Carefree knowing a glass of chilled champagne is waiting

Your Wedding and how we go about helping you plan your great day

It all starts with you phoning us or sending an email.   You will have given us a brief outline of what you would   like for your wedding; number of guests, the venue , whether you want a plated meal or a buffet.  At this stage you may not have booked the church and therefore know your service time, don’t worry, we can work on an estimated average time for staffing.  We will send you our menus along with a price guide for what you have asked for.  We do this because very few people know what it is going to cost and when we ask, quite often have not thought about a budget.  So once you know the ball park figure and you are happy with that, then we can meet up and get more detail from you and put together a personal proposal for your day.

Things we will go through with you are;

Service with a smile from the Creative team

• Time of your service and what time to you will arrive back at the venue.

• How long do you want for reception drinks, during which time you will have photographs.  We advise on about one and a half hours for this, as we have found anything longer then guests start to get tired legs and ask us when dinner will be served!  Also, don’t under-estimate how long it takes 100+ guests to sit down!  From announcing and our staff circulating amongst your guests to ask them to be seated, you need to allow half an hour.

• Most people like to serve some canapés during the reception stage, and they are always well received!  This helps take the edge of the Champagne, especially if your guests have not had chance to have lunch before the service.  If you are sitting down to a 3 course meal, then 4 canapés a person is enough, however, if the canapés are to act as the starter then we recommend 8 per-person.

New season lamb with tian of ratatouille and a red wine jus

• The most popular style of wedding breakfast is a plated meal, with waitress service.  Another nice option is to have some anti-pasta /mezze style sharing starters, but do bear in mind there is not lots of spare room on the tables, once you have flowers, wine and water to dodge around.

• After dinner, would you like us to run an evening bar for you, or are you happy to continue with the wine you have been drinking with your meal? If we leave you to it after dinner, yes this will save you some money, but please do not under-estimate that 100+ people in a marquee or venue do need some looking after  and I would always advise you have a least a couple of bar staff to stay and run an evening bar for you.  They will keep the party area tidy, make sure over-indulgent guests are offered a glass of water or a coffee, if the need arises! And best of all tidy up at the end of the evening and assist with calling taxi’s etc.

Your marquee all set ready for your reception

 
Setting up the interior of your marquee or venue

• Regarding the setting up of your marquee or venue tables, we like to do this the day before your wedding.  (Based on your marquee going up mid-week) This then gives you time to meet with your Event manager and go over any final points before the day, also you can then personalise the tables to suit your style.  This also allows your florist to come in on the morning of your wedding and place your table flowers in situ.

• We provide an easel on which you can display your table plan layout.
  

  Honey glazed cocktail sausages

• We will have taken delivery of all your drinks earlier in the week and have these chilling ready to be transported to your venue in a refrigerated van, where they remain for the duration of your wedding.  Afterwards we can arrange collection of these by one of your ushers.

• With your tables all set and everything in place, the Champagne chilled and the cutlery polished, we are all ready to go.  Your Event Manager and team of waiting staff will be ready for the arrival of your wedding party, on hand to collect coats and wedding gifts and serve the all important glass of chilled fizz.  They can make a cup of tea if anyone wants one and deal with children asking for endless juice!
  

  Chilled Champagne for your wedding

• Your Event Manager will have a copy of your time plan for the day and at the appropriate time will liaise with your Best Man to announce the Wedding Breakfast, she will also circulate amongst your guests assisting them to find their seats.

• Dinner is served and if your speeches are held after pudding, your Champagne glasses will be filled ready for your speeches and to toast  the cutting of the wedding cake.  After which we shall whisk it away to be cut and wrapped in napkins to appear with coffee.

The first dance

Once your speeches are over, your bar will have been set up and ready for action, along with the DJ or band primed for your first dance!

The dining tables will be tidied after dinner and wine left with guests who are enjoying sitting and talking at the tables, or if the wine is not required, we move it across to the bar.

After dinner your bar staff will look after guests with drinks and generally keep the area tidy of dirty glasses etc.

Simple Bar option, using raised trestle tables and a light!

At the end of the evening our staff will tidy up, leaving you to climb into a taxi and kick off your dancing shoes !

 Avington Park House is a truly beautiful venue in Hampshire, 10 minutes from the centre of Winchester.  Here are some pictures of a marquee being erected and the finished look.

Laying out the floor area for a marquee at Avington Park House

 The marquee is linked to the library at Avington Park House, and to start with the boys lay out the leg bases, in relation to the size of the marquee.

Hardwood flooring going down for a marquee at Avington Park House

marquee prior to lining with a hardwood floor at Avington Park House in Hampshire

The next stage, flooring and marquee up and linked to the library

Next thing to go up will be, the lighting, chandeliers and up-lights

 and  the ivory lining.

The carpet is then fixed to the flooring.

 

 

 

 

 

Interior shot of a lined marquee at Avington Park House

 

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Marquee linked to the library  with Ivory  lining and carpet.  Ivory brocade tablecloths with bottle green brocade runners.  Ivory camelot lime-wash chairs. Lighting was a combination of pin-spots, brushed steel chandeliers and  up-lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exterior shot of a 40' x 100' marquee linked to the library at Avington Park House

 

Marquee linked to the house, a truly beautiful setting for your wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over-view of a marquee at Avington Park House

 

        A distance shot to show you how stunning a marquee at    

        Avington Park looks.

It’s much more fun to look at pictures of how we can make your wedding day fantastic for you.  Here is a little slide show to show you some of things we can do for you, to make your day really special.

I am delighted to announce that we are the proud sponsors of the Easton & Martyr Worthy Cricket Club Juniors and I am really looking forward to the season ahead.  The juniors are enjoying their winter training sessions and I know will be really looking forward to starting summer training on their home ground at Easton.  We are lucky enough to have a view across to the cricket ground and it is fantastic to see so many youngsters out there on training nights, and every year there are more and more keen young cricketers.  I am only hoping that this year the weather will be kinder to them and allow them to play their full schedule of matches.

Watch this space for up-dates on how the juniors get on this season.

By Adam Kite | 13th February 2013

CATERING COMPANY PUTS ICING ON CAKE FOR EMWCC

 

One of Hampshire’s top catering and marquee companies is the new sponsor of junior cricket at Easton and Martyr Worthy Cricket Club.

CATERING COMPANY PUTS ICING ON CAKE FOR EMWCC

One of Hampshire’s top catering and marquee companies is the new sponsor of junior cricket at Easton and Martyr Worthy Cricket Club.

Award-winning Creative Catering and Marquees is a privately owned company based in Easton run by husband and wife team, Kaye Thompson and David Freemantle.

And while the company has been established for over 20 years, its links with the cricket club stretch back even further.

Founder and Creative Director, Kaye, explained: “I remember my Father playing cricket when I was a girl, followed by my brother and now our son is a keen junior player.”

She added: “I’m delighted to support Easton and Martyr Worthy junior cricket and be part of a vibrant and successful club. It’s a wonderful facility to have in the Itchen Valley and the number of junior players keeps growing.”
The company, specialising in event catering and marquees, is already well known to members for providing the excellent curry at the annual presentation evening.

Club Chairman Adam Murch said: “Not only are we delighted to have found a new sponsor to secure the future of junior cricket but to have Kaye on board, with her long-standing connection to the club, is the icing on the cake.”

The new sponsorship comes at an exciting time for the club and its juniors. Several new initiatives have been recently launched, with more in the pipeline.

For example, an Academy has been set up for talented teenagers under the coaching guidance of former Hampshire player, James Schofield.

Meanwhile, a new website (www.emwcc.co.uk) has been launched featuring new features and functions for both members and supporters, including links to Facebook and Twitter (twitter@emwcc)

The club also has the backing of the Itchen Valley Parish Council to build a second ground to expand both playing and coaching opportunities.

Juniors’ Organiser, Adrian Lee, said: “We’ve seen an unprecedented increase in our junior membership. We’ve also increased our number of qualified coaches. Winter training is already underway and now with the financial support of Kaye’s company, we can look forward to the new season and our juniors’ development with certainty.”

EMWW has been at the heart of Easton village since 1947 and has England Cricket Board (ECB) Clubmark status.

Here comes the bride

 Planning your Wedding Reception …… we are here to help!

With over 22 years of experience in helping to plan wedding receptions we thought it would be helpful to pass on our experience to assist those first timers or even a refresher for those people going second time around!

It does not matter how many couples we talk to, your reception is unique to you and we never forget that.  Yes, there is a common thread running through all events with regard to the military style approach to the detailed planning of the day, which is paid back on the day when your reception runs seamlessly and what appears to be “oh so casually” !  which happens because behind the scenes we stick to your time plan and also keep an keen eye on your Best Man, to help him do his job too!

It is also our job to help you keep things in prospective. As your day draws closer nerves and emotions can take hold, especially if you have family members helping you with the planning.  We want you to have the wedding you have dreamed of and listening to your ideas and then guiding you with our experience of what does and does not work is all part of our service.

From your initial call to us, we will listen to your requirements and guide and suggest various ideas to enable your vision to become a reality on the day.  From delicious canapes with a glass of chilled Champagne, to a stylish dinner and everyone’s favourite the bacon buttie at midnight!

To help you decide on your delicious menu, we offer a food tasting session at our kitchen, which is great fun and enables you to not only taste a selection of dishes but also to see our wide range of tableware which is available to you.

We can even entertain the brides maids!

For all your wedding reception planning requirements, call Kaye, Nicola or Jo in our office and let’s get the party started!  01962 849396

Beware of the marquee companies who deliver  shoddy workmanship

 and If the price seems to good to be true

It probably is!

When the bride arrives to see her marquee set up and bursts into tears not from delight but that of disappointment, it’s an awful moment and one we have seen on a couple of occasions this summer, when working in a marquee supplied  by a Cowboy marquee company, who delivered on a very low price by cutting corners and delivering a non acceptable level of workmanship.

A dangerous dance floor fitted by a Cowboy marquee company

Cowboy companies cutting corners with shoddy workmanship

The client had paid this Cowboy company for a levelled floor!

This is how a marquee levelled floor and dance floor should look

 as fitted by

 Creative Marquees Hampshire

This is a levelled floor and dance floor from Creative Marquees Hampshire

Dinner for 200

I have just realised that the thank you email I sent after the parties never reached you, and feel bad about that as we had such a good time.

Very many thanks to you and all the team for what was for us, a really memorable week end.

You did not hear my thanks publicly at our party but I really have enjoyed every step of the planning due to your care and professionalism.

We have told our friends not to even consider using another company should they be planning a similar event!

We have had well over a hundred thank you letters and all of them comment on the delicious food, particularly the young and their selection of puds!

So, thank you again for being so easy to work with and delivering a great result.

Best wishes

An Assiete of puddings

Harriet Carrow

Despite the weather’s best attempts to stop us, we managed to erect the marquee through the mud and ensure the interior of the marquee looked the picture for our client.

Banquet style dining

Last Friday we were delighted to cater for a 4 course Tudor menu in aim of raising money for the Mary Rose Preservation Trust, at the Fairleigh House, just outside of Basingstoke

With authentic Tudor music by a 3 piece band and a talk from TV historian David Starkey, alongside  the Tudor themed menu which included

Fillet of Hampshire venison with a rich port juniper and redcurrant sauce served along side fondant potato and spinach and roasted root vegetables

it was a fantastic evening!

This helped raise considerable amounts for the trust, whose aim is to preserve the 16th century warship which sank in the Solent, and to spread knowledge about its history as well as display the ship in all of its glory.