Belle Epoque, Knutsford - Any other brides2b out there??

Hi everyone

I wanted to see if there are any other brides2b having their wedding at the Belle Epoque in Knutsford, we are soooo excited about having our wedding there on 20 March 2010, we've just taken our parents to the venue on Monday to show them round and have dinner and they loved it too. It's so quirky and just what we were looking for, espeically as my OH is a real foodie so food and wine was really important for him!!

We are meeting the wedding co-ordinator in 2 weeks to run through the day etc. and really excited!!

Funnily enough I was trying some dresses on last Friday and there was another bride2b in there and she was getting married there the week before me, how freaky is that!! And I ended up buying my dress from there, must have been a sign, a beautiful Benjaimin Roberts dress!!

So any other brides2b out there or anyone that's been married there, let me know I'd love to hear your stories!! xx

Hi everyone

I wanted to see if there are any other brides2b having their wedding at the Belle Epoque in Knutsford, we are soooo excited about having our wedding there on 20 March 2010, we've just taken our parents to the venue on Monday to show them round and have dinner and they loved it too. It's so quirky and just what we were looking for, espeically as my OH is a real foodie so food and wine was really important for him!!

We are meeting the wedding co-ordinator in 2 weeks to run through the day etc. and really excited!!

Funnily enough I was trying some dresses on last Friday and there was another bride2b in there and she was getting married there the week before me, how freaky is that!! And I ended up buying my dress from there, must have been a sign, a beautiful Benjaimin Roberts dress!!

So any other brides2b out there or anyone that's been married there, let me know I'd love to hear your stories!! xx

Hi Mrskeyes2b,
You may want to read Mrs Rues report as she got married at Belle Epoque andwrote a beautiful report and if you click on her email button you may be able to ask her about it !! Hope that helps xx

http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/chatroom/topic/238797

[Modified by: shazza21 on October 16, 2009 03:58 PM]

Hi Shazza, that's great thanks I've started reading her long blog, it's amazing! xx

Yay! Hello...I too am a future Belle Epoque bride - September 2010. I cannot wait.
In fact I have just returned from a meal there tonight (It was our 6 year anniversary so we thought we deserved a treat) and I have to say it was one of the best meals (if not the very best) I have ever had!
We have def picked a good place girlies

How is the rest of your planning coming on Mrs Keyes?

x

HI future Mrshall

Yay another BE bride, we are so excited about having our wedding there, pleased you enjoyed your meal there, we took our parents a few weeks ago and it went down very well, in fact we are having our food tasting in a couple of weeks so that we can choose what menu to have for the wedding we're having a 'his' and 'hers' menu so got another couple to come with us so we can try more food!

Planning is going really well thanks and just started to make my invites but the major things are booked ordered the all important dress, a Benjamin Roberts one! What about you? Have you started looking yet? although I guess you've still got lots of time which is nice, would love to be looking for my dress again hehe so much fun!!

This time in 19 weeks we'll be married how mad is that, I can't believe how quickly it's coming round!

Keep me posted on your planning, have you done quite a bit already, if you need any recommendatios let me know

are you getting mairred there or in a Church, we are getting married at St Oswald's in Lower Peover, speaking of which I need to get ready to go to Church so best sign off!!

catch up soon xx

Hey!

Very exciting to be able to share everything with a fellow BE bride!

Have done a lot so far....got my dress (well its ordered!) It's quite a rare spanish make called Novia D'art. I absolutely love it! Got entertainment (DJ and string quartet) - harpist in the church (which is in Sale) Got hair and make up woman. Photographer. Shoes. Videographer. Know where am getting cake.....sent save the days out. Semi sorted florist.
In fact - everyone says I am the most organised bride they have ever seen! lol

There will be loads to do nearer the time however.I cannot wait to decide on the food.
I knew you could have a his and hers pudding, but can you do that with the whole menu? that would be cool.....
You will have to let me know what you decide on. I'm quite fancying beef of some kind. Oooh how exciting!

Are you having bridesmaids? I've just got one...colour scheme Plum/Aubergine.

S x

Oh what are the chances of me just popping on and seeing this post on the home page, we are having our reception at the Belle Epoque next year too- on the 4th April I was very nearly a benjamin roberts bride but ended up going for an essesnce of australia dress in the end.
What is this 'his and hers' menu you are talking about? We havent actually eaten there yet but its my partners birthday on the 21st November and I think we are going to go for tea around then.

My colour scheme is purple too, seems to be a lot of it about at the moment but the reason I chose it was it will go really well with the venue x

Aarghh just written a long response and my computer crashed, typical.....anyway here I go again!!

Hello fellow BE brides, yay another bride having their wedding at the BE, how exciting.

*Bimbo* – I think you must be getting married 2 weeks after me as we’re getting married on 20 March 2010 :\)

I’m also having a purple theme like you two, with pink thrown in, I had chosen that theme anyway but then when we saw the venue and decided to have our wedding there it fit in nicely anyway. I’ve got 5 bridesmaids and got their dresses from Phase Eight, although just found out this weekend that one of them is pregnant so we had to quickly order another dress in a larger size so she can grow into it as she will be about 6 months by then so thank god they still had them in the sale as I ordered them around June time!!!

The girls are going to have a bouquet of pink flowers with bit of purple thrown in to offset against their dresses and I’m going to have a mix of both (thinking at the moment of tulips, ranunculus, anemones, freesia and lisianthus and sweet peas but might have to whittle those down but love them all, too much choice!!), have booked ‘The Black Rose’ which is on King Street down the road from BE as I’ve been to a couple of Mark’s flower arranging classes and he’s been really good and creative so booked in to see him in Jan to finalise the details!! I’ve also got a little flowergirl too but not sure what I’m going to do with her flowers yet.

The ‘His and Hers’ menus were mentioned to us when we went to see the venue initially with Mark, he mentioned the different desserts but as food & wine is really important to my h2b we thought we’d go the whole hog and have completely different menus for both men and women, we are going on 19 November to try food with our friends so I’ll post the choices after this post and you can let me know what you think, the food is delicious there, I have eaten there 3 times already and it’s always been great! Let me know how you get on when you go!! Are you having the Belle Epoque mini’s in the evening, we are, they sound great and will help with people’s munchies later on in the evening!!

FutureMrsHall – haha you sound like me, super organised, I had pretty much booked everything within 4-5 months of getting engaged and finding the venue but has also meant I have been twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do next and keep revisiting / changing my mind (even so far as my dress – I had bought an Augusta Jones one but due to certain circumstances got to change it and bought the Benjamin Roberts one instead) much to my h2b’s despair....lol!!! So we’ve booked the cars, London double decker bus to take our guests to the Church and venue, ordered the suits, got the BM’s dresses, band (The Deadbeats), florist, cupcakes, my dress, hair and makeup etc etc. We are also hiring a casino and having a sweetie station for the favours. Wanted a string quartet too but couldn’t afford it on top of everything else. We’ve got 95 adults and 10 kids in the day plus another 30-40 people in the evening, what about you guys?

I’ve just started to make my invites this weekend so need to finish those off pronto and I’ve also had a Wedding Map made up for directions which I LOVE!!! H2B thinks I’m nuts but he’s happy with the result, see below, it’s the draft and I’m having hints of pink and purple added too so I'm just waiting for her to send me the final draft, very excited!!

Where are you staying afterwards? We would have liked to stay at the BE but there aren’t enough rooms for everyone and as we have quite a few overseas guests we wanted to be able to see everyone in the morning so we have booked into Cottons instead and block booked some rooms.

Anyhoo I’ll stop rambling, keep me posted on your plans xx



[Modified by: Mrskeyes2b on November 18, 2009 03:23 PM]

This is what we're tying in a few weeks, what do you think?

Choice 1

-Andy Holt’s Black Pudding
-Roasted Loin ‘Porchetta’ (Suckling pig, cooked in the classic Italian Style, flavoured with Bay, Thyme & Garlic – Mustard Seed & Marjoram Glaze, new potatoes & seasonal green vegetables)
-Belle Epoque’s Famous Creme Brule

Choice 2
- Goats Cheese & Tomato Tart or Cheshire Cheese Sausages
-Free Range Chicken Breast (Stuffed with organic Cheshire Cheese & Wrapped in Pancetta, English Mustard Cream – Chive Mash & Seasonal Vegetables)
-Chocolate Assiette or Chocolate Plate (Chocolate & Strawberry Semi Freddo, Warm Choc Brownie, draped in Chocolate Sauce & a Chocolate Mousse)

Choice 3

-Garlic & Chilli Prawns (stir fried prawns, garlic, chilli & coriander with an Asian salad of Bok Choi, peppers, spring onions & bean sprouts)
-Confit of Lune Valley Lamb (lamb cooked for 8 hours, gravy made from glorious cooking juices, infused with fresh mint & redcurrant, crushed new potatoes & sautéed greens)
-Glazed Lemon Tart (BE home made sweet pastry filled with baked lemon cream – caramel glazed)

Choice 4 (Our Vegetarian Taster)

-Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Ravioli (fresh pasta ravioli, stuffed with sweet potato, roast red capsicum nutmeg & ginger sauce – fresh parmesan)

Choice of Main:

-1st Choice – Plum Tomato Tart – Ripe tomato, layered with slow roasted balsamic onions and Knutsford’s own Delamere Goats’s cheese, served with buttered new potatoes and green salad
-2nd Choice – Tuscan Bean Cassoulet (Rich cassoulet with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil – topped with Provencale herbs – fresh rocket & parmesan salad)

-Heavenly Choc Tart & Vanilla Mascarpone (served warm from oven, pure Belgian choc, cream baked to barely set – whipped vanilla mascarpone & cherry kirsch compote)

Can't wait to go!! x

Hey!

I am so excited looking at your menu choices. The goats cheese tart looks really good. I really fancy a beef thing as the main and def the creme brule too.
Def let us know what you pick. I am jealous...I want to come with you!

Welcome *bimbo* - so nice there are a few of us to chat....

Yes, I think I have got a bit carried away with it all so no doubt will be twiddling my thumbs soon. Just need to sort florist and bridesmaid dress before Christmas. I think I have those mostly decided on.

My theme is purple and pink - I think it is such a natual choice for the BE. I love the venue and if I wasn't having it there I really do not know where I would have gone for.

We are staying at the BE overnight (just close family) We are having 80 in the day and probably another 20 or so at night.
We are just going for a DJ in the evening (to be honest mainly because bands were quite expensive, plus we both LOVE cheesy discos!)
And we wanted the string quartet and harpist too.

I am so hoping the weather is good and we can make use of the roof terrace ;\)

Mrs Keyes - I LOVE your map! Who did that for you? Its very cool...
Also love all the details of your day (especially the wedding bus!)

Where do you guys all live? I am from Sale but now live near centre of McR. Parents still in Sale.

Don't you think everyone at the BE is so lovely. I particularly like Mark, he is really nice and so helpful. I am so glad to have such a great venue.

We have decided on having options for a menu but mainly as we have quite a diverse range of guests going, lol. We are just doing to stationary at the moment so are sending out the choice for people to return with the RSVP.

We are having parfait of chicken livers to start or carrot and coriander homemade soup
Then classic roast chicken or pork with crackling and apple sauce
Then the chocolate plate or sticky toffee and date pudding
Then a brew! lol

I got our bridesmaid dresses the other day, I have 3 adults, Im so chuffed with them M&S cant post a pic as they are well and truly sold out, I nearly didnt end up getting the size 8 I needed for my chief BM as they had sold out everywhere, I had to go to Gemini in Warrington to get it. They were only £49.50 each and are stunning.

Im not sure about flowers yet, Im going back to them in January. But thinking tulips and roses, purples and cream and then maybe some hot pink in it for my bridesmaid to contrast with the dresses.

I like you guys am also freakishly organised, we got engaged a year ago and Id sorted ceremony (we are getting married at Tatton Park) reception, car, insurance, registrar, mens suits, DJ by 5 months. More recently though I have sorted my dress (took me AGES to find 'the one' and yes I had sorted the mens clothing before my own lol), my shoes, honeymoon (we are doing a 3 week trip to Florida and The Caribbean), a violinist for the ceremony, canapes for the drinks reception at Tatton, a cake, rings and hair and makeup.

I dont want to alarm you, but I was going to book a London Bus (great minds and all that) but Collette told me it wouldnt be able to fit down the road that the Belle Epoque was on so if I was dead set on having it, it would have to drop guests off at the end of the road. I decided against it as with the time of year couldnt bank on it not p'ing it down!

I thought I didnt have that much to do left but I did a list the other day and its pretty big but its just made up of niggly little things like veil, favours, accessories, cake bags etc. Trying to aim for the stationary to be sent out first week of Jan.

Where are you ladies from? Are you local? We live in Sale :\)

Bimbo - I am from Sale too! How mad...
Live near Mcr centre now though with H2B - parents still in Sale though

Mrs Keyes - Maybe best you check out that bus situation!

I actually grew up in Lymm but moved here about 6 years ago, I live in Brooklands specifically. Its a small world eh! I actually realised you had mentioned Sale in your last post but I was busy typing my essay whilst you must have been replying

Hellooo again, ooh I'm quite near you guys too, I live in Chorlton bit of a pain having to trek to Knutsford to go to Church every few Sundays though but hey ho got to be done as we wanted to get married near the venue so the Vicar was quite insistent on that which is fair enough!!

*Bimbo* - my friend got married at Tattons as well and it looked gorgeous, great choice, we'd like to have piccies taken there but the car people told us that there are park guards who send you off if they catch you, apparently you need a licence if you want piccies but aren't getting married there!! Mad

Thanks for the info on the buses, we had checked the bridge out about the bus so we are going to get the bus to drop people off near the roundabout coming into Knutsford and they can walk down one of the side streets, we are enlisting two of our friends to guide people to the venue, we'll also provide some brollies too, I've mentioned it too in our wedding info sheet so hopefully a few sensible people will bring a brolly as well!! Manchester weather is so unpredictable isn't it! This year on the 20 March was such a gorgeous sunny day so i'm crossing all fingers and toes it is again next year!!

Your menu choices sound lovely too, unfort just heard back from C and we can't try the pork as that's jumped up to £30ph and the lamb has to be made in bulk so they won't make it for one person, so they won't make it for us which is a bit annoying, plus can't try the choc dishes either as they have to made in bulk, how can you order a courses without trying them?? Bit gutted about that as really wanted to try them, so we're going to try another pork dish and the duck, and I've asked C if she can recommend another choc dish that I can try that doesn't have to made in bulk! :\?

Haha sounds like we're all quite freakishly organised and similar themes too but I think they will look great, I like the sound of your flowers too *Bimbo*. Well done on the dresses, bargain, with having 5 I really had to have a good look round and managed to get 20% off the dresses but they were still £105 each but compared to buying Dessy or Watters and Watters etc. you can easily pay £150-250 for a very simple dress, I wanted them to have something that they could wear again and again as I have two bridesmaids dresses hanging up that I would never wear again as they just look too 'bridesmaidy' so really pleased that I managed to find them, I had a panic trying to get them as they had flown off the shelves and had to source them from various shops and then they had loads online anyway in the sale but hey if I hadn't bought them they probably would have sold out!

Thanks FutureMrsHall, I saw the maps in a magazine I think and had to have one, I'm going to have one framed afterwards too as a keepsake, it's a lady that does them, her website is:

http://www.hand-drawnmaps.co.uk/home.html

It's a little bit expensive but I couldn't resist, but they are handdrawn so I guess the price reflects that, but she'll make as many amendments to the drawing as you want until it's perfect and she's been lovely to deal with so I think it's worth the price!! I'll post the finished product when it's done!

Am hoping to finish the invites in the next 2 weeks as want replies by mid Jan and I'm just conscious about Xmas coming soon!!

I know what you mean, I have booked all the main things but I made a 'To do Wedding List' and I think I'm at No. 84 or something ridiculous!! haha but it has all the 'pay by' dates etc. so there are quite a few smaller things to get, want to order my veil soon, I've seen a good website where you can bespoke order it and it was £95 compared to the £180 I was quoted in the shop but I'm scared to order it and it's not what I want as you can't see it first eeekkk!!

What dresses have you ordered then? I'm intrigued to see what my fellow BE brides are wearing?

took mine off just in case anyone googles 'belle epoque' after we send the invites out as the thread comes up on google!!

LOVE IT so pleased I got the chance to order another dress
:\)

catch up soon BE Brides, byeee xx

[Modified by: Mrskeyes2b on November 13, 2009 04:19 PM]



[Modified by: Mrskeyes2b on November 18, 2009 03:21 PM]