Noah & Jon's Garden Wedding Party

When I first spoke with Noah and Jon, they told me they were planning a chilled out garden wedding party for not just one day...

Not only did Noah and Jon want me there all day to coordinate their party, but they asked if I could go back early the next morning to tidy up and reset everything so they could continue partying through to the following morning.

Living in London, Noah and Jon legally married at Southwark Registry Office a couple of weeks before their wedding celebration.

They kept their legal ceremony small and intimate, as they had planned this AMAZING big ‘Do’ to celebrate their marriage with all their friends and family.

With so much uncertainty over the past year and a half, no one really knew just what Covid guidelines would be in place and for how long it would all go on for. Since the pandemic started, getting wedding insurance to cover Covid complications was virtually impossible and made planning a wedding even more of a gamble. Thankfully by the day of Noah and Jon’s wedding party, no restrictions were in place and no new rules had been introduced, which was a huge relief for them both.

The day before Jon and Noah’s big day I drove to Jon’s parent's home in Winchester which is where their party was taking place. This pre-visit gave me chance to have a good look around and to see where everything would be, so I was fully prepped ready for their big day.

All around the garden, pool, party room and stretch tent they had put up the most amazing handmade bunting made from tied strips of material and ribbons.

On the day itself, I headed off with my team member Abbey, making sure I had plenty of time to show her around.

With the swimming pool to one side, I wondered how long it would be before someone went for a dip!

Under a gazebo on the main lawn was a DIY bar, which was next to a beautiful pond and a spot of croquet, if anyone fancied it!

Behind the bar area was a big open clearing in a crop field where a stretch tent supplied by Tention Stretch Tents was set up for the wedding breakfast.

At one end of the stretch tent there were lots of haybale seating and fire pits for when it got dark...

...and at the other end was another clearing with bell tents set up by New Forest Bell Tents , ready for some of the guests to stay over.

Meeting suppliers and showing them where to set up is always one of the jobs on my list. The first supplier to arrive was the photographer, Jamie Flood Photography who took all of these fantastic images and captured Jon and Noah’s wedding party just perfectly.

Next was the caterer, Pete and his team from Queen and Whippetwho made the most delicious canapés and three course meal of meat and fish platters with salads and the yummiest of puddings.

Just before the party officially began some of the glampers arrived to find their bell tents and set up camp. We were there to greet the glampers and show them to their tents. Always on hand for any questions, we were able to help with solving the mystery of the missing deckchair, which was eventually found...

When it was time for the guests to arrive Abbey and I waited at the end of the drive to relieve them of any bottles of drink they may be carrying and direct them round to the bar to meet Noah and Jon.

Noah and Jon had supplied all the welcome drinks of Port & Lemon, Prosecco and beer, as well as oodles of wine for the tables. To create their own DIY bar, they had asked all their guests to bring a selection of booze that would be shared from the bar later. Every different type of spirit arrived with a selection of flavours in most and with Noah and Jon supplying a vast array of mixers, this idea worked really well and they definitely weren’t going short of any alcohol!

Once everyone had arrived, Abbey and I helped The Queen and Whippet team by topping up anyone’s glass that was empty and by serving some of the canapés.

Just before the meal was served, we lit the candles on the beautifully laid and decorated tables, and poured the toast drinks.

With their handmade table-plan, personal table names and gifts left on the place settings for the special people that had helped them, everything looked just perfect.

With the toast drinks poured, everything was ready for us to ask the guests to take a seat.

Noah wasn’t a big fan of public speaking so he was keen to do his speech early, meaning he could then relax and enjoy his meal. Once the guests had taken their seat, I prompted Jon’s brother who announced Noah and Jon's arrival. With both Noah and Jon's speech made before the starter, the other speeches followed later after the pudding.

Whilst everyone was eating, we tidied away the welcome drinks and prepped the bar ready for the evening, refilling the wheelbarrow with more beers and ice too.

Just as the puddings were being polished off, it was time to prompt Jon’s brother to pick up the microphone again and introduce the remaining heartfelt, funny and emotional speeches.

During the rest of the speeches the sun began to set and we started to lose some light.

This was my cue to get my bendy gas-lighter out and light all the tea lights in the paper bag lanterns that wound their way around the house, along the pathway and down to the glamping pitch. There were also some oil lanterns to light, so the guests could find their bell tents once it was dark.

Even though the guests had only just finished their meal, Abbey and I laid out the evening buffet food down by the house, which Jon’s mum had left on the table for us to arrange. We covered it all in foil so when they were ready for it, they could just uncover it. From mountains of cheese, to french stick, olives, vegetable crudités, chutneys and dips, there was so much food we ended up using the kitchen breakfast table inside, as well as the tables outside.

Slowly the guests left the tent and worked their way over to the house looking for a hot drink, which we had prepped ready. The hot water urn had been turned on when we arrived. The tea, milk, sugar, recyclable paper cups and wooden stirrers were laid out, whilst the ground coffee had been put into the cafetières ready to brew. You might think your guests won’t want a hot drink but I can assure you, you will be surprised. It seems to be a natural request after the meal and if your caterers aren’t doing it for you, I would highly recommend you have a ‘Help Yourself’ tea and coffee table like Noah and Jon.

The evening party continued over by the house with a separate disco room next to the kitchen. Rather than have a DJ, Noah and Jon had hired an incredible sound system and speakers, also from Tention Stretch Tents.Positioned in the party room, it linked to the speakers in the stretch tent too, so they could manage the sound around the garden throughout the day. Noah and Jon had meticulously planned a playlist to play non-stop from the start of the party to the 3am finish. Working from our time plan they had created a library of music to suit the mood for each part of the day...

Now most of the guests had left the stretch tent Abbey and I helped clear the tables of any dirty glasses, plates and cutlery that were left, and moved any half full bottles of wine over to the bar.

It was soon time for Abbey and I to leave, so we checked the remaining team members from the Queen & Whippet were ok, as they were serving on the bar until midnight. From that point they would stock it up and turn it into a DIY bar for the guests to help themselves through to the early hours of the morning.

Saying our goodbyes to Noah and Jon, we left knowing we would be back bright and early the following morning for a clean up.

In the morning I arrived at Noah and Jon's with Abbey, Michaela and Jenson at 8am.

The house, grounds and bell tents were silent when we first arrived. We crept around to see what we were faced with before we made a start. Michaela and Jenson began by collecting all the scattered glasses, empty bottles and food plates lying around, whilst Abbey and I stripped down the bar and restocked it for the guests to continue. We also replaced all the tea lights in the paper bag lanterns with new ones, so they could relight them again later.

Guests slowly started to appear looking a little bleary eyed, but they all seemed pleased to see us again which was really nice.

The catering tent was being dismantled and also some of the tables and chairs were being collected. Between us we carried 70 chairs to the drive to make it easier for collection and cleared out the catering tent so it could come down more easily.

Noah and Jon had booked The Bean Bike to serve all their guests tea, coffee, bacon, sausage, halloumi and avocado rolls...

I met with the guys from The Bean Bike and showed them the options of set-up depending on whether their van could get down the gravel track or not, and where the electricity points were. Seeing the Bean Bike ready to serve, this soon lured the rest of the guests from their beds!

Once the garden was clear, the four of us moved onto clearing and tidying the food tables and the kitchen. Being the little clear up fairies that we were, we cleared away any food, washed and dried up, swept the floor and emptied the bins, so Jon’s mum wasn’t faced with a messy kitchen first thing in the morning.

With a pile of rubbish bags and boxes of empty bottles stacked against a wall, our job here was done. It was actually quite rewarding seeing the transformation from the aftermath to a fresh set up. I wish I had thought to take a before and after photo, but with my clean-up head on I went into auto drive and annoyingly didn’t think about it until my drive back home.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our time with Noah, Jon and their family and friends. The feedback we received on the day was lovely and it was even more lovely to receive this amazing review from Noah and Jon after their big weekend...

Wishing Noah and Jon all the happiness in the world together...

If you are planning a DIY wedding at home or in a DIY venue, then why not think about booking a wedding coordinator. Knowing someone is there making sure your day runs smoothly and ensuring all those jobs are done for you, will mean you have a stress free wedding...

Whether you have an intimate wedding planned or a huge weekend booked full of wedding fun, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can chat through exactly what help you need.