Sometimes emails land in your inbox that totally inspire you, I had one such email last week from Sarah at Eat My Flowers with her ideas for floral inspired menu.  Immediately I was dreaming up a spring wedding picnic based on her menu ideas and thought that you all might like to be inspired as well.

Why not serve your wedding guests a slightly different take on the English afternoon tea, starting with dainty sandwiches filled with organic free range egg and wild hedgerow leaves.  Almost too pretty to eat!

Sarah suggests “Swap one layer of the free range egg mayonnaise with a selection of wild leaves such as sorrel and hedge mustard, and edible flowers such wild rocket, violas and mustard.  The peppery leaves and flowers make a novel alternative to cress.”

Can you get much more summery than a homemade pavlova?  But have you ever thought of making mini pavlovas with a rose water cream and crystallised petals – the perfect English dessert to serve at a spring or summer wedding.

Sarah suggests, “Make your meringue’s using a standard recipe.  Add a few drops of rose water folded into the cream after it’s been whipped, and top off the pavlovas with some crystallised alpine pink petals – rose petals would be just as lovely.”

Big wedding cakes are lovely, but smaller bite-sized cakes could be a lovely alternative for a picnic style wedding meal.  These crab apple and damson jelly filled sponge hearts with apple blossom garnish are an unusual but incredibly English alternative.

Sarah suggests, “I made these using a Victoria sponge recipe baked in a flat tray, I then cut out heart shapes using a biscuit cutter.  Sandwich them together with some damson and crab apple jelly and a dollop of whipped cream.  Dust with icing sugar and finish them off with a crystallised apple blossom bud or petal.”

Finally, why not give your guests one of these sweet treats to take home with them – a dainty violet macaron with a raspberry cream filling.

Sarah suggests, “For this violet macaron version, I added a little red and blue food colouring to the mix and placed a crystallised violet on the top macaron before baking, but after drying.  I filled them with a mixture of raspberries and cream.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed Sarah’s ideas as much as I have, I am dying to get my hands on some crystallised apple blossom and make those damson and crab apple jelly filled sponge cakes. Do you have a favourite?  

Eat My Flowers grow edible flowers on their farm in North Wales before crystallising them by hand.  You can use their crystallised flowers to decorate desserts, chocolates, cakes and cocktails – and they’re perfect for parties and weddings!  Eat My Flowers grow all their flowers without the use of pesticides.

For more information visit www.eatmyflowers.co.uk or contact Sarah at info@eatmyflowers.co.uk. They are one of the businesses featured in The Natural Wedding Company directory – you can also see more of Sarah’s beautiful edible flowers as featured on the TNWC birthday cake..

Images: (1) Veer via Wedding Bee Pro; (2 – 5) Eat My Flowers