancy dress weddings to incredibly traditional ones. Our favourite was when a couple asked us if we could turn the manor into a giant games room, with lots of help-yourself buffets in every room and games tucked into every corner.” At Cotswold House Hotel, meanwhile, there was once a large fourlegged guest to accommodate. “I had a bride that brought her horse to the wedding,” said Mandy Burton. “It had lovely ribbons plaited into the mane, and the bride had some photography taken on the horse. The horse didn’t come inside for dinner, though – it preferred the grass in the garden!” And it seems that it’s not unusual for couples to want to incorporate animals and pets into their celebrations. “We were once asked to present the bride with a puppy in a box as a present from the groom,” said Julia Thompson, wedding co-ordinator at The Hare and Hounds. “The puppy, which was called Winston, wouldn’t keep still – and so I had to present a moving box to the top table! She was over the moon, though, and we quickly moved them to a dog-friendly room, so they could spend their first night as husband and wife with Winston.” “We can beat that,” adds Maureen Davis from The Bay Tree. “A groom once asked us to find some alpacas as a surprise for the bride.” “We’ve had a few unusual ringbearers, too,” says Tom Gibbons from the Manor House. “Like owls, dogs, and people in fancy dress. But the one that really stands out is when we welcomed a Basil Fawlty impersonator to be toast master. The guests loved it!”
If you want to find out more, head to one of these weddings open days… • The Hare and Hounds Hotel – Saturday, January 20, 12pm-3pm • The Swan Hotel – Sunday, January 21, 10am-3pm • Cotswold House Hotel – Sunday, January 28 • Stanton Manor – Sunday, January 28, 11am-2.30pm • De Vere Cotswold Water Park – Sunday, Feburary 18, 11am-3pm • The Bear of Rodburgh – Sunday, February 18, 1pm-4pm
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Quick! Add them to your wedding planner! VENUES • The Angel Hotel, 47 High Street, Royal Wootton Bassett SN4 7AQ; theangelhotelwoottonbassett.co.uk • The Bay Tree Hotel, Sheep Street, Burford OX18 4LW; cotswold-innshotels.co.uk/the-bay-tree-hotel • The Bear of Rodburgh Hotel, Rodburgh Common, Stroud GL5 5DE; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/thebear-of-rodburgh • The Cricklade Club, 38 High Street, Cricklade SN6 6AY; thecrickladeclub.co.uk • Cotswold House Hotel and Spa, Upper High Street, The Square, Chipping Campden GL55 6AN; bespokehotels.com/cotswoldhouse • De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel, Lake 6, Spine Road East GL7 5FP; phcompany.com/de-vere/ cotswold-water-park-hotel • The Hare and Hounds Hotel, Westonbirt, Tetbury GL8 8QL; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/hareand-hounds-hotel • The Manor House Hotel, High Street, Moreton-in-Marsh; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/themanor-house-hotel • Stanton Manor, Stanton St Quintin
CRUMBSMAG.COM
SN14 6DQ; stantonmanor.co.uk • Sudbury House Hotel, 56 London Street, Faringdon SN7 7AA; sudburyhouse.co.uk • The Swan Hotel, Bibury GL7 5NW; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/theswan-hotel • Whatley Manor, Easton Grey, Malmesbury SN16 0RB; whatleymanor.com CATERERS • Tailor Made Top Nosh, Cypher House, Bampton Business Park South, Weald, Bampton OX18 2RG; tailormadetopnosh.co.uk MARQUEES • Spaceintense, Grays, Far End, Sheepscombe GL6 7RL; spaceintense.co.uk WEDDING PLANNERS • Brookman Greene, West Kingston SN14 7JJ; brookmangreene.co.uk CHEESE WEDDING CAKES • The Cotswold Cheese Company (branches in Moreton-in-Marsh, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold); cotswoldcheese.com