ON THE MENU

On the menuTreat your guests to sumptuous starters, delicious desserts and creative cocktails

The Long Dog is a family-run restaurant situated in the village of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire. Private dining is available for weddings and exclusive use of the venue or the bar area, restaurant or garden can be booked. A comfortable capacity for a wedding at the property is between 40 and 60 guests with room for a DJ and dancing. Full packages start from £2,500 for a mid-week wedding and £4,500 for a weekend celebration which includes venue hire for the day and food. Tailored packages are available for each couple’s needs and on the menu is authentic British cuisine made with ingredients sourced from independent suppliers with everything made fresh on-site. Mains include hot smoked salmon supreme, pan-roasted halibut and lobster thermidor and dishes are paired with a fine selection of wines, locally brewed beers and signature cocktails created by head barman Rob Kovacs.

General manager Jackie Seago tells us, “We have a new head chef, Matteo Romeo, who has come from The Pointer country pub located in Brill which won the best pub in Buckinghamshire with him at the helm so we’re aiming for rosettes.”

The team partner with local celebrant Mark Avis and St Michael and All Angels church is situated close by for couples wanting to book a ceremony. Jackie tells us, “We’ll soon have a small woodland area that will look magical as a backdrop for big-day photographs in addition to the newly refurbished restaurant and bar area that’s ideal for the reception.”

The Jam Jar Cocktail Club based in Reading offers cocktail gift boxes and bar hire for weddings and events. The bars are handmade by owner Joe Jerrome using recycled wood and start at 1.5 metres wide and range up to 6 metres to cater for events of all sizes. “Whether it’s welcome drinks on arrival or a bar to party the night away with, I’ve got it covered with either a pre-paid or cash bar,” Joe tells us. “I cater for large celebrations as well as smaller weddings with a micro bar hire and table service delivering cocktails to guests during the reception’. Joe says, “A wide range of cocktails, beers, wines and spirits are available. Our cocktails are freshly made and served in jam jars finished with fresh fruit from Fletchers Greengrocer in Wokingham. I support small local businesses like mine. A backdrop displaying the menus is available for each event which looks cool lit up at night. Favourites on the cocktail menu are a French Martini, the ever-popular Mojito, an Aperol Spritz and a Floradora. I also make favour boxes containing small bottles of cocktails and gift-wrapping them for guests to take home.”

If couples are planning an intimate wedding and want guests who can’t be with them on the day to feel a part of it then the cocktail boxes are a must! Complete with a choice of cocktails and snacks, they’re gift-wrapped and delivered the next working day with a personalised note. There are also monthly subscription boxes available including two delicious cocktails, jam jars and a spirit pourer – a great wedding gift idea.

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Lorna Sansom is the cake designer, baker and sugar florist at Sweet Marguerite Cakes based in Aylesbury. She has recently seen an increase in demand for two-tier designs for weddings with between 40 and 50 guests. She tells us, “This isn’t to say that larger cakes aren’t still in vogue for smaller weddings because those orders are still being booked – one of my couples who married just after the restrictions lifted had an intimate guest list of 45 loved ones but still wanted a large statement cake and served bigger slices.”

Lorna continues, “A trending flavour for summer is lemon and elderflower - layers of moist, zesty lemon and elderflower sponge soaked with lemon, elderflower and limoncello liqueur syrup and filled with lemon curd and a smooth swiss meringue buttercream. My rhubarb and custard cake, made with layers of rhubarb-flavoured sponge soaked in a rhubarb gin syrup and filled with rhubarb jam and a vanilla buttercream blended with custard is also proving extremely popular.”

Lorna says they’ll be a return of dessert tables and afternoon tea set-ups for weddings as the year progresses and confidence returns. “I love providing afternoon tea for weddings so I’m looking forward to being able to offer this service again.”