A Party In Our Favourite Restaurant!

We had our wedding party in one of our favourite restaurants. A small reception under 30 people meant we didn’t need a massive venue and instead could be surrounded by our close family and friends somewhere we both really loved and felt comfortable in, while eating the best food. Because we had every table in the restaurant booked for the evening they allowed us to stay late drinking and dancing, eating more food (and cake) and generally behaving as any other wedding would do, but without the extra cost of a venue hire.

The staff were already hired, the same waiting staff we’d see on any other visit and since, when we go back who always talk about our lovely reception. One of the waitresses always gets out the wedding favour we gave her, that she has kept safe in a drawer for all these years, (it will be our 15th wedding anniversary in a month’s time – the picture is from our 10 year recreation), ready to show us on every visit. It still feels like a very special place to us and we always look forward to going back!

But whether your party is bigger, requiring a huge venue with some pizzaz, or a more intimate gathering where a restaurant would be the ticket, the key to getting your party just right is choosing that perfect venue. Something which aligns to your mind’s eye of what the party will be. Choose somewhere with food you love, a table layout that makes dancing the next step after dinner, lovely staff and, for me, it would always need to be in a great setting! Square Meal can help you find that perfect space and take a load off for you by having done all the research so that you don’t have to.

From studios, to old chapels, intimate bars and restaurants, or enormous venues capable of hosting the masses, there will be no stone unturned if you begin your party planning in the right space. And letting the biggest choice of where, be easy, leaves you oodles of time to do the fun bit! The ten commandments of party planning:

Planning the food (always the best bit)!
Organising your bar (I love cocktails)!
Creating a play list or picking a band (how about both?)!
Co-ordinating friends and family to stay close by (I always prefer to make a holiday out of a party)!
Sending out the invitations (will you make them yourself, buy from a shop, or commission?)!
Making sure little ones are entertained (my friend had nannies swoop in after dinner at her wedding)!
Buying the perfect party outfit (surely this should be higher than number 7 – I’d say these are not in order of importance now)!
Decoration creation (or buying if you want extra weight lifted)!
Hiring a photographer (you don’t want to be responsible for capturing the magic – you need to be IN it)!
Relaxing, letting it happen in the seamless way you’ve planned and enjoying every second!