Author: Laura Harvey
Supplier Spotlight- Vanilla Pod Bakery
1. What first made you fall in love with baking?
I first remember falling in love with baking as a child, I must have been about 6 or 7 and I remember creating jam tarts with my Dad, scones with my Grandma and meringues with mum on the weekends…. Though not all at the same time! The second time I remember falling in love with it, was when I was teenager, when I was 13 I got ME, so I had to stop everything, but I remember as I was getting better in my late teenage years my love of baking started to take shape again, and baking, when I felt well enough, was pure joy for me.
2. What made you decide to become a professional cake maker within the Wedding industry?
When I first started my business, I was making ‘everyday cakes’ and selling them on farmers market stands and into cafes. Then one of my customers approached me to make a cupcake tower for their wedding, (this would have been about 2008/09) and the rest, as they say, is history. I fell in love with the wedding world and the wonderful happiness of the occasion.
3. How would you describe your style of Cakes?
I would say our true Vanilla Pod Bakery style is relaxed yet elegant cakes. I really do love the wild florals and understated glamour.
4. What is your favourite part or parts of a Wedding Day?
The cutting of the cake of course! It is such a special moment, steeped in history and one of the first moments a couple shares once they have married.
5. Could you explain a little about what Couples can expect when they book you?
Prior to booking: Couples can choose to have an initial free phone consultation with myself (Pia Cato) and order a delicious tasting box, which can be ordered and purchased directly from our website.
Save the Date: Once a couple knows they would love to commission us for their special day, we send a Save The Date form and deposit invoice.
6. What top tips and advice do you offer your Couples ahead of or on their Wedding Day?
My number one tip, is to relax and enjoy the journey of planning your wedding. It is such a special event and the planning is part of the wonderful build up to it.
7. Can you share some of your favourite cakes that you’ve created for Hyde House Wedding Days?
Oh my gosh, there have been so many wonderful cakes. But really I love the elegant semi naked cakes we have created with abundance of fresh fruit and fresh flowers.
8. What do you love most about creating cakes for Hyde House Couples?
I love that the team at Hyde House are awesome and totally make each couple feel so special. It is always a pleasure to work at Hyde House and it is one of those wonderful places that honestly gets better and better each year. Plus the couples who get married at Hyde House are so wonderful, they are so relaxed and just trust that we are going to create their perfect cake #LoveHydeHouse
Instagram- @vanillapodbakery
Website- www.vanillapodbakery.com
Supplier Spotlight- LouPaper Wedding Stationery
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What first made you fall in love with Wedding stationery & Calligraphy?
My wedding journey started at the age of 15, when I worked as a Saturday girl in a local wedding shop and I’ve loved weddings ever since! I studied graphic design at university so merged my passion for the industry with my love for all things creative. After going to a calligraphy course 5 years ago, I knew that hand lettering was going to play a big part in my designs. I’m now so privileged to be a small part of so many of my couple’s big day, and I love it!
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What made you decide to become a professional Calligrapher within the Wedding industry?
I started designing stationery incorporating calligraphy for friends and colleagues at first, merging together my degree and over a decade of experience in the wedding industry. I founded LouPaper in 2015 and the business grew through recommendations.
I’m so lucky being able to call my hobby, my job and feel very lucky that I get to design every day and share my passion for weddings. I get to work with such wonderful clients, each bringing their own personality, theme and ideas to my design process which keeps me motivated to push my creative boundaries.
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How would you describe your style of Calligraphy?
I’d describe my calligraphy style as modern, luxury and full of life. My calligraphy is totally bespoke with everything being written by hand. I get asked so much what font I use, but it’s just me and my handwriting. I adore how it brings quirks and personality to each of the designs I create.
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What is your favourite part or parts of a Wedding Day?
Always take some time out to spend just the two of you. The whole day is a total whirlwind and it’s so important to catch 5 with your new husband or wife and just embrace how amazing everything is. Oh and enjoy every.single.second!!
From a stationery perspective, I love seeing the couple’s wedding vision come to life where the on the day stationery adds colour and style to the venue. I hope that the wedding stationery is cherished forever and a wonderful reminder of my clients love story.
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Could you explain a little about what Couples can expect when they book you?
I offer two options for clients; semi-custom and bespoke. For semi-custom designs, these are based on a design from my collection and can be tailored to match the colour palette of my couples’ big days. I provide PDF proofs and include 2 rounds of amendments before printing. A final print proof is provided and then it’s off to print. I do all the hand finishing in house, so this production happens when I receive the prints back from my printers. I finalise everything by hand, package up the stationery and courier to my clients.
For my bespoke couples, I work together with them using inspiration and styling, theme and décor ideas for the big day, to create something totally unique to them. This option is perfect for anyone struggling to find stationery that’s quite right in the collection.
The design process usually takes 4-6 weeks, including print.
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What top tips and advice do you offer your Couples ahead of or on their Wedding Day?
Make sure your wedding stationery reflects your personality and interests. Fundamentally, your wedding is a celebration of who you are as a couple, so it should be filled with everything that makes you, you! Because of this I strive to create designs that are truly unique and reflect my couple into paper.
I have a useful free wedding stationery guide which can be downloaded here which is full of lots of useful hints and tips!
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Can you share some of your favourite designs used for Hyde House?
I adore working at Hyde House, the venue lends itself to so many different themes and colour palettes, so there are always fresh ideas to be had.
Kayleigh & James’ autumn wedding day was filled with an abundance of dried florals, rich colours and rustic textures. I incorporated textured handmade papers with printed fabric and shaped signage to really add a luxe and contemporary finish to the theme.
Florist- The Native Florist, Stylist- Wedding Creations, Photographer- Laura Martha Photography
Becky & Rhodri went for a much more minimalist look for their stationery, utilising a monochrome palette which blended seamlessly with the soft blush and neutral florals. Each place was individually hand calligraphered and we printed the table plan and welcome sign on a double sided board, a great way to save costs and reduce materials.
Florist- Haze Lea, Photographer- Dearest Love Photography
Chantelle & Marcus’ recent wedding in May utilised the gorgeous spring season, with foliage filled florals, soft pinks and whites and a real English Countryside theme. The stationery utilised the soft pink alongside a monochrome palette and contemporary layouts. Hand calligraphy elements ensure each item of stationery was totally unique and I loved the hanging signs.
Florist- Cotswold Blooms, Stylist- Wedding Creations UK, Photographer- Siobhan Beales Photography
You can find LouPaper on instagram via @loupaper_ and click here for her website: www.loupaper.co.uk
Supplier Spotlight- Patrick Partridge Photography
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What first made you fall in love with photography?
Although I wish I had one of those “My Gramp gave me his camera when I was five” stories (which are pretty cool!), I first fell in love with photography while living and traveling around Asia after graduating from university. What started as a hobby and a bit of fun to document life and travels soon became an obsession and something I would spend countless hours teaching myself and practicing. The feeling of excitement and the magic a photograph can bring through art and feeling has never left and still motivates me.
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What made you decide to become a professional photographer within the Wedding industry?
After spending the best part of three years photographing my travels, sadly I felt my photography lacked any meaning or feeling, after all, landscapes can be photographed a million times in one day but people’s feelings and the magic of a wedding day will only happen once for a lot of people. Every photo at a wedding has meaning to it and the best ones make you feel the emotions of the day too! Photographing weddings in my opinion is one of the most meaningful forms of photography. Moments cherished for lifetimes.
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How would you describe your style of photography?
I never like to keyhole my style of photography as I believe each wedding day is unique. Using different styles throughout the day according to the moment is what is needed. If I was to put my style into a sentence I would say: Emotive and fun storytelling.
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What is your favourite part or parts of a Wedding Day?
It’s easy to say all of it but I would be lying. It’s the speeches for me. This is a part of the day where the rollercoaster of emotions is felt by the whole room, making it such an amazing thing to capture. That and it’s always good to hear the more embarrassing private stories about my couples.
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Could you explain a little about what Couples can expect when they book you as their photographer?
I like to think that even before my couple’s book they feel like they are getting some value. Whether this is through my blogs, instagram or the first email. I like to make things simple too, as I know planning a wedding can be pretty stressful, but from the moment my couples book I make it clear that I am not only there for the day and that if they have any questions or even just advice I am always only a message away. I’m quite a laid back guy, so I try to make my clients feel as comfortable as possible so they can relax, be themselves.
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What top tips and advice do you offer your Couples ahead of or on theirWedding Day?
Trust your suppliers, from the venue to the photographer, to the florist and everything in between. A lot of us have done a fair few weddings and the best suppliers should be helping you whenever and wherever they can (never be shy to ask them questions). I think if you have trust in your suppliers the overall stress of the day will be less and that energy can be used on enjoying one of the best days of your life. In terms of photographs I always tell my couples not to worry about anything photo related, that is my job. When there are pictures to be taken in great light I will let you know.
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What do you love the most about shooting Wedding Days at Hyde House?
Weddings at Hyde House always feel more intimate and I’m always excited to see what couples do to add a little bit of their personality and vibe to the day. The staff and team there are also incredible. It is literally impossible to not have an amazing day while shooting at Hyde House.
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Can you share some of your favourite images captured at Hyde House?
Click here to view Patrick’s website: https://www.patrickpartridge.com/
Winter Wedding magic at Hyde House
We might be heading towards longer and warmer days but we’ve started receiving the most breathtaking images from recent Wintery Wedding Days and we just could not resist sharing them with you all.
We adore Winter Weddings here at Hyde House and have loved seeing all of the ways the Grange and the Barn have been transformed this past season with magical lighting, romantic candlelight, abundant blooms mixed with textured foliage, leaves and grasses, not forgetting all of the delicious seasonal cocktails we’ve been displaying and serving to lots of lovely guests.
And at Hyde House, Winter Wedding Days do not mean that you have any less options when it comes to Couples getting those all important shots together. Our grounds offer so much variety for photographers and many gravitate towards The Grange, specifically the courtyard which has flower beds filled with grasses that are in abundance all year round and is the perfect spot to get photos as the sun sets over the rolling Cotswold countryside. The entrance to both the House and Grange are also popular, especially as the leaves turn and begin to fall on the House. The lawns behind the Barn and the Arbor offer fantastic backdrops for photos throughout the day with the additional lighting that we have on the Arbor creating such romantic images throughout the evening.
If you’re looking to have a Winter Wedding Day please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on
team@hyde-house.uk
as we have some fantastic dates available for this coming Winter season at Hyde House ✨
Without further ado, please scroll until your hearts content to see lots of incredible Wedding Inspiration!
L- Joanna Brooks Photography, R- Patrick Partridge Photography
Top and Bottom L- Joanna Brooks Photography, Bottom R- Patrick Partridge Photography
L- Patrick Partridge Photography, Cotswold Wedding Company, Top R- Oobaloos Photography, Stephanie Saunders Flowers, Bottom R- Patrick Partridge Photography
Top L-R- Joanna Brooks Photography, Green and Wild Flowers, Bottom- Oobaloos Photography, Etiquette Event Stylist
Patrick Partridge Photography, Dried and Tied
Top- middle- Patrick Partridge Photography, Cotswold Wedding Company, Bottom- Oobaloos Photography, Stephanie Saunders Flowers
Laura Martha Photography, The Native Florist
L- Patrick Partridge Photography, R- Joanna Brooks Photography
Top- bottom- Oobaloos Photography, Stephanie Saunders Flowers; Natalie Watts Photography, Stow Flower Shop; Oobaloos Photography, Faye’s Flowers; Dearest Love Photography, Alex Boulton
Joanna Brooks Photography, Green and Wild Flowers, White Fern Weddings
Oobaloos Photography, Etiquette Event Stylist
L- Joanna Brooks Photography, The Wilde Bunch, Top R- Dearest Love Photography, Haze Lea Floral Design, LouPaper Design, Bottom R- Dearest Love Photography, Alex Boulton
Patrick Partridge Photography, Dried and Tied, Cotswold Wedding Company
Patrick Partridge Photography, Forget Me Nots, Cotswold Wedding Company, LouPaper Design
Top: Oobaloos Photography, Bottom: Joanna Brooks Photography
Top- Oobaloos Photography, Bottom L&R- Patrick Partridge Photography
Top- James Fear Photography, Bottom- Oobaloos Photography
Top L&R- Joanna Brooks Photography, Bottom- Amy Rose Photography
Evening Food at Hyde House ~ Our Signature Set-Ups
We all love that time during a Wedding Day when the music is playing, your dancing shoes are well and truly on, drinks have been in full flow and the evening food comes out… heaven! And here at Hyde House our Chefs have once again been hard at work creating some really fabulous and utterly delicious signature set-ups for our Couples and all of their guests to enjoy during those later hours.
Introducing our…
Evening Dessert Station ~ The Pudding Parlour
… complete with Mini meringue pie tarts, Salted caramel and pretzel cupcakes, Oreo brookies, Mini seasonal pavlova’s (gf), Seasonal jellies (df), Giant pink raspberry marshmallows (gf), Cookies with mini banana, biscoff milkshakes.
Evening Hot Food Stations ~ Hot Roast
… with Gloucester old spot pulled pork, Sage and onion stuffing, Crackling, Bramley apply sauce, Crunchy raw slaw, Freshly baked bread rolls.
Loaded Fries
… where guests have the options to choose from (top left- clockwise) Classic Poutine, Crispy lamb and spiced mint mayo, Melted cheese, jalapēno salsa, sour cream, spring onions and guacamole, Burnt ends, hickery mayo and frazzles.
Hyde Fried Chicken
Buttermilk chicken and fries OR Halloumi fries, fresh mint, pomegranate.
… and the toppings are either Hoisin mayo, spring onion and coriander, Miso spiced mayo, teriyaki, sesame and crispy onion, Blue cheese and crunchy maple bacon, Chipotle mayo.
For information on pricing, minimum order numbers etc then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via team@hyde-house.uk.
All images by Laura Harvey Photography
The House
At the beginning of 2020 we closed our doors and gave the House a whole new look; little did we know that it would be quite a while before many of our Couples would get to see these wonderful changes in person. Since our doors have opened we have loved showing everyone around the newly refurbished spaces and have really enjoyed seeing so many positive reactions!
One of the biggest transformations that took place here at Hyde House was on the ground floor in a spacious room that was once the Planning Teams office and is now – the Library. Not only is the library a wonderfully designed, cosy room for people to relax in, it is also used on Wedding Day mornings for one half of the Wedding Party to get ready in. It really is the perfect private space to spend those special pre-Wedding hours with your closest friends and family.
The other drastic transformation was in the Bedrooms where every single room was re-furnished and re-decorated. The Bridal Suite is now complete with a four-poster bed, elegant new furnishings and a freestanding copper bathtub, in the bedroom no less, and all of the other 19 bedrooms have been made even more luxurious than before so you’ll always have a good nights sleep at Hyde House!
So please do scroll away to see the exciting changes. Xx
Images by Cotswold Pictures, Laura Harvey Photography and Green Antlers Photography
The New Plated Menu at Hyde House
Today is our third and final journal post about our brand new 2022 Menu and we’re sharing all things plated dishes!
Our fabulous Chefs have created a Menu where there is something, if not many things, for everyone. We have flavourful meat dishes, mouth-watering fish dishes, seasonal veggie and vegan dishes and a delicious mix of desserts.
As you may have seen from our earlier Journal posts, alongside our plated options we also have our Feasting Menu and just in case you can’t quite decide whether they would like more formal plated dishes or interactive feasting options for your own Wedding Day, you can mix and match between the courses giving you the best of both worlds for you and your guests to enjoy.
We hope you enjoy looking through the final images from our Menu Shoot with Laura Harvey Photography and if you haven’t had the chance to try our new dishes at one of our Tasting Evenings just yet we hope you love them when you do!
Starters
Top to Bottom: Burrata, heritage tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar (v, gf), Pressed ham terrine, pickled vegetables, apricot chutney, sourdough toast (df); Rainbow beetroots, orange and honey whipped goat’s cheese, candied sunflowers seeds (v); Pan fried scallops, celeriac purée, rémoulade, pickled apple (gf) (£2.50pp)
Top to Bottom: Trealy farm coppa ham, black figs, sherry vinegar, shaved parmesan (gf); Duck liver parfait, sauternes jelly, mini brioche; Sea bass ceviche, cucumber, mint and mango salsa (gf, df)
Main Courses
Top to Bottom: Rump of Cotswolds lamb, pea purée, herb gnocchi, charred broccoli, peas, broad beans, salsa verde (+£3pp); Sweet potato wellington, wild mushroom, roasted Jerusalem artichoke, spinach, Salmoriglio (v, vg, gf, df); Crispy Kale doughnut, parmesan, pressed potato, shallot puree, crispy kale, spring onion oil (v); Cotswolds white chicken, pressed potato, shallot puree, tenderstem broccoli, spring onion oil, madeira jus (df, gf)
Top to Bottom: Roasted Beef fillet, creamed potato, candied carrot, wild mushrooms, truffle (+ £7pp) (gf); Pan fried cod, bubble and squeak, cauliflower puree, spinach, caper and raisin burnt butter (gf); Seasonal tortellini, crispy trumpet mushrooms (v)
Desserts
Top to Bottom: Chocolate and buttermilk brownie, chocolate sauce, vanilla dream ice cream (v), Treacle tart, salted caramel ice cream; Strawberry and tonka bean cheesecake, passionfruit and mango (v)
The New Canapé Menu at Hyde House
As you may have already seen from our Instagram and recent Journal post, we have a new Menu that launched earlier this month at Hyde House and we’re just a *tiny* bit excited about it! Some of our lovely Couples have already managed to see and taste our new offering at recent Tasting Evenings, but for those of you who haven’t just yet, we’ve shared imagery of our new Feasting Menu (click the link to see earlier post), next week we’re talking all things plated dishes, and today, it’s all about Canapés!
Canapés are such an important part of any Wedding Day Menu. They’re the very first Wedding food that your guests will see, smell and taste and as such, our Chef’s have put so much love and hard work in to making sure that our Canapés not only taste delicious but that they look really beautiful as well. There has also been a lot of care put in to creating an offering that has lots of variety so that every personal preference or specific dietary requirement can be catered for.
We hope you enjoy looking through our brand new Canapés below and we have also made a note of what each dish is under the image collages so you can start making a shortlist for your Big Day 😊.
Top to Bottom: Chicken Liver Parfait on toasted brioche, Salt Baked Celeriac, truffle and pickled celeriac (v), Tuna Taco with yoghurt, wasabi and ginger, Artichoke tempura with saffron aioli (v, df)
Lamb bon bon with pea and mint, Wild mushroom truffle arancini with parmesan (v), Ox Cheek Crumpet with chestnuts and cranberry
Honey Soy Glazed Salmon and toasted sesame (gf, df), Aubergine tartare on puffed pasta crisp (v), Beef Carpaccio with truffle emulsion and shaved pecorino
Crab Salad with pickled radish, apple and dill (df), Crispy ham hock with burnt miso caramel, coriander and spring onion, Bloody Mary Bocconcini (v)
Images by Laura Harvey Photography
The Feasting Menu at Hyde House
We have kickstarted the New Year here at Hyde House by launching our Brand New Menu’s and we are so excited to share with you just some of the new dishes our talented Chef’s have created for 2022!
Sharing dishes are such a popular option for our Couples, offering an interactive and informal style of Dining for Wedding guests and because of this, we have expanded our Feasting Menu and now have three Starter options to choose from, five delicious Main options with a whole host of side dishes for Couples to select to compliment their meat, fish or vegetarian option and four Desserts which taste just as yummy as they look (yes… we have all been lucky enough to try the dishes and yes, we can confirm we loved all of them!)
So here is a sneak peek of what you can expect from our new Feasting Menu and keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks to see our new plated dishes and Canapés. You can find a list of the dishes pictured below. X
Starters:
Antipasto
Mezze Platter
Mains:
Sea bream
Chargrilled Shoulder of Lamb
Marinated spatchcock Chicken
Feasted Cauliflower
Sirloin of Beef
Dessert:
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Baked Alaska
Dark Chocolate Opera Mousse
Photographer: Laura Harvey Photography
Spring and Summer Wedding Inspiration at Hyde House
Here at Hyde House, both The Grange and The Barn are beautiful, open spaces that are neutral in design and offer endless styling opportunities to our Couples for both The Ceremony and Wedding Breakfast; so whatever the Season, your style or preferences, our Barn’s are your blank canvas that can bring your vision to life without limitation.
As a Team, we really love this about the Venue because no Wedding Day is ever the same and we are constantly amazed at how creative Couples and their wonderful Suppliers are and how they are able to put their own stamp on Hyde House.
Knowing where to start when planning your Big Day can be overwhelming, so we wanted to put together some gorgeous imagery from Spring and Summer Ceremonies and Wedding Breakfasts at Hyde House, including breathtaking Outdoor Ceremonies underneath The Arbor, to give you all some inspiration as you embark on this exciting process!
The Grange
Cotswold Pictures | Styletopia; Cotswold Pictures | Jenny Fleur
Katie Hamilton Photography | The Bespoke Wedding Flower Company
White Stag Wedding Photography | Forget Me Nots Florist; Blooming Photography | Styletopia
L- Pear and Bear Photography | Go Wild Flowers; R- White Stag Wedding Photography | Field Gate Flowers; Kayleigh Pope Photography
White Stag Wedding Photography | Styletopia
Natalie Watts | Forget Me Nots
White Stag Wedding Photography | All For Love London; Katie Hamilton Photography | Stephanie Saunders Floral Design
Jessica Reeve Photography | Rebel and the Rose; White Stag Wedding Photography | All For Love London
Bowtie and Belle Photography | Cotswold Blooms
The Barn
Katie Hamilton Photography | The Bespoke Flowers Company | Styletopia; Katie Hamilton Photography | Stephanie Saunders Photography
Rachel Lou Photography | Stow Flower Shop
The Springles | The Flower Girl Style
L- Jessica Raphael Photography | Stephanie Saunders Flowers; R- Natalie Watts Photography | Forget Me Nots Florist
Electric Blue Photography | Penny Lane Vintage Hire; White Stag Wedding Photography | All For Love London
L- Katie Hamilton Photography | The Bespoke Flowers Company | Styletopia; R- Pear and Bear Photography
White Stag Wedding Photography | Styletopia ; Cotswold Pictures | Lucy Walker Flowers | Styletopia
For more inspiration, follow us on Instagram. You can find us @hyde_house.