The tradition of leaving wedding guests favours is a long standing one, originally called 'bonbonnieres' and it used to be that couples would leave small trinket boxes for guests containing sugar cubes. The price of sugar at the time was very high and as sugar became less expensive, the tradition of giving almonds replaced the cubes of sugar. The significance of a bonbonniere was to share good wishes to a new way of life. In the 13th century this then evolved to sugar coated almonds (called confetti) and this eventually became a tradition of giving 5 sugared almonds representing health, wealth, fertility, longevity and happiness. As traditions move on and change many couples still opt to leave a little something for their guests, although this is certainly not expected as much today. If you are thinking about wedding favour options and want a little inspiration, we have compiled a few ideas we have seen over the last few years. Wildflower seed packets always go down so well and not only are you giving your guests something to enjoy over and over again as they watch their flowers grow each year, they are wonderful for the environment too by helping bees, birds and native wildlife. The Eden project sell wildflower seed packets, just down the road from us and you can get lovely ones made especially for your day by companies such as Little Green Wedding Co which double up as name places too. Or why not try and make your own seed bombs as per this guide from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Delicious fudge, such a treat! We love Rolys Fudge Pantry and their choice of flavours is extensive. Small bags or jars of fudge make a wonderful option for favours, or how about a sweetie table of fudge for your guests to tuck into?
Cake pops! Delicious balls of cake coated in chocolate make the perfect sweet treat favour. Nicky Grant, based in cornwall hand makes chocolate inspired wedding favours that are like little works of art, definitely worth looking at. If you are planning your wedding with a christmas in mind, she even makes chocolate baubles. Or how about her beautiful chocolate seashells for a beach theme wedding? Wedding favours for charity have become so popular over the last few years. Why not see what your preferred charity offers in terms of donations in lieu of favours and leave a little note or pin for your guests to let them know. Brides Magazine have a great article and list of charities for doing just that on their website here. Photo Credit; Debs Alexander Photo Credit; Alexa Poppe Whatever you decide, giving favours to guests is completely up to you. Some couples now opt for sweetie tables instead of individual favours or photo booths for both evening entertainment and a gift of photos. Others bake biscuits or make their own jam. Some couples leave little gifts of plants. Whatever you decide, favours or no favours, it is your day, your way!
02.02.2020... it sounded like a great date to do something special so we decided to host our wedding open day on it! Come along and meet the Knightor weddings team, wander the grounds of Knightor, nibble on some complimentary canapés and enjoy a glass of fizz on us. And it is a free event! Bring your partner, your family or your friends, all welcome. We will be joined by a collective of amazing suppliers, including; Floral Creations Emily Rose Hire Checkered Photography Cornwall Registrars Flicksbox Vintage Photobooth Bliss Bridal The Wedding Co Cornish Caricatures OK Make Up Artistry Victoria Jefferies Hair The Cornish Cakery Kellys Sweet Treats John Green Dynamic Entertainments Cruz Photography Bella Kernow David - Celebrant Absolute Chocolate Becca Williams Jewellry Ashley James Harding Musician Kernow Wedding Car & Private Hire With some more suppliers to be confirmed We look forward to meeting you! Please do let us know if you are planning to join us but clicking 'going' on our Facebook event... so we know how many canapés to get prepped!
As we enter the quieter months of January and February our winemaking team start getting ready for the year ahead, making their way to the vineyards to begin pruning the vines and bottling the delicious red and whites which are almost ready in barrels and in tank. David, our winemaker, has been looking back on 2019 and what is to come in 2020. '2019 was always going to be measured against the incredible vintage of 2018. It was a hard act to follow! Things began well, budburst was fairly typical, but what followed was a rather cool May. Eventually things warmed up and June and July were near perfect, resulting in the vines putting on good growth and flowering just slightly later than the previous year. The warm weather and light winds in early July were perfect for pollination and most varieties had good fruit set. The Summer weather was warm with adequate rain which continued to help the development of the grapes.' 'As Summer led into Autumn the rainfall increased further. These conditions were a challenge as they were near perfect for the development and spread of mildew and botrytis (a fungus) which we do not want. In early Autumn some varieties in our Portscatho vineyard were showing signs of Downy mildew, resulting in a slight loss in yield. It was also evident at this stage that despite the decent number of grapes per bunch, the average grape size was going to be quite small. September and October is the crucial time as it's when the quality of the crop is determined. It's when the sugars rise and acidity levels drop. The more sun and warmth, the faster and higher the sugars rise and riper the flavours in the grape gets. However in wet Autumns like this years, sugar levels struggle to rise as high or as fast as usual. We began picking our Rondo and Pinot noir précoce grapes on the 24th of September and harvest finished in the last week of October. Overall 2019 will be remembered as a more challenging year, yields and quality varied greatly from one variety to another, some faring better than others.' 'When the grapes do not reach as high levels of ripeness, the key to the winemaking is to be gentle. Gentle handling and delicate pressing. We do not want to extract too much from the skins or seeds of the grapes. For the reds we allowed a shorter time of skin contact and were very careful with how frequently we did pump overs and punch downs during the ferment. This will be evident in the finished red wines, where colour will be lighter than typical, but the wines are still balanced, soft and fruity on the palate. We have had a few ferments that are very slow, with a few barrels still fermenting in December!' 'The wines are showing great potential and there are a few that stand out. We have a very aromatic, powerful tank of Siegerrebe, which will go into our popular Trevannion blend, to be released in the Spring. Again we will also be releasing a potentially very interesting Bacchus, which we have been experimenting with fermenting in old french oak to add body and complexity.
Another wine to keep an eye out for will be our red Pinot noir 2019, partially fermented and aged in oak but it's likely this will not be ready until later next year.' We cannot wait to share news of our releases and look forward to announcing them when they are ready. |
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