I’m always interested to know why couples who have enquired with us don’t follow through and make a booking. Apart from the fact that I’m curious, it just makes good business sense to know this so you can understand any shortcomings and try and do something about it.

There seem to be an array of reasons, from bizarre ones like “we just want to get married in a stately home” yep, we’re definitely not that, to more pragmatic reasons such as the logistics “all of my family live in X and it’s just too far away”. I was quite surprised this year though when a couple told me they were worried about the ‘water situation’. We don’t have running water here so we always advise couples to either choose one of our preferred caterers who are very experienced in operating on a dry site or, if they choose another caterer, to ensure they have that same experience. These guys do this as their bread and butter work and they make it look seamless.

I was just really taken aback at this comment. We’ve been doing weddings here since 2011 and I suppose we are so used to having weddings here and seeing them week in, week out, all running without any water glitches we just take it as a given that this is how it is. We know there aren’t any issues but if you don’t work in events and you don’t see this happening on a regular basis then I can understand this making you feel a little anxious. I mean this is your big day and you have a lot of guests to cater for right?

After the initial shock it made me think back to the beginning. Back in 2009 and 2010 when we were first floating the idea around of using part of the farm for weddings. We did our research. We had various suppliers on site to show them the land and get their feedback and comments. We went to the people that know the industry and how it works and were more than happy to give us the lowdown. So the marquee companies came, then the generator companies, then it was the turn for the caterers. I asked them how they did it because if I’m honest, I was a little dubious. One of them even wrote a little document explaining it was all about their preparation. That the majority of their work was done at their headquarters before they arrive on site. They do bring water with them but only a minimal amount. This is so that they have immediate hand washing facilities (they hire in a nice little handwash basin along with all of their ovens) and then they have water if needed for any boiling, a bit for teas/coffees and a bit as contingency. And that’s it.

On social media we don’t talk a lot about all of the boring admin’y things we do to ensure your wedding is going to run smoothly but as I’ve mentioned handwashing it seems fitting to let you know a bit more.  One of the conditions of our licence is that we work with our local Environmental Health Department to provide a list of all caterers used on site so they can double check them and their hygiene ratings to make sure they’re happy to be used. Let’s face it, this is important to us all.

So, back to the ‘water situation’.  I was dubious but now I’m not. I’ve seen it time and time again and these guys are GOOD! So if this is one of your worries, please do not fear. Come and talk to us or our caterers to find out more. However, if it’s a stately home you’re after then I’m sorry, it’s just not going to work.

Photo credit; Love Adventure