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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 10:34:41 GMT
Things learnt this weekend:
* The venue is very, very pretty.
* Lighting companies are the the most ridiculous expense you could ever possibly be conned into.
* Mini burgers are shit.
* Be careful who you stand near or everyone will assume you're engaged and attempt to sell you things (case in point: Em and Stu).
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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 10:36:28 GMT
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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 10:52:55 GMT
Personally, I'm liking the look of the selection available for the 'bowl food'. Though of course the question of exactly how much they provide for your money is as unclear as ever.
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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 13:43:27 GMT
I also got my brother's word on the vegetarian options within the 'bowl food' menu. He ranked them in order of preference...
1. Thai Vegetable Curry (with popadoms)
2. Penne Pasta (with Mediterranean vegetables, sun blushed tomatoes & olives)
3. Mixed Bean Casserole (with sauté potatoes) 4. Mushroom & Mascarpone Risotto (finished with asparagus)
5. Harvester Casserole (with baby corn, black eye beans & baby carrots)
6. Five Mushroom Stroganoff (with pilau rice) Notes: *I would definitely include the pasta, it is super-safe, it's at pizza hut for chrissakes.
*I personally like mushrooms, but put them low as I am always meeting people who "don't do them".
*Thai curry is lighter than your normal curry, and more importantly is yummy.
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Post by Emily on Feb 22, 2010 14:57:15 GMT
are the prices per head or per bowl? not v clear... Lets imagine you're gonna have 6 dishes, I'd go for 2 veggie, 1 red meat, 2chicken (most pleasing to Yash ahaha) and a dessert ... therefore if I was gonna try and put together a selection with the most universal appeal I'd go for...
Penne Pasta Thai Vegetable Curry Shepherds Pie Cajun Chicken Strips Creamy Tarragon Chicken (OR tomato meatballs if you wanted beef instead of a second chicken dish) Eaton mess
Of course this is me trying to imagine the tastes of 50+ people and may be completely off-mark.
Have you looked at the gourmet barbecue? it looks pretty yummy and large compared to price, but might be more of a summer thing...
(gosh the sit down food is stupidly expensive blaaargh)
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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 15:28:29 GMT
Yes, the sit-down menus are pretty much out of the question given a) the expense and b) Yasha's general aversion to that sort of thing.
I would have to assume that the bowl prices are 'per person' if only because that fits with the rest of their prices, and would otherwise make it significantly cheaper than everything else (unless they're really small bowls).
I was thinking along similar lines of having two veggie ones (pasta and curry), then either 2 or 3 other meaty ones, which I haven't looked at closely as of yet. I ignored the desserts because they'll have cake (LET THEM EAT CAKE), and just because I'm generally conscious of more dishes = higher prices (even if Yasha's parents are paying for it...).
I glanced at the Gourmet BBQ but it appeared to be more of a sit-down-and-wait-for-the-next-course kind of thing, which again Yasha apparently despises.
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Post by Emily on Feb 22, 2010 15:35:15 GMT
ah... I was thinking it might be some kind of awesome buffet with FLAMES but I might be wrong. I just thought it had the most meats/least ridiculous sauces of all the menus.
good point about cake... stuff dessert, more food!
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Post by Ally on Feb 22, 2010 15:49:33 GMT
I had a word with my dad re his cousin...the Rolls Royce, whatever make it was, is no more because it got all full of rust, but he does have a couple of other fancy vintage cars, if it doesn't absolutely have to be a Rolls.
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Post by stokerino on Feb 22, 2010 15:59:23 GMT
Haha. No it doesn't have to be a rolls just because Stuart suggested it. I'll give anything a look. I've poked around the internet re: cars and the best price I've found for a decent-looking car so far has been £250. Dunno if Yash will care for it though.
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Post by Animae on Feb 22, 2010 17:31:24 GMT
This is shaping up to be some Shindig.
i personally want to get married someplace where they will let me put mosquito netting and fairy lights up in the trees. so perhaps my back yard.
I've also thought about a masquerade wedding.
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Post by Ally on Feb 23, 2010 13:44:45 GMT
Think of all the Shakespearean antics that could happen at a masquerade wedding! (Unfortunately one of them might be marrying the wrong guy because you can't recognise him under his mask...but then, he'd probably turn out to be your true love anyway).
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Post by stokerino on Feb 23, 2010 13:45:26 GMT
Or a boy who's a girl who's a boy.
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Post by Ally on Feb 23, 2010 14:23:29 GMT
...who's a twin of a servant of a master of a twin...
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Post by Emily on Feb 23, 2010 15:27:34 GMT
and a faerie.
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Post by Animae on Feb 23, 2010 19:43:25 GMT
thank you! I'm all for the fae at my wedding.
I want o make a faery garden out of the old birdbath, but my father thinks that the birds still a)use it and b) he is going to actually put the top on the stand so it is functional.
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Post by stokerino on Feb 24, 2010 14:27:30 GMT
Yasha bought the dress today... Or rather she ordered it and paid 50% of the cost up front. The total cost will be £800 plus alterations, which apparently the woman said would likely cost £50-80 max. That'll be done much closer to the wedding itself, of course. Also, in related bridal attire news, the circlet she wants costs $222.49 ($189.99 plus $32.50 shipping), which equals roughly £145 at current exchange rates. Although personally I would be tempted to wait a while to see if the rate improves... So if we take the original £1,500 estimated budget for bridal attire, we're left with nearly £500 remaining and just the cloak and shoes to go. Hooray...something that should come within budget...why can't all the parts I have to pay for do that. ¬_¬
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Post by stuart alman on Feb 24, 2010 15:41:01 GMT
because you have the massively inflationary elements such as those dastardly flowers
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Post by stokerino on Feb 24, 2010 15:49:15 GMT
At least I'm not responsible for the food... Since that's one thing that can jump wildly in either direction from slight changes in the prices 'per person'. I've accepted that the cake will cost £300 rather than the randomly-estimated £200. I've also accepted that the flowers were horrendously under-estimated so I'm approaching that one as a matter of Damage Limitation more than anything. It's also somewhat annoying that the car looks likely to cost money, but perhaps I shall get to the point where I say to Yasha "screw the fancy car, no one will see you arrive because they'll be waiting inside, and when you leave it'll be dark anyway". >_> On the plus side, we should maybe be able to save a little bit on the invitations from the £100 estimate... And we're not paying thousands of pounds on lighting. Yay!
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Post by Emily on Feb 25, 2010 9:24:50 GMT
I can send you about a million printers for invites etc. and I'm sure between us me and Yash can design something better than you could pay anyone for XD
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Post by stokerino on Apr 19, 2010 12:52:59 GMT
Wedding contract and depost finally sorted/sent off. It took them two months to get it to us rather than the advertised two weeks, but eh. Once we get the final copy of the contract back (with their signature in addition to ours), I guess it'll be time to move forward with working out the final guest list for the sending of "keep this date free" thingies and such.
Important clause noted in the contract: because of the whole English Heritage-ness of the venue, ladies footwear such as stilettos/kitten heels/spikey heels of any other form are a no-no, due to potential for wooden floor damage. Obviously this will have to be mentioned on the proper invitations next year...
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