During a fantastic afternoon at The Oval, we were delighted to take home a trophy for ‘Best Venue for Hybrid Events’. These awards recognise excellence, creativity and dedication needed to deliver outstanding service and expertise to customers.
Furthermore, we were shortlisted for ‘The Sustainability Award’, which in itself is a great achievement. There was some tough competition in this category, however we have not lost faith and will put all our efforts into taking our venue to the next level where sustainability is involved; next year we’ll be a stronger contender to take home an award.
Our Hybrid and Virtual event packages came to life over the pandemic, a period which saw our venue close for a considerable period. However, this drove us to investing in state-of-the-art technology to ensure we could still run some events safely despite being closed for larger events, furthermore establishing ourselves as a leading Hybrid London venue.
Up against strong competition from Olympia London, Friend’s House and Barbican, we felt very lucky to win this prestigious award, and couldn’t have done it without some key people at BMA; a special thanks goes to Chris Littlemore and the AV team, Estates, and for those who provided testimonials to support the submission, you’ve helped make BMA House the successful and reputable venue that it is.
We’re so proud of our achievements and in the competitive London market it is a challenge to stand out from the crowd – we have proved our ability to do just that!
The winners from all award categories can be found here: https://londonvenueawards.co.uk/
At BMA House we are well known for our personal touches. Our team are regularly mentioned by name by brides and grooms for their outstanding work, particularly as they work with couples all the way from initial enquiry to the wedding day itself and beyond.
With this personal approach in mind, we asked our very own Sasha (Senior Venue Sales, Events & Wedding Planner), who is currently planning her own wedding, what some of her top tips would be.
Q. Let’s start with a nosey question – How was the actual proposal?
“We were away in Amsterdam for a few days in August 2020. We hired bikes one day and rode to a park for a picnic, Dan suggested going to look at the band stand which was overlooking a lake and as the clock tower behind us struck 11am (11 is our lucky number) I turned around to see he was down on one knee with the ring. I was very surprised that he had finally popped the question – I had been waiting 10 years!”
Q. How did you make your venue choice?
“We wanted the wedding to be an outdoor, countryside style so we started our search with this type of venue in mind. We visited 2 venues in Kent/Essex but neither of them offered enough outdoor space and focused too much on the traditional sit-down wedding breakfast inside. When visiting my family in the midlands an advert popped up on my Instagram for Belcote Farm, it was a brand new ‘Tipi’ wedding venue that had just opened in a village near where I grew up. We arranged a site visit for the next day and instantly fell in love with it – it was in the perfect setting, offered dry hire and had a brilliant package with so much included.”
Q. You have a child, how have you incorporated this into your wedding day?
“Our little boy Chester and nephew Casey will both be our Page Boys, they will be 2 ½ at the time of the wedding. We would like them to walk down the aisle together before the bridesmaids, but I think we will see how confident they are closer to the wedding. We are going to book some family style entertainment if our budget allows – a magician or something similar, there are also lawn games included as part of our venue package so I think they will have fun with these. We haven’t thought as far ahead of who will look after him on the day of the wedding, probably a few hours with the girls getting ready then he will go to the venue with the boys for photos before I arrive.”
Q. What are you disagreeing with when it comes to planning the little details with your fiancé?
“Nothing… at the moment!!!
We are pretty much on the same wavelength when it comes to the wedding, we have each taken control of different elements – we both researched and narrowed the choices down to a few options and then made the final decisions together. So far we have booked the venue, band, photographer/videographer and caterers.”
Q. What aspects have you most enjoyed?
“I have honestly enjoyed everything so far! I think as we both work in events, we understand the booking processes and how to work with suppliers which takes the stress out it. Finding our perfect venue was a highlight which made me very excited and going dress shopping with my mum and mother-in-law was a really lovely day and made it feel very real.”
Q. If you had an endless budget, what would you do with it for your ultimate dream wedding?
“I would have a two-part wedding. Part one would be jetting off with our closest family and friends abroad for an intimate wedding on an exotic beach (maybe Thailand or the Caribbean) followed by a big wedding party at our current venue with lots of different entertainment throughout the day.”
Q. What advice would you give others planning their wedding?
“Don’t make decisions based on what you think your guests would prefer – everyone has different opinions so you will never please everyone, make decisions that are right for you and your partner.
Keep track of your budget – Sticking to our budget is very important to us and it is very easy to go off track and forget how much everything is amounting to. We have created a budget tracker in Excel which we have divided the total budget between different elements, and we are adding to that as we go – we have had to reign in a few of our ideas to keep within budget.
Share the load – I think sometimes Brides take on the stress and workload involved with a wedding. Write down a list of everything that needs to be done and divide it between you and your partner and maybe get some family/friends involved too, it isn’t as daunting if the Wedding planning is split into little tasks.”
Thank you Sasha for these fantastic tips, we wish you all the luck with the rest of your planning, and hope your wedding is everything you dreamed it would be.
If you’d like to speak with Sasha for more advice, or require some information on holding your wedding at BMA House, please email[email protected]or call 020 7874 7020
✨ We are very excited to share our feature in October’s Conference News publication where our venue marketing manager, Rebecca Hurley talks about some of our sustainability achievements for BMA House and how we keep up with supply chain expectations. Head to pages 12-15 to read the full article ✨
Summer has most definitely been and gone but weddings are still in full swing, and BMA House will regularly play host to weddings over the months ahead. Weddings are a wonderful time to celebrate but there is also a wealth of traditions and etiquette that are worth remembering for guests.
Firstly, and perhaps most important is to remember that cultural diversity means etiquette changes depending on the type of wedding – but there are a few generic do’s and don’ts that are universal.
Check out the dress code and make sure you adhere to it. No bride and groom want their photos ruined by someone completely out of touch, whether they are too relaxed, too formal or have made a poor colour choice. White is generally the colour to avoid of course but there can be other pitfalls – if in doubt just ask. If you are lucky enough to have been invited it means you have a good enough relationship with someone in the wedding party to be able to ask a stupid question.
Show up! It might sound a little obvious but don’t be that person who says they will attend but doesn’t show. The couple will have spent a huge amount of time (and quite a bit of money) planning their day around a specific number of people, often personalising elements to each individual, so don’t ruin all that hard work by not being there. It is of course also worth noting the fact that you shouldn’t randomly bring children or a guest unless they have been invited too.
Show some restraint with the free bar and don’t be that person everyone is talking about the next day. Drinking too much and making a fool of yourself is a great way to upstage the couple – they need to be what everyone remembers, not your stumbling effort on the dancefloor and feet poking out from whichever bush you fall asleep under.
Put your phone away and let the professional photographer do their job – and if you do happen to take some pictures, under no circumstances share them on social media until the couple share their own.
Finally, say thank you to pretty much everyone in the wedding party. Back in the dim and distant past most weddings would have been paid for by the bride’s father. However, times have changed, and the bill could be footed by anyone from the couple to crowdfunding – so play it safe and make sure everyone knows you appreciated their hospitality.
Enjoy the special occasion.
Why not give us a call and see our magical venue for your venue own eyes?
Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year. It is an opportunity to gather, share joy and celebrate. Whether this is with family and friends or colleagues and even strangers who just happen to be in the same corporate event venue, the festive period includes a multitude of opportunities to attend events and is a vital event to thank staff for all their hard work over the year.
It all sounds fantastic doesn’t it – who wouldn’t want to attend? We must however remember that all this fun and laughter comes at a cost. The obvious costs are financial (particularly for those boozy affairs), after all someone needs to pick up the bill at the end of the night. However, all too often the environment also has a bill to pay when the bar shuts and everyone goes home. In our understandable focus on the fun, laughter and Christmas spirit we forget that it is all too easy for our festive partying to impact not just our corporate event venue, but the world around us.
So, what can we do to ensure our partying isn’t done at the detriment to the planet? At BMA House this year we are dreaming of a Green Christmas that ensures every aspect of festive events are as kind to the planet as possible, whilst ensuring the event is exceptional. With this in mind, here are five tips to consider:
Consider first how you and your guests will get to the event, what are the public transport links like, is it possible to walk perhaps? Admittedly on a dark and cold winter’s night in party clothes the idea of walking isn’t always that appealing but it can be an option if local or onsite accommodation is used.
Realistically to ensure sustainability, transport should be considered right from the outset when booking the venue. Ask yourself where the guests will be coming from and is it accessible to them? If “in town” how close is it to bus, train and other infrastructure stops? If further afield, can you book private buses or local rail tickets? Ultimately, the way we get to or from any event is one of the biggest environmental factors and needs to be considered from the very beginning.
It is all too easy to become focused on the concept of “single use plastics” but remember that anything “single-use” does have questionable ramifications for the environment. Just one example is wrapping paper – even if you choose a recycled option, it ultimately still uses various natural resources. I am not suggesting you don’t wrap anything, but I would suggest you consider all the different elements of your Christmas party and establish whether they truly add value if they are single use. One of the best examples here are Christmas Crackers – are they really worth all the packaging, content and materials for a quick bang and a dodgy hat that is only going to be worn by 20% of the guests for 20% of the party?
In addition to single use – also think about what can be made multi-use. Décor and theming is a key consideration here. Does it truly add value to create bespoke theming, costing both money and resources for one event on one night? I am sure many of the guests will be delighted by the creativity of your ideas and how they are realised through decorations, trees and plants, fake snow, staging, props, lighting and sound.
It is far better for the environment to work with your venue and suppliers to ensure the theming is multi-use. Perhaps the venue has a seasonal theme, perhaps the production company will use the décor elsewhere. Whatever option you choose, there is no excuse to chop down 20 trees for just one night – nor is there a reason to buy 20 fake plastic trees for them never to be used again.
Numbers matter – so make them count. One of the biggest areas of waste and environmental impact at an event is food waste. A simple way to minimise this is catering numbers. Talk to the venue about minimum numbers, be realistic about how many will attend and ensure you stay on top of your registrations. You might hope to have 300 people attend, but if you only have 200 registered on the morning of the event there is no point the venue catering for the additional 100 people who won’t show up.
Menu choice and event style can also be an ideal way to manage and minimise food waste. A sit down three course meal for a fixed amount of people generates different levels of waste to a buffet with five choices, which in turn creates different levels of waste to a buffet with one choice. Your venue will know the best way for its catering team to decrease waste so seek their advice – and if there are left-overs, you might find creative uses such at the various chutneys produced by our caterers here at BMA House from unused vegetables etc.
There are so many ways to ensure your Christmas event is not just a success but also a sustainable success – you could even go meat free! Whatever your choices and ideas though, make sure you communicate them with your corporate event venue and caterers right from the start as they are best placed to turn your Christmas wishes into Christmas reality. One way you can get your eco-Christmas rolling is to choose our ‘Greenest Christmas Dinner’ package where you’ll expect plant-based bubbles on arrival, a festive two-course set menu with hand selected dishes to reduce your carbon footprint, vegan wine, sustainable centre pieces, LED uplighters and much more!
For more information on holding your Christmas party at BMA House, contact our event planners on [email protected] or call 020 7874 7070.
In a recent blog we started to explore and detail some of the incredible work we are doing at BMA House to ensure we remain at the forefront of sustainable conferencing and events. However, we wanted to provide a truly comprehensive description of what we do here to look after the world around us. With this in mind, we have detailed below even more examples of the great work our team alongside CH&CO. has done to be more sustainable.
BMA House has a true partnership with our catering partner, CH&CO., they support us throughout all our sustainability policies, enhancing them and bringing their own ideas. Our joint achievements in this area include tracking the weight of food wastage, the sourcing of sustainable suppliers and close consideration of all our working practices, which include:
We ask for final numbers to be confirmed before the event so that we can make adjustments to production – reducing wastage.
Food is seasonal and built around local suppliers, with information throughout our menus on food sources, including a map to show food mileage.
We have reduced beef dishes and increased plant-based options, which include not charging more for non-dairy based milk alternatives.
We have introduced new Hot Fork Buffet Set Menus, which are set by day so we can produce the same menu for all events, minimising waste, whilst passing cost savings to the client.
We have reduced buffet choices from 3 to 2 options, which further reduces food waste.
Food waste and coffee waste is collected by Paper Round and used for energy production.
A significant increase in disposable coffee cup prices has driven a successful “bring your own cup scheme.”
Staff lunches use leftover or repurposed food.
Soups are made using leftovers and food that might normally be thrown, whilst other unused and untouched leftovers / peelings are used to create our in-house chutney – 200 jars since January 2022! Additionally, bread and pastry product leftovers are used to make bread and butter pudding.
Sandwiches and salads are now made to order in café rather than in advance to keep wastage down.
Cakes are made, portioned and then frozen so that smaller numbers are used.
During the pandemic we provided tinned and packaged food that was close to going out of date to local food banks.
Through Ellis Wines, we offer a variety of organic, biodynamic, sustainable and vegan wines on our “Wine with a Conscience wine list.” All Ellis Wines are transported by train and boat rather than air, including our most popular entry level Spanish wine.
And finally – any leftover cakes are taken to the teams within BMA House as a treat, which is great for morale!
BMA House sees thousands of visitors each year for conferences, events, parties and meetings. In addition, we welcome hundreds of visiting members from the British Medical Association. We believe it is our job to continually demonstrates sustainable success and best practice to everyone who walks through our doors, which is why we constantly promote sustainability at events such as the Sustainable Events Show, and the launch of the Sustainable Event Buyer’s Guide, which we hosted. We have also achieved a Gold accreditation with Green Tourism; and was one of just two venues that went straight to Platinum level in the new ECOsmart Accreditation.
Ultimately, our team lives, eats and breathes sustainability – it has made us and our venue healthier and a better place to be – we love to share that success.
As mentioned in the last blog – you can also see some great examples of our sustainable approach in our case studies of EIN and London & Partners events.
Contact our caring Event Planners for more information on holding your sustainable event with us.
BMA House has an incredibly strong focus on being sustainable, it is something we have worked hard to achieve over a long period of time, resulting in changes to infrastructure, working practices and team ethos. Much of this would be easy to achieve in a brand-new building, designed based on modern regulations using the latest in architectural research. However, BMA House is a beautiful, listed historic building – which makes such changes rather harder to achieve.
So, what have we been doing to make BMA House more sustainable? Through this blog and another to be posted shortly we are going to detail and explore some of our incredible hard work.
To see some of the following in action you can also check out our case studies from EIN and London & Partners, plus a very recent achievement to be named Top Ten Sustainable Conference Venues in London, by Hire Space.
Above all else we see it as our goal to breakdown the presumption that Grade II Listed buildings cannot be sustainable. This is demonstrated through headline figures such as a 69% reduction in delegate carbon footprint and a 5.4m litre reduction in water usage; as well as:
Transport / Location
In addition to our superb location, which makes the journey more sustainable, we promote a “Clean Air Walking Route” from Kings Cross, taking guests off Euston Road onto backstreets with 57% lower pollution.
More than 40% of staff cycle to work (encouraged by additionally installed showers) and we provided 176 hours of free bike maintenance in 2019.
The iconic first sight of BMA House is our Courtyard, with its biodiverse lawn. This is complemented by our Garden – an intimate space, planted with medicinal herbs that are used in our catering.
Property and Infrastructure
We monitor and report on gas, fuel and electricity usage, which are all sourced sustainably from renewable sources.
We have devised an overarching carbon descent plan, which includes exploring environmental heating options and increased insulation. To aid this we have also implemented the “dead band” in offices where where heating is set to 19 degrees (max) and cooling to 25 degrees (min).
All lighting has been replaced with LEDs and PIR (passive infra-red) lighting systems since 2014.
We use Office 365, allowing us to save and archive files and folders to the cloud, reducing
computers and associated energy consumption. We have rationalised data requirements and moved to specialist data providers where economies of scale and environmental impact are maximised.
We have achieved a zero-to-landfill status since 2017 and promote a paperless/e-first way of working.
Intelligent water management urinals have been installed alongside environmentally friendly toilet paper and dispensers are used throughout.
High-capacity cleaning systems turn tap water into stabilised aqueous ozone – nature’s most powerful cleaner.
Eco friendly products from carbon neutral flooring and wall coverings, with eco-friendly fabrics have been installed throughout.
Collapsible coffee cups are made using our leftover waste to create a truly sustainable giveaway / product!
Contact our caring Event Planners for more information on holding your sustainable event with us.
We’ve been incredibly lucky to be featured as Hire Space’s Top Sustainable Conference Venue in London, amongst six other spectacular eco-friendly venues!
When it comes to planning conferences, it’s crucial that your venue aligns with your sustainability objectives. There are plenty of venues out there that are making real leaps towards sustainable practices, but it can be difficult to know how to find them.
Hire Space have put together this selection of the top sustainable conference venues in London to make going green a little easier – read on to find out why we’re the perfect spot for your conference.
Industry accredited Renewable energy Low Waste
BMA House have been driving the sustainability bandwagon since before most got on board. Our commitments to reducing our impact on the environment have seen us recognised with a shelf-full of sustainability awards, including a Green Tourism GOLD award, and Hire Space’s own ‘Greenest Venue’ award in 2018 and 2019. In 2022, we were one of the first venues in the UK to achieve a Greengage ECOsmart Platinum level award – a serious mark of our efforts.
As well as implementing sustainability measures in-house, like using only renewable electricity, LED lighting, and intelligent water management urinals (all towards their goal of being carbon neutral by 2030), we incentivise conference guests to have a greener experience. To this end, we’ve created a ‘Clean Air Walking Route’ from King’s Cross to reduce taxis, and provide a map to show food mileage and help organisers make better menu choices. For an added bonus for conference guests, the venue uses leftover waste to create sustainable collapsible coffee cups!
Click this link to read about the six other sustainable London venues and why we’re all in this together for a greener world.
BMA House is amongst the first venues in the world to achieve Greengage’s ECOsmart Platinum accreditation.
Platinum venues are described as having an: Outstanding approach with the highest possible standard of environmental sustainability applied. Platinum ECOsmart venues are leaders in hospitality and have considered sustainability in all aspects of their business.
“As BMA House’s environmental journey continues, we are constantly looking not just for new ways to increase our sustainability but also new ways to demonstrate it,” comments Kathryn Winfield, Venue Manager, BMA House. “As specialists in environmental sustainability across the travel and events sectors, Greengage audits are based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring those who achieve Platinum status really are at the top of their game and the whole BMA House team is delighted to have been awarded such a high-profile accolade.”
In addition to the UNSDG’s, Greengage basis its audits on the criteria of both the Global Sustainability Tourism Council and ISO 14001. As specialists in environmental sustainability, Greengage provides independent advice and support to the travel and events sector as they help organisations on their pathway to commercial success through helping the planet.
Andrew Perolls, CEO of Greengage Travel and Event Solutions, concludes: “BMA House is a beacon of sustainable excellence, going straight in at the Platinum level due to their focus and dedication to sustainability. Achieving such a high level in their first audit is a real challenge and I am truly impressed by the wide-ranging sustainable activity they take across the whole of the venue.”
Many will remember when Her Majesty the Queen, joined by James Bond, made a daring entrance to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in London 2012, what a scene! But do you also remember when BMA House was transformed into Nike’s Hospitality house, a location for select media and athletes to relax during the Olympic period?
On 27 July 2012, day 1 of the games, our Grade II listed building saw a transformation like no other – from its typical medical and historical nature, into a great sporting and media hospitality space. Two weeks prior to the opening ceremony, the beating heart of BMA House saw many internal and external changes to its event spaces, these included: giant topiary plants cut into the shape of trainers and running legs in the Courtyard; corridors lined with the latest running shoes behind glass cabinets; and mannequins showcasing Nike’s sports clothing range – to name but a few.
The Great Hall was pumped with adrenaline when our flagship space became a games room for athletes’ families and half of the Hall stored over 4,000 Nike running shoes!
Rooms on our third floor saw top-of-the-range AV installed to project and display images of Nike’s products, whilst the Courtyard Suite on the ground floor became three individual physio massage rooms to heal tired bodies.
Our most popular spaces, the Snow and Paget rooms became the athletes lounge, a quiet space to relax and unwind and watch the live games on large screens, with flooring installed to resemble that of a running track.
Prestigious dinners for winning athletes took place outside in our stunning Courtyard, with food and drink provided by their own innovative Italian chef, who catered for every runner’s needs by serving up nourishing, fresh dishes to aid fatigue and energise.
BMA House was chosen as the perfect venue for Nike’s hospitality due to our British heritage, as well as our hidden location away from the limelight of the Olympic Park, our immense and beautiful building with seemingly endless corridors, our presentation rooms and stair wells.
So, we invite you to sit back and enjoy browsing these photos captured over this memorable occasion, you never know what our incredible venue will be turned into next!
