Romesh & Leesa -
A Summer Marquee Party

I recently had the pleasure of planning, designing and producing a fabulous end-of-summer party for Romesh and Leesa, who wanted to celebrate their vow renewal.

The day itself was split into two parts; the vow renewal itself, which was attended by just their closest family members, followed by a marquee summer party for all their close friends and family, in the garden of their family home in Sussex.

 

The Brief

Deliver an intimate Vow Renewal Ceremony to be attended by immediate family, followed by a Summer Party for close friends in a garden marquee. 

The Story Of The Day

We created a small ceremony area in a tucked-away part of the garden, framed with a dressing of white reflexed roses and foliage from Mad Lilies. The look was very much 'trendy smart-casual' with Leesa and Romesh setting the style of relaxed wedding chic.

Meanwhile, guests arriving for the afternoon party walked through to the garden decking, which extended into the main entrance of the marquee where they were welcomed with cocktails from the wonderful team at The Drunken Jockeys and a fabulous showcase of food stations from the team at Jimmy Garcia. With live chefs at the stations producing vegan, Thai and Indian food including cooking from the Ofyr, the overall experience had a real WOW! factor.

As well as the fabulous cocktails and sensational food options, there was also a 'pimp your doughnut' station and guests were treated to a cookie and cake station from Crumbelina Cakes.

As the evening progressed, the cocktails and champagne flowed and guests made their way to the dance floor with DJ Rob Pursey and DJ Jaguar Skills.

We welcomed Philip White later in the afternoon to have a studio portrait session. Philip captured a shot of the guests in black and white and they were edited and printed on site ready for guests to view and take home.

Jimmy Garcia then had the posh kebabs ready for the guests later in the evening and I have to say, they were absolutely EPIC!!

The Concept

Whilst working through various design concepts, it was decided Leesa & Romesh both loved the idea of a monochrome palette, with clean lines and a modern vibe, so this is exactly what we created.

Notes

We selected a modern semi-rigid marquee with a wall of bi-folding doors to create a seamless look. The glass walls allowed the late evening summer sunshine to cascade in, enhanced by incorporating glass finishes with mirrored sections to help with the light reflection.

The bespoke fixtures were custom-built to include a 12ft bar with matching DJ booth to a 360-degree food station.

In the DJ booth, retro lights were installed as part of the design and came alive at night time along with the additional carefully considered LED dance floor lights and heads bouncing off the disco balls installed in the sensational floral installation above the dance floor.

For the seating areas, we wanted to create several small pockets of sociable seating and had to ensure there were plenty of side tables for the drinks and bowl food. We paired this with high-top tables and bar stools to create added interest and depth in the overall design.

Mixing textures is key to helping elevate the overall vision of the design with the glass, gloss and leather, the sofas were a soft black velvet to create a sense of style and warmth.

Summary

Although Leesa and Romesh wanted their event to be as much about the summer party as the vow renewal, the overall concept and production would work just as well for an outdoor wedding at home. Especially if you're thinking about keeping the ceremony small and intimate, in favour of 'going large' with the reception and evening party.

The Marquee is designed to accommodate up to 100 people, but when you add outdoor seating and tables you could host a party of roughly 140 guests quite comfortably.

The advantages of hosting a marquee event at home are clear when you want to create a particular vibe and specify everything from the interior design to the number and variety of food & drink providers.

As a specialist in planning luxury marquee weddings and parties, we are experienced in delivering events for guests numbering from 80 - 180+. If you would like to discuss your ideas for a wedding at home in Surrey, Sussex or beyond, you can contact us on 07801 417625 or by emailing hello@susieevans.co