Returing to the golden 1930's for a truly unforgettable wedding

We’ve just taken a late booking for a delightful 1930's themed wedding. It’s harnessing all our specialist vintage theming and creativity to make the day really special for the bride and groom.  

We’re really excited as the guests will be dressing up in period outfits and the reception features a traditional tea dance, lots of period decoration and a 1930's jazz band. We’re even arranging a gramophone to play 78's in between the band sessions. 

Outside the venue we are organising traditional village games such as a coconut shy and skittles and there will be a special area for the vintage vehicles being used on the day.

Even our caterers are stepping back in time to serve up a sumptuous 1930's Afternoon Tea Menu. This includes:

• Mini cheese boards of English cheeses and pots of chutney and baskets of crackers
• Platters of hand carved honey baked ham
• Quiche Lorraine
• Rolled sandwiches with a variety of delicous fillings.
• Plain and fruit scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream
• Victoria sponge
• Coffee and walnut cake
• Traditional summer trifle
• Lashings of thirst quenching homemade lemonade

It’s certainly proving to be a great event and we are enjoying each aspect of the organisation. It’s not everyday you get to step back in time.

This year's bountiful harvest

Make the most of this year’s bountiful harvest by building seasonal flavours into your party or celebration menu.  There is some great British produce around at the moment and plenty to choose from. 

So, whether you’re looking for a canapé party, a formal dinner or a bbq, take inspiration from what’s currently available.

We work with a lot of local producers and can guide you on menus that harness the joys of this season’s flavours. You’ll also find that by sourcing locally the transportation costs within your catering budget are reduced as well.

Catered dinner parties

Catered dinner parties at home are a lovely way to bring friends and family together.  They come without the hassle of all that cooking and cleaning to ensure you will be as relaxed as your guests and free to enjoy the wines and dishes in the comfort of your own surroundings.

We have a long traditional of running private dinner parties at people’s homes.  We can be as hands-on or as hands-off as you like in the preparation – from helping with just the food preparation through to cooking, serving and clearing everything away afterwards. 

We can also arrange for one of our talented chefs to come to your home to serve a ‘tasting’ menu dining experience to your guests.

Give us a call on 01483 243503 or email us for our ‘at home’ dining menus and packages.

The joys of afternoon tea

Sumptuous afternoon tea

Let’s face it, life’s pretty hectic for most of us. So it’s great to occasionally take time out, catch our breath and step back for a moment of nostalgia and high living. 

Our Vintage Days afternoon tea parties and celebrations do just that.  Blending beautiful vintage crockery with sumptuous ‘high tea’ menus they enable you and your guests to take a much needed breather from the hubbub of every day life.

Our Vintage Days afternoon tea menu includes - plain and fruit scones with strawberry preserve and clotted cream, a wide range of traditional sandwiches beautifully presented, bites of victoria sponge, lemon drizzle and coffee and walnut cakes.  We can serve a variety of leaf teas or even jugs of homemade lemonade

There’s also an option to add in our patisserie collection comprising mini chocolate éclairs, summer berry tarts with vanilla cream and meringue nests with whipped vanilla cream and passion fruit curd. And if your taste buds favour more savoury options, why not choose from our mini sausage rolls with hot mustard and fennel seed, mini pork pies and cheese and bacon twists?

Vintage Days afternoon tea parties are great for birthday, anniversary, corporate, hen night and baby shower celebrations. They are also popular for funeral teas and memorial events.

For more information visit www.vintagedays.co.uk

Jet-setting parties and events

No we’re not talking about getting your guests to turn up at the airport.  But why not bring the world to them with an internationally themed celebration or event?  

Over the years, we have created some great parties with an international twist. Each whisked guests off (metaphorically speaking) to exotic locations and created a buzz which was talked about for weeks!.  

Particularly popular internationally-themed parties included:

·         Arabian Nights

·         Rock Star Raj

·         Colonial Afternoon Tea

·         Street Food Bazaar

Theming these events focused on re-creating the sights, sounds, tastes and delicious smells of the destination. We have staged them in a variety of locations – homes, specialist venues, marquees and under beautiful poled tents.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for your next event or celebration, please do get in touch.

Make the most of seasonal flowers at your garden party or summer event

With summer finally here there are an abundance of beautiful flowers in bloom. 

Make the most of these when decorating your event or summer party. They will be so much more fresher and fragrant than the imported and ‘forced’ varieties. Some can often work out cheaper when sourced locally. 

We recently created a gorgeous garden party for a client where the tables were decorated with small terracotta pots adorned with lovely British summer blooms.  It really lifted people’s spirits after such a cold winter and spring.

What’s more, because the cold spring has delayed some plant growth this year, there are varieties available which would normally have finished by now.  Make the most of this broader colour palette  to decorate and brighten up your event or celebration.

This season’s wedding colour themes

With the 2013 wedding season well and truly upon us we thought we’d share some of this year’s colour themes in case you’re looking for some inspiration. Certainly after the dreary winter and spring we've had it seems that vibrant colours are the order of the day.

When it comes to wedding décor and floral arrangements, we've seen lime green and hot Caribbean tones (vibrant purple, turquoise and orange) all making an appearance. 

Of course there’s still a strong interest in the traditional and very, elegant white.

Also, more and more brides are opting to use seasonal flowers and foliage at their wedding to get more from their décor budget.  As the yellows and blues of spring come to an end, we’re looking forward to the hotter colour pallette of the summer – reds, oranges and purples.

Rethinking the non-alcoholic drinks options at weddings and parties

We've noticed that more and more people are scaling back on their alcohol consumption, even at

celebrations and parties.  The success of the anti-drink:drive campaign, health concerns around alcohol and a general public mood towards moderation means that the non-alcoholic drinks option at weddings and parties is rising in demand. 

Historically this has formed rather a dull alternative with orange juice and sparkling water the stalwart offering.  But this need not be the case.  Exciting non-alcoholic drinks from cocktails to unusual fruit cordials have blossomed in recent years.  

We've been concocting and serving our client’s guests with mouth-watering fruity cocktails,  freshly pressed apple juice and mint punch with crushed ice, a variety of elderflower based pressés and impressive fruit juice fountains.

So if you want your celebration to be a bit different and want to rethink the non-alcoholic drinks option, do get in touch for some exciting alternatives.

Weather-proof outside party & launch event ideas for the May bank holidays

With the May bank holidays around the corner there’s still time to plan a party that embraces the start of the summer.  Of course for many of us used to the varying British climate, that means accounting for all weathers. 

Fortunately you can still keep warm and dry whilst creating a great outdoor celebration.  So don’t be put off.  Harness your inner desire to get your celebration or event out of the house (and most of us desperately want that after this year’s long winter!!) and consider more luxurious marquees, poled tents, tepees and yurts for your celebration.   

All can include carpets, open fires & traditional heating , sumptuous seating to enable you to enjoy the outdoors in true comfort.  Clear PVC marquee models can let you visibly enjoy the beauty of your surroundings from within the tent and the latest designs place comfort and luxury high on the agenda. 

Give Gilly a call on 01483 243503 if you’d like to learn more about our field event and party expertise and recommendations to celebrate the bank holiday in style.

Wedding invites – how to make them more of an experience

We’re often asked by brides and grooms how to approach the whole wedding invitation process. Typically invites are sent out 3 months before the wedding but it’s now common practice to send out well in advance of that a ‘save the date’ message to those friends and family you definitely want to be part of the celebration.  This avoids holiday and other diary clashes that will prevent them from attending.

Make it the starting point of your celebration
With the date secure in people’s diaries you can then spend more time getting the right look, feel and content to your invitation.  In fact the invitation can be an exciting start to the whole celebratory experience.  You can use it to set the tone for the event and, if you’re following a particular theme, let the invite offer up a sneak preview. We’ve seen some couples really consider the whole process of their guests receiving the invitation … from the choice of envelope, the feel of the invite itself as well as the look, choice of words and style of writing etc.

Make it unique to you
Depending on your budget and style preferences you might want to call on the help of a professional designer, calligrapher or printer. Handcrafted and highly individual invitations are also proving popular at the moment.  We’ve seen some impressive invite creations using a whole range of unusual paper stocks and materials.  So don’t feel you have to go with a highly traditional invitiation style.

Useful things to include
It’s sensible to include with the invitation a sheet with details of nearest hotels and B&Bs if you have guests coming from far afield and also to give some guidance as to your wedding list/gift preferences as most guests will want to ask you.  Even if you don’t want gifts, or are asking for charitable donations to a particular cause,  it’s worth including this guidance to avoid having to deal with mulitiple enquries… or unwanted gifts.  And do give a final RSVP date so you are clear of guest numbers at least 2 weeks before the wedding date and don’t have to chase up replies.

One final tip, don’t give too much away in the invitation and always give something back to surprise and delight your guests on the day.