On a cold winter’s night, the warmth of a beautiful fire was a most welcoming sight for service providers attending a recent Celebration House Network Evening, held in The Barn at Monchique. For many, it was the first time they had visited this venue, which is one of Cape Town’s little hidden gems. I was told to travel towards Hout Bay, and that exactly 2.2km from Constantia Nek I would find them on the right-hand side – and their directions were spot on!
While Monchique has much to offer summer brides, with its beautiful garden setting, mountain views and lawns to the river, it is just as attractive in winter. The large, tastefully decorated Barn with its huge fireplace (I reckon you could do a spit-roast in it!), provided a wonderful ambience for our meeting. I have never understood why more couples don’t get married in winter, as you can achieve such a romantic atmosphere with the use of a log fire and candles. Throughout the evening, I heard many service providers describing the venue as ‘magical’.
Owner Kathy Whittaker and her cordon bleu chef daughter Simone make a great team, and as I had often heard from brides who had married at Monchique about their great food and hospitality, I was looking forward immensely to the evening. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Before the meeting we were treated to an abundance of tasty snacks, from crudités to breads and pâtés, and after the meeting hot savoury items appeared. Vegetarians are often forgotten when savoury snacks are provided, but in this case the vegetarians among us were delighted that Kathy had taken her guests into consideration. In fact, the wide range of interesting fare we were offered – ranging from veggie quiches to filo pastry containing the most delicious spicy butternut filling – had us all oohing, aahing and reaching for more!
The pleasant, friendly atmosphere, coupled with the allure of the fire and the fact that the hectic summer wedding season had ended, meant that everyone had more time to socialise, and the meeting ended far later than usual.
More photos can be found on our facebook page.
Photo by: Alexander Photography
