Months of planning and finally July 14th arrived with it’s balmy 100 degree temps. At least there was no rain in the forecast. This would have “dampened” our plans to have cocktails and the dinner reception on two different parts of the farm.
The brides vision was of a “classic” farm wedding. I started pinning right away on Pinterest, creating a farm wedding board filled with yummy ideas like walnut farm tables, burlap runners and linen, ball mason jars and striped straws for drinks, a self-serve bar table made from a rustic plank over wine barrels with assorted specialty drinks in large glass dispensers, old fashioned chalkboards displaying everything from drinks to cake flavors, the farm gator’s trunk acting as a vessel for iced down local brews and water bottles. All these ideas came to fruition on that special day. Thankfully, my client and I agreed on all of these gorgeous elements and the end result was nothing short of spectacular! My event planning team did a tremendous job (oh, that’s me and one other person!) handling complex logistics and juggling hundreds of emails to make this wedding happen. A big thank you to Jessica Buckle. I couldn’t have done this event without you!
Six specialty drinks were served, three of which were tended at two bars on the property- Hendricks Gin and Tonics with ginger syrup and cucumber slice garnish, Dark n’Stormy’s and the grooms favorite- Rye Manhattans! The other three drinks were served in large glass dispensers- Tarragon Gimlets, Arnold Palmers and White Peach Sangria.
Hors D’oeuvres were passed to guests as they strolled around the various high points of the property- dog rescue, llamas, peacock enclosure and the largest koi pond I have ever seen!
The reception tent was placed in a large field surrounded by beautiful stone walls. Guests made their way from cocktails on the Charles River (yes, the Charles River runs through the property!) down a dirt path to an opening in the stone wall. From the opening, 40 lanterns lined the field to the tent where dinner would be held. Guests enjoyed a salad of Strawberries with baby spinach, arugula, honey lemon vinaigrette, Vermont butter creamery goat cheese and poppy seed flat bread crouton and were given a choice of three entrees: Beef Tenderloin with Red Onion Jam and Horseradish Cream, Herb Crusted Striped Bass over a Native Corn Cream, both served with sea salt roasted fingerling potatoes and farm fresh green beans, or a Barley and Quinoa Risotto Cake topped with Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini, Red Chard Torta and Beet Chips surrounded by a carrot ginger puree. The wedding cake had multiple layers of chocolate, white chocolate with raspberries and lemon with blueberries. We also served a giant bowl of fresh berries with a silky creme anglaise. Baskets of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were set out at the end of the night for guests.
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I have New England Country Rentals and Peterson Party Center to thank for their great selection of “farmy” rental items. Thanks to Channing Johnson Photography (www.channingjohnson.com) for the absolutely gorgeous pictures they took. Many thanks also to my good friend, Ron Manville who took many of the beautiful food shots (ronmanville.com). Ron is the top food photographer in the country and he happened to be in town photographing Daniel Bruce’s new cookbook. I begged him to be a part of this wedding. “Something Sweet by Michelle” provided the absolutely sublime wedding cake (there is no other wedding cake baker!). Special thanks to my staff who rallied in the heat to make this a spectacular evening!