Liz and Nicks Wedding Garden Party

I think it is safe to say that getting married abroad is many couples idea of a dream wedding!

Liz and Nick made their dream come true by jetting off to the Isle of Skiathos to get married…

Close friends and family joined Liz and Nick on this beautiful Greek island so they could be a part of their special day.  However, once they returned home Liz and Nick knew they wanted to celebrate their wedding with all their other friends too. 

Having such a beautiful garden, they decided a garden party would be the perfect way to get everyone together to celebrate their wedding.

From their first email it was clear Liz and Nick knew exactly what they wanted but they realised they needed some extra hands to make sure everything ran smoothly on the day. Liz didn’t want to feel like she was in her own home worrying that all of their guests were happy and had had enough to eat and drink. So, they got in contact to see if my team and I could help take the pressure away,

A time-plan of Liz and Nicks garden party was written up after several email conversations and meetings together. Making sure there is a structure of your day ensures everyone knows what is expected of them and where everything should be and at what time, resulting in a smoothly run event,

It was such a shame that the weather wasn’t what we had wished for on the weekend of their party, although we were just thankful it didn’t rain! The sun was shining but there were such strong winds that even the pretty flowers that Liz's mum had spent so long arranging the day before kept flying off the tables. However, no-one let the windy weather ruin the day!

The garden looked beautiful with tables and chairs laid out,

pretty bunting along the fences,

…and big balloons!

Not long after everyone had arrived and we had served them welcome drinks and canapes, Liz's auntie, a former registrar held a small ceremony so that Liz and Nick could share their vows with everyone. This was a lovely touch especially for those that didn't go to their wedding.

Whilst the ceremony was taking place my team and I were busy laying the food out and making sure everything was ready to serve once they had finished.

After the ceremony the vocal guitar and double bass duo, ‘All Acoustic’ played their first set and were absolutely brilliant.  They created the most perfect atmosphere for the party and all of the guests loved them. Whilst the music played everyone came up to choose food from the buffet style table we had laid out.

With Liz’s catering background she had decided she would prepare all of the food herself along with some help from her friends and family. Catering for nearly 100 guests is not an easy feat but Liz certainly pulled it off and put on an amazing spread. From trays of salmon, turkey & ham that Lee served, to a variety of home-made flavoured quiches that Ellie served, along with an array of different salads and sauces…it was enough to make anyone’s mouth water!

Once everyone had finished the main course, we cleared everything away and laid out a lovely selection of home-made puddings, ready to serve. There were chocolate cheesecakes, baked cheesecakes, pavlovas, fresh strawberries & cream and lemon & syrup tarts which rather frustratingly we were all so busy and pre-occupied that no-one took any photos of the spread, including myself!

After the puddings, we took out their wedding/ birthday cake, as not only were they celebrating their wedding it was soon to be Lizs big birthday too. So, after a few words from Lizs dad, everyone sung Happy Birthday. 

In my opinion you can't go to a party without having a piece of cake, so we cut the cake into finger portions, served it on serviettes and offered it around to all of the guests.

Once everyone had finished eating, the three of us moved onto the clearing up. We were there to make sure as little as possible was left for Nick and Liz to do the next day, as let’s be honest who wants to be left with dirty plates in the morning!

Wrapping the leftover food, clearing the tables of any crockery, washing up the glasses and rinsing the plates and bowls ready to be returned was all part our service. It is such a lovely feeling knowing how much we can help to reduce the amount of work the party hosts may be faced with the following day.

Liz and Nicks garden party had such a wonderful atmosphere with lots of laughs. It was amazing to see that you don’t need to hire an expensive venue when you can hold a fabulous event in your own garden!

It was a pleasure to help co-ordinate Liz and Nicks wedding garden party and we wish them all the happiness for the future.

Congratulations to you both!

Photo credits go to Liz and Nicks family and friends and a few are by me!

All Acoustic: https://www.alivenetwork.com/bandpage.asp?bandname=All%20Acoustic