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Well, what a year this is turning out to be!

As we begin May, we thought we would be looking ahead to a fantastic summer, parties in the Courtyard throughout June and July, and lots of outdoor drinks receptions and BBQs.

In reality, I am sat at home writing this from my bedroom, desperate to return to my normal life; my daily commute, my early start, and battling the horde of people outside Euston.  Who would have ever thought we would be thinking ahead to Christmas already with summer sunshine only just in our sights?

With things so uncertain, now is the time to look ahead and to focus on the future. We are optimistic in terms of focusing on the latter part of the year and are flexible and happy to hold your dates for longer. Looking ahead to Christmas, staff will want a reason to let go, enjoy themselves and say goodbye to a challenging year at the Christmas party.

Of course, we know that there may be social distancing restrictions in place, and we have fully reviewed our capacities to reflect this. We hope to see things slowly return to normal and with lots of availability and time to research, now is the perfect time to book and plan your Christmas party to give your staff something to look forward to.

Alongside the launch of our ‘Party in a pear tree’ Christmas packages we have put together some top tips for planning a Christmas party in 2020.

Venue

It can seem overwhelming looking for the right venue, especially when typing ‘Christmas Party Venue London’ into Google and coming back with thousands of results.

Have a think about what type of night you want to offer your guests, are you looking to put on a rave in a modern funky warehouse setting, or do you want to thank your guests with an elegant evening in a stunning listed building?

At BMA House we have several different rooms, each with a different feel so get in touch with one of our Planners who can match our spaces to your requirements and numbers.

Budget

Whilst we don’t like to start by talking about the nitty-gritty straight away, it is always good to have a budget in mind from the offset of when you start planning your Christmas party. That way, you know exactly what you have to spend on each component.

Your budget needs to cover several different elements of the evening, so splashing out on that giant light-up Santa straight away might not leave you with much else to spend.

If you haven’t got an endless budget but want to thank your staff, different venues offer different packages that can ensure you have an unforgettable evening.

Let your venue know how much you are willing to spend (we won’t use this against you or increase our rates) it is just helpful for us to be able to put together an offering within your budget.

Catering

Now you have chosen the perfect venue to host your Christma party and you know what you have to spend, the next most important choice to make is the catering.

Let’s face it, when anyone attends any form of party, they remember the food, drink, and entertainment. If you can take away just one tip from today it is not to scrimp on your food.

At BMA House, as the headquarters of the British Medical Association, we specify that all events that order alcohol have food on offer as well. Believe me, your guests will thank you for it the next day!

Whether you’re offering a bowl food or canape reception or a seated dinner, try to select options that would appeal to the majority of guests.

It is hard when looking through delicious menus to not just opt for your favourite dish but to think about what others might enjoy. Try to have a mix of fish, meat, and vegetarian options and think about those dietaries that will come up.

Here at BMA House, we have several plant-based, wellbeing, and gluten-free dishes that are delicious and take the hassle out of catering for a mass of requirements.

Our dinner party package this year comes with a dessert station as standard. This is a great way to get guests up from their tables and interacting with other colleagues over a truly creative and delicious masterpiece.

It is also important to think about what drinks you want to offer. Do you want an interactive gin bar with herbal infusions and free-flowing bubbles, or do you want to offer guests good old beer, wine, and soft drinks throughout the evening?

Again, it can be hard to not think about your own taste buds when selecting your wines, you might love a full-bodied Malbec from Bordeaux but will all your guests?

Most venues will allow you to have a menu tasting for a small charge or for free, dependant on your pre-booked package.

This is a great time to sample the menu and the wines, don’t forget to ask for tips from the catering team and event planners on pairing this all together!

Entertainment

As I mentioned earlier the sign of a great party is when people remember great catering and even better entertainment.

If your budget allows for it, having entertainment at your party can really bring that extra layer of fun.

There is a number of really great suppliers out there. When it comes to planning your Christmas party, ask your venue for some advice on this, they will be sure to put you in touch with some great contacts.

A lot of people tend to think that entertainment at Christmas is all about the music, whilst a good DJ or jazz trio can really add to the atmosphere, there are also plenty of other options too. Magicians, caricaturists, giant games, and photo booths are a great way for your guests to get involved and have fun.

If you haven’t got the money to be spending on lots of extras, then a good old Spotify playlist with some crowd-pleasing favourites definitely works as well.

Theming

Christmas is the perfect time of year for us all to enjoy a little bit of magic and fantasy.

If your thinking of theming your Christmas party, then definitely get in touch with a supplier or production company that focuses on theming.

They can transform any space with the click of their fingers. Keeping it simple works just as well and a lot of the time, venues will theme for you as part of their packages.

This year BMA House will be combining our passion for sustainability and our ‘Party in a pear tree’ package to help decorate and theme the venue for you to enjoy.

There we are, the top tips for planning a Christmas party in 2o2o.

If you want to host your party at BMA House, then our party packages start from £85+vat for a standing reception and £105+vat for a seated dinner. We know that things might seem uncertain right now and you might not want to book anything in but do give us a call.  We are happy to talk through all things COVID19 and hold some dates until we have a little more certainty. Here’s to a very Merry Christmas!

BMA House is a Grade II Listed building in the heart of London. Just a short walk away from Euston and Kings Cross station, it boasts 22 event spaces in addition to two outdoor spaces. With rooms ranging in capacity from 9 in boardroom style, to 200 for dinner and to up to 294 theatre style, BMA is sure to be able to host your next exciting event in one of our versatile rooms.

Sustainability

We are of one of five venues in London to have been awarded a GOLD accreditation with Green Tourism for our leading environmental ethos and excellent practices throughout the organisation. We continue to find new initiatives in collaboration with our CSHG (Corporate and Sustainability Health Group) which involves staff members across the organisation who are ‘Eco-Warrior’ enthusiasts, including one of our own team members who is a ‘Green Ambassador’ for the venue.

We have moved to compostable cups and takeaway containers but introduced a 20p charge for disposables to help discourage the use of these as well as encouraging a ‘bring your own’ reward scheme. Plastic water bottles have been replaced by glass bottles and resealable aluminium cans, made from 68% total recycled content.

Additionally, we’ve partnered with River Partnership to identify and promote a ‘Clean Air Walking Route’ from Kings Cross providing delegates with a less polluted journey to BMA House, taking guests off busy Euston Road onto backstreets where air pollution is 57% lower.

Ourselves and the catering team have been working with an expert nutritionist to create wellbeing menus from responsibly sourced food. We’re focused on ensuring our ingredients come from local and responsible sources wherever possible. Delegates are encouraged to eat foods which sustain energy levels and promote healthy eating. Having introduced our new plant-based Well-Grounded Package, we are really trying to promote the benefits of plant-based eating on individual performance and the positive impact on the environment! If you would like to find out more about what initiatives we have in place at our London events venue, you can head over to our sustainability page or get in touch with the team – there’s plenty more to tell!

Team

There are 10 of us that make up the venue team at BMA House.

• Kat, our Venue Manager, oversees the whole venue and team.
• Mike is the Venue Sales Manager and looks after the sales and events planners, Rebecca who is our Venue Marketing Manager looks after all things social and tradeshows
• Sasha and Hannah are our Senior Sales and Events Planners. They focus on retaining repeat business and getting in new clients from tradeshows, as well as planning events.
• Victoria, Nicola, and Alex are our Venue Sales and Events Planners who take new enquires, plan and run their events.
• Ellie is our Venue Administrator and looks after all of our internal staff members and their bookings.
• Kate has recently joined our team who is our Venue Co-ordinator assisting with admin in the team and working alongside our Senior planners with proactive sales.

We are a bubbly and considerate team who are here to help where possible. We pride ourselves on being able to offer the best service from the initial enquiry all the way through to the event day and are on hand to answer any questions you may have. We work closely with all our other service teams at BMA House (reception, AV, porters, security, and hospitality) to ensure your event runs smoothly.

BMA House offers lots of different event packages suitable for all kinds of occasions. This includes the classic day delegate rate (DDR) and room hire + catering options. We have expanded menu choices from sandwiches and hot fork buffets to wellbeing and plant-based packages as well as fantastic Summer Party Packages and festive Christmas Party Packages. They have been carefully tailored to help your conferences and parties reach their full potential.

Our buffet packages allow you to choose your own menus choices with vegetarian and plant-based dishes to gluten or dairy-free. Our chefs create delicious, bespoke menus that support specific dietary requirements and lifestyle choices.

Our summer packages follow the trends including live Chef interaction, and the option to have our ‘Summer Sizzler’ or upgrade to ‘Summer in the Street’, with plenty of ways to personalise your party with recommended add-ons.

This Christmas, we have ‘a Party in a Pear Tree’ package for standing receptions or seated dinners with all you need for the perfect party, and a chance for you to add your own ‘WOW’ factors with our festive upgrade suggestions.

So no matter what kind of event you are hosting, or what it is you are looking for from your event, we will have something to suit you!

Rebecca’s survival guide to working from home with children during lockdown

To set the scene I have twins, a boy and a girl who’ve recently turned 3 years old. They don’t yet go to nursery or school, so are fairly used to homelife. Seven weeks ago, I was told to ‘work from home for the foreseeable future’. My husband was then struck down with the Coronavirus mid-March, so you could say my perfect working routine, was turned upside down!

My already overactive mind went from, ‘how am I going to cope?’, fighting tiredness each day, craving my old and familiar routine to return, to now living in what I’d say is a calm and enjoyable home environment. Here’s how I have adapted my working days and managed to turn the scary lockdown situation that many parents face into one that works for me:

Dress for the occasion

After being abruptly woken up early to “Mummy, I need a wee!”, one of the first decisions of my day is deciding whether I put on my work outfit, or my mummy outfit, as technically I’ll be doing both. But what I don’t do is to stay in my pyjamas and work, that’s a big no no! Firstly, I’ll be a laughingstock appearing in my many Zoom meetings, and secondly, getting myself suitably dressed helps me feel like I’m going to work, although my pink slippers will remain on my feet and well hidden!

Routine

Establishing a routine will not only help you, but it’ll also help your children settle into this new way of living. Being a parent means lie-ins are a thing of the past, however this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you can get yourself an early night (anyone who knows me knows I cannot function past 9pm!). Being an event organiser means planning comes naturally to me, so I find the second I wake my mind is in gear planning out the day, which usually works around what our ever-changeable British weather is doing! Which leads nicely onto my next point…

Get creative

Before you begin work set out 3 or 4 activities that kids can happily do on their own. Don’t expect these activities to last all morning, just 10-20 mins but do this before you begin work so you’re interrupted less. If this can be in a separate room, or garden, you’ll reap the benefits of better concentration.

Most young ones won’t understand why they’re being kept indoors all day, not seeing family or friends, so make it easier on them by encouraging their creative side and make a rainbow poster for your window in support of our wonderful NHS and key workers. This should keep them occupied while you tackle a couple of emails!

Step outside

Children need exercise, daily. If you’re fortunate enough to have a garden, make an obstacle course, we’ve turned ours into a mini playground, or go out to a secluded spot for our one-hour allowed exercise time. Try to do this before you start work when it’s quieter so there’s less chance of meeting others, you’ll also feel in a better frame of mind to begin work.

Have lots of snacks ready

For you and the children. I’ve lost count of the number of times my twins demand food throughout the day; this morning my son wanted lunch at 10:30am! I’ve been using up our Easter Egg stock, think we’ll be okay for a few more weeks!

Involve them in your Zoom chats

We’re all in the same boat, and whether we chose to sink or swim pretty much everyone who has children, or looks after little ones will know they don’t sit still for more than two minutes, so let them see your colleagues, who knows what the future holds for them, they could be the next legend in the events world, so start them young.

Have a regular working space

If you don’t have a dedicated office, don’t be tempted to follow the children around the house by moving from the sofa one day, to the dining room table the next (or bathroom if you choose!). Sticking to the same spot means you’re showing your children where mummy’s working spot is.

Don’t stress about the mess!

Yesterday I walked into the living room, every toy box was turned upside down, books flung on the floor, sofa cushions piled up to build a tower, and two children excitedly running around naked! I, somehow managed to keep my calm, took a deep breath, and went and boiled the kettle!

Wellbeing

Take some deep breaths to focus on the moment. I find doing some yoga each day really helps to focus my mind and bring me into the present day; my mind is constantly thinking of what I need to do next, or how I shouldn’t have done or said something in the past. Yoga is also a great exercise to do with children, or pets! They can do as little, or as much as they wish. Pick a few poses, like downward dog, call them what you like…and breathe.

Enjoy some quality family time

One of the best bits for me having this time out of the office has been to spend some quality time with my family. Life as a parent can be tough at times, but it’s also very rewarding, so I regularly remind myself to think how lucky I am to be with my family and not stuck on some hot, overcrowded, delayed train!

Stay at home, stay safe, protect our invaluable NHS and save lives.

It’s 2020. Global warming and the climate crisis are definitely at the forefront of most of our minds and there is one question we are asking ourselves – how can I reduce my carbon footprint?

There are many easy things to be done in day to day life such as carrying a reusable coffee cup and water bottle around with you, reducing the amount of plastic you use, recycling, etc. But how can everyday efforts like these translate to your wedding?

Many couples are now choosing to have a more sustainable wedding and you don’t have to be an eco-warrior to do so!

Before we start, I would just like to say that, as there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ wedding, there’s also no such thing as a perfectly sustainable wedding. The prospect of planning an ‘eco-wedding’ might seem daunting but the very fact you are reading this means you are interested in how, and that is a great first step!

There are some very easy choices you can make when it comes to planning your wedding that will help lower the environmental impact of your big day, whilst keeping it as you always dreamed it would be.

Here are my top tips for sustainable weddings:

Before the big day

Choose a sustainable venue

Many venues are making an effort to be more sustainable now and by choosing a ‘green’ venue as a first step, you can lower the environmental impact of your wedding day without having to actually do anything yourselves!

If a venue is truly sustainable, they should be advertising it proudly, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to spot one! Some things to look out for are accreditations and awards.

For example, BMA House have a GOLD Green Tourism Award, and have won ‘Greenest Venue’ two years in a row, ‘Most Sustainable Venue’ and Silver for ‘Best CSER or Sustainability Initiative’.

These kinds of awards are extremely competitive in the sustainable venue world and take a lot of evidence to be submitted before even being considered so to win one is a huge achievement.

We are very proud to have won these awards and we ensure we have them displayed on our website, on our social media, on our listings on wedding sites and in our email signatures so everyone knows we are a sustainable London venue!

So, when looking for your venue, keep an eye out for these kinds of awards and accreditations and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Good ones to check are:

• How do they dispose of their food waste?
• Are their ingredients locally sourced?
• What’s their plastic and recycling policy?

Grill your potential venues and make sure they are actually doing things to help the planet!

Keep it local

It’s no secret that traveling by car or by plane is a huge contributor to carbon emissions as well as our individual carbon footprints. By keeping things local for your wedding you can help to lower the impact on the environment.

For example, think about the location of your wedding and where you or the majority of your guests might be based to reduce travel.

Destination weddings are on the rise and whilst these are often overseas, this just means they take place a long way from where you and your guests live, resulting in excess travel.

If your guests are widespread, is there somewhere central you could choose that has easy access for everyone via train or public transport? Can you encourage your guests to carpool? You can set up an email list with guests who would be willing to share accommodation or offer out-of-towners a place to stay.

A little bit of thought can go a long way and help to reduce unnecessary fuel being burned.

Additionally, consider locality and seasonality when it comes to your suppliers.

Are they based locally meaning they don’t have to travel far to get to your venue? Do they source their produce locally e.g. meat, vegetables, flowers that are UK based (or better, grown in the area!) and not sent from overseas?

Choose seasonally, for example, certain flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients naturally grow at certain times of the year so choosing live produce which is in season at the time of your wedding can help lower that carbon footprint further.

Just ask your suppliers what your seasonal options are and they will help you put together something spectacular.

Choose natural or e-invitations

You will need to send out ‘save the dates’ and invitations for your wedding so consider how you want to do this.

The most sustainable option is to do this electronically. A save the date can simply be an email, however, there are some websites/apps which can be used to make these look pretty such as Mailchimp. This is simply an informative email so it requires no interaction from your guests!

When it comes to your invitations, you could send these as emails to asking for a reply RSVP, however, there are some fantastic websites out there that can make this an enjoyable experience for your guests as well as keeping everything in one place for you.

For example, withjoy.com sends interactive invitation emails to your guests and can help you organise your guest list, save the dates, invitations and RSVPs, gift registry, and information about your day including location, local hotels, transport links, pictures of the bridal party and more.

This reduces the paper used for the print and also the emissions caused by postal vehicles delivering them all to your guests. If you wanted to print a few invitations to keep, send to close family and friends, or to grandparents who don’t necessarily use email, then consider printing on recycled and sustainable paper.

If you were really set on doing traditional printed invitations, how about printing them on seed paper?

This should be made from natural and recycled products, it’s biodegradable and you can choose the seeds included and guests can plant this to grow some flowers which are good for our insects, instead of throwing them in the bin!

Make what you can and consider second-hand

Why not physically get involved with the aesthetic of your wedding?

There are lots of things you can make yourselves instead or purchasing them from a company which can;
– Look cute
– Mean you can save some money
– Add your personal touch
– Means you can know exactly where these things have come from and know their impact on the environment

For example, you could make your own signage with a wooden pallet and some paint, or your own table plan with photographs of your guests, and save the glass bottles of your favourite drink to put flowers in!

Pinterest is a great website to use for DIY ideas! If you aren’t particularly creative yourself, enlist the help of your bridal party, family, and friends. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Do you have any friends or family who have been recently married, or will be married around the same time as you? Consider sharing things where possible so you don’t have to buy and waste items unnecessarily, for example, fairy lights, name place/table number holders, and signage!

Additionally, consider second hand or hiring suits/bridesmaid’s dresses! As lovely as your wedding party will look, it’s unlikely they’ll have many more (if any) uses for the specific bridesmaid dress, suit, or waistcoat you have asked them to wear on your wedding day.

Fashion production takes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions and 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year with fashion waste contributing to the plastic polluting our seas. By choosing more ways to keep your wedding sustainable, you could lower yours and your bridal party’s carbon footprint a great deal.

On the day itself

Choose an eco-friendly caterer

Whether the venue is providing the catering for your wedding or you have hired an external caterer, you will be able to find a company that has a sustainable ethos, for example local, organic, Fairtrade, and ethically-produced ingredients.

Research has shown that eating a plant-based diet can considerably help reduce your carbon footprint so why not do this for your wedding day?

There are so many vegan and vegetarian options available now that are delicious and many meat substitutes, that many meat lovers find hard to differentiate from the real thing!

BMA house, as a sustainable venue in London, offer lots of vegetarian and vegan options within our standard menu and we also have a completely plant-based menu with some really exciting offerings. So, although your wedding menu may be less traditional, by going vegan or vegetarian it might be a nice surprise for your guests, giving them something to talk about.

If you are dead set on having meaty offerings, why not do a 50% vegetarian menu and try and opt for chicken or salmon. Studies have shown that these have a smaller impact on the environment compared to heavier CO2-producing meats such as beef and lamb.

Additionally, sourcing alcohol from local wineries, distilleries, or breweries as well as keeping your alcohol British, is another great way to keep your carbon footprint down.

Sustainable wedding favours

Wedding favours are sweet little additions many couples like to include at each place setting to say a small ‘thank you’ to guests for celebrating with them.

Sometimes, these can be a bit gimmicky and end up in landfill which is a waste financially as well as having a negative impact on the environment.

Why not choose something sustainable for your guests like insect-attracting seeds (save the bees!), plants or mini trees, handmade soap or small bottles of alcohol, jam or honey from a local supplier, or a reusable coffee cup (Huski Home and rCUP are my favourites)?

The ideas are endless but when choosing favours think about the environmental impact they could have during production and if they are disposed of, and avoid plastic and other man-made materials where possible. Natural is always best!!

Or, give back – an alternative to wedding favours is to donate the money you would have spent on these to a charity of your choice or if you are feeling really generous, ask guests to make a charitable donation instead of buying you a wedding gift.

Biodegradable confetti

Confetti throwing is a lovely tradition and makes for some excellent photographs. However, many of the traditional confetti packs you can purchase are made of plastic or an unsustainable man-made material.

Make sure you check out what your confetti is made from before purchasing and check it’s natural and can biodegrade. Dried flower petals are a good option and they’re super pretty too!

After your wedding

Ethical honeymooning

For many, the honeymoon is a chance for a once in a lifetime adventure, so I am by no means suggesting you go to a campsite walking distance from your home! However, there are ways you can reduce the impact your honeymoon has on the planet, and research is key.

Look into locations before you settle on a destination to ensure the negative impact you have when traveling there is minimal.

Consider using a travel agent who specialises in responsible holidays, and support locally-owned hotels, shops, and attractions when you get there.

Most importantly, remember to ENJOY your wedding day and the planning process. It should be a fun and enjoyable thing for you to do and if you’re having fun, your guests will be too!

https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10?r=US&IR=T

https://www.ecoandbeyond.co/articles/most-environmentally-friendly-meat/

In these strange and uncertain times where we have excess time and too much headspace, we can really focus on those things that often take a backseat when we are too busy.

One majorly important part of events; including conferences, private parties, bar mitzvahs, and weddings, are suppliers. Often, we don’t really take the time to think about how to create events with a difference, so, let’s use this extra time we have, to think about future events, and how you can make your event memorable.

Choosing suppliers can take a lot of time, it takes a lot of research, depending on the type of event you are planning.

A wedding or private party will generally have more suppliers than a conference, but not always. The most important suppliers for a conference are catering and production.

Caterers

If your venue has its own caterer like we do here at BMA House, it is one less job not having to select suppliers, but still, make sure you do your research.

Check out their website and Instagram, look at any reviews they might have, look over sample menus and think about what your guests would want and what fits with your brand message.

It is often found that the element of a conference people will find the most impactful is the food and drink! Your guests want to feel looked after, they are having to be engaged all day, so a caffeine break and a tasty lunch are majorly important.

Production and AV

Production and AV suppliers are almost equally as important as food and drink. They’re vital for conveying your content for the day in the most effective and impactful way.

Whether it is a small screen for a meeting of six or a 5-metre interactive, LED wall for a 300 person conference, or even a vibrating dance floor with surround-sound speakers at a bar mitzvah (yes this exists), the AV you choose and the quality of your supplier can make or break your event.

Again, many venues will often already have an AV supplier or some in-house equipment.

Do of course ask your venue about what they have built-in and if there is anything else they can provide you with. Then consider what else you might need and indeed whether the equipment they have works for you.

If not, look into an external supplier who can provide what you need, most venues won’t mind you bringing your own production, just make sure to keep your venue and production team on the same page!

Furniture & Decor

Moving away from the necessities of an event, the finer details are often what will make your event stand out. Furniture choice isn’t just important in your home but also for your event.

Some venues will have their own furniture, generally conference chairs and tables. If you have that little bit extra budget to spend then consider upgrading your furniture.

For a conference, make sure you have the comfiest chairs you can get, after all, your guests are sitting on them all day so comfort is key. However, consider also how you want the spaces to look.

Think about your brand message; create a colour palette that is bold and memorable. Consider also the style of your venue, make sure your furniture fits with it, for example, in a warehouse-style venue you might want to look at industrial style furniture using materials like re-purposed scaffolding.

Tying into décor, there are of course other things you will want to consider, such as flowers.

Now if you are planning a conference, this is something that will likely get set aside, however for a private dinner, a wedding or even a corporate Christmas party, flowers can liven up any venue.

Like with furniture, create a colour palette that is either in line with your brand for a corporate event, or in line with your personal style for a private event or wedding.

One important thing that often gets forgotten, like food, flowers are seasonal, so make sure to check in with your florist as they will be able to advise you on what flowers you can use at what time of year.

Advice from your suppliers is invaluable, so do get their opinion as they are the experts!

Entertainment

The last thing I want to cover, but by no means least, is entertainment in all its shapes and forms.

Entertainment can tie into all different forms of events in different ways and is super important in making an impression on your guests, and of course, keeping them happy and having fun!

The perfect entertainment for a conference is a team-building activity.

Not only are you getting your guests networking, but it is giving them something fun to participate in away from your main presentations.

If you are planning a summer or Christmas party, you may want to consider a few different options, such as; music, magicians, games or even performance acts. Performance acts are a great way of creating a spectacle for your guests, and with these, you really can let your imagination run wild.

Entertainment suppliers will generally have a large roster of acts with their own pre-organised routines. Don’t be afraid to ask for something more bespoke.

Tell them what you are looking for and what you want to create and let them help you bring your vision into existence. After all, they will want your event to be successful and the most memorable it can be, just as you do.

Like with anything, that little bit of extra time and effort spent researching suppliers and talking to them, can make all the difference.

A big tip to help save you some time is to ask your venue for their preferred suppliers’ list. Most venues will have a great list of suppliers they have worked with before and can provide you with a great experience, so make sure to look into this, particularly if you have less time to spend researching.

We hope you are all keeping safe and well during the strange times we find ourselves in. Please don’t be too disheartened if your wedding has had to be postponed; it’ll just mean its all the more special when the time comes!

Whether you are recently engaged or had that sparkly ring on your (or your fiancé’s!) finger for a while, now is the perfect time to start getting your wedding plans underway. You can really use this time to do your research and plan the day of your dreams.

This year, we released THREE amazing new packages to replace the one package we were previously offering. Each package offers something slightly different and we can tailor each of them to you. We don’t believe a ‘one size fits all’ approach works anymore, as each couple’s unique and wants something different from their day, with many couples opting for a less traditional wedding.

The full break-down of our wedding packages

At BMA House, we have a unique medicinal garden which is one of two beautiful and tranquil outdoor spaces. We took inspiration from our garden when naming our packages, and went with a herbal theme, calling them Thyme, Rosemary and Lavender.

So what do these packages include and which one is right for you?

For the DIY couple who want to build their own unique package…

THE THYME PACKAGE
£140.50 including VAT per person

This package was designed as a skeleton package, with a low minimum cost, including the very basics you need for your day. The idea is that you can then build upon this package to make it really personal, and unique to you. We have a list of great add-ons that you can choose from to really make the package work for you, including chairs, dancefloors, fairy lights and entertainment!

You can then choose to add to your package by upgrading separate elements. We have plenty of options to give your wedding a fun, modern and chic feeling, for example;

• DJ: £1,000.00
• Dancefloor: from £950.00
• Ice cream cart: £550.00 (based on 100 people and four ice cream flavours)
• Two hour Botanical Gin Bar or Prosecco Station: from £1,800.00
• Chiavari chairs or crossback chairs: from £4.00
• Canapés (based on four per person): £13.60 per person
• Calligraphed stationary (place names, table numbers etc.): from £1.50
• Table centres: from £30.00 (bespoke quotation on request)
• Fairy lights: from £30.00
• Magic Mirror Photobooth @ £800.00
• Garden hire for the ‘first look’ and photographs: £500.00
• String quartet: £900.00
• Linen and cutlery upgrade: quotation available on request
• Soft seating area: quotation available on request
• Caricaturist: £450.00
• Magician: £795.00

For the more classic couple who are looking for a ready-made package…

THE ROSEMARY PACKAGE
£180.00 including vat per person

This package was designed to have a more classic feel, featuring the basics of the Thyme Package but including some of the most popular upgrades within the price to take the work out of it for you. For example, this package has canapés and prosecco instead of nibbles and sparkling wine for a more substantial and exciting offering for your reception, a three-course seated dinner instead of a two course dinner with a dessert station, upgraded chivari or cross back chairs for that chic modern look, and evening bites too to fill your guests tummies as they’re dancing the night away. This is a really lovely ready-made package which of course you can add to should you want to include more and make it more bespoke to you, but it’s also a complete package with all the special ingredients for a really magical day.

For the couple looking to add that little extra sparkle and go all the way…

THE LAVENDER PACKAGE
From £265.00 including vat per person

The Lavender package was designed to include some of the popular extras purchased for a really special wedding, but all included in the package cost. This takes some of the work out of planning for you, and ensures a real luxury feeling to your day by keeping the cost down for you as you won’t need to spend time and excess money outsourcing these things yourselves. For example, you have exclusive hire of the whole venue which you can use for photographs or private areas (or as you please), you will receive champagne for your drinks reception and toast, upgraded Chiavari and crossback chairs, upgraded linen or your choice so you can make sure it matches your colour scheme, premium wine instead of house wine, an LED dancefloor, a string quartet or the ceremony and drinks reception, and street food stalls for the evening to give your guests a premium offering as their evening snack.

Whatever it is you are looking for from your day, and however you see your special day running from start to finish, we have something that will work perfectly for you.  Our team of wedding planners will work with you to ensure your wedding day is exactly how you dreamed it!

Learn more about weddings at BMA House or visit out contact page.

Well, we have certainly had an interesting start to 2020, haven’t we?!

My sympathy goes out to all the couples who have had to reschedule their weddings due to COVID-19. I know things are tough right now, but it’s important to stay positive; you’re still going to live happily ever after and have your dream wedding!

Whatever stage you’re at in your wedding planning journey, I hope some of the below tips will help you create the perfect day for you.

Set a budget

An important first step is to decide what you want the budget to be for your wedding. This will be a driving factor in many of the decisions you make later down the line so should be one of the first things you think about.

Do some basic research into the costs for things like wedding venue hire, catering, dresses and suits, and flowers.

This will give you a rough guide for how much things cost, and you can then make a decision about what you think is a reasonable budget to set yourselves.

If any family members have offered to contribute, speak to them to find out what they’ll be comfortable spending.

Sometimes families like to contribute a sum of money and others would prefer to put their money towards specific things, such as your wedding dress, the bar, or the photographer.

According to Hitched, the average spend on a wedding in 2019 was £31,974.00 which has increased from £27,161.00 in 2017.

Sometimes discussing budgets with someone you know that has recently gotten married can help, but don’t forget that each and every couples’ circumstances are different, no two weddings are the same, and therefore everyone’s budget is different so try not to compare and focus on what is important (and manageable!) to you.

There are plenty of ways to cut costs and still have the wedding of your dreams. Pinterest is usually a great tool to help with DIY ideas! But that’s a blog for another time…

Location, guests and venues

Once you have decided on a budget, you can start to look at where you would like your wedding to take place.

The location of your wedding venue often plays a big part in the wedding – couples often choose somewhere that means something to them, or that is easy for guests to get to (especially if guests are coming from overseas).

When you have decided on a location, you can start thinking about venues.

Get a grip on the approximate number of guests you’ll invite and an amount you’re comfortable spending before you start looking, as this will make it much easier to narrow down the venues you like that can accommodate your wedding and fit within your budget.

Some things to think about when choosing a venue;

• What style do you want your wedding venue to be? Inner-city or countryside? Modern or historic? Classic or quirky? Whatever you choose, make sure it’s a true reflection on you as a couple
• Do you want your wedding venue to hold both your ceremony and reception? A lot of venues are registered for ceremonies, but some are not. Make sure the venues you shortlist can accommodate legal ceremonies if that’s what you would like to do. Additionally, if you would like to dry hire a venue and bring in your own caterers (e.g. Kosher) then make sure the venue allows this too

• How does the venue contact come across? Your first point of contact when speaking to the venue is likely to be the one to plan your wedding with you and run it on the day. Make sure this person seems nice, knowledgeable, considerate of your choices and respects your vision as their support is vital when planning the day of your dreams. However, don’t forget that they will know what works well in their venue (and what doesn’t!) and will advise on what they think is best – it’s a good idea to listen to their recommendations
• Do you require outside space? A lot of wedding venues (like us!) have outside spaces which makes a really lovely addition to a summer wedding. If this is something that’s important to you, make sure you explore the options available and any restrictions there may be
• Do you get ‘that feeling’? When you have found the right venue for you, you’ll know. If it feels right, if you get butterflies, if you can picture yourself walking down the aisle there, it’s the one for you. Just make sure you have done the previously mentioned points before finding the ‘one’! Nothing worse than finding the venue of your dreams then realising it’s out of budget or doesn’t accommodate your guest numbers

When you have found the venue for you or narrowed it down to a shortlist, go and visit more than once!

Two or three times if you need to. There’s no rush here, take your time to make sure everything is as you want it to be.

Your venue choice will affect all the other choices you make so it has to be right!

Wedding timeline

When you begin planning your wedding, it’s good to create a timeline of what you would like to have organised by certain dates.

This will help you stay on track and give you something to work towards.

You can buy books and magazines which provide these things in detail, and we have put together a handy guide to help:

Catering

One of the main things guests remember from an event is the food! It’s important to have something that excites the senses, compliments the day and keeps guests satisfied.

Traditionally, weddings have what we call a ‘wedding breakfast’. This is the sit-down dinner had after the ceremony, drinks reception and photographs.

It’s called the ‘wedding breakfast’ as it’s the first meal you have after getting married – its nothing to do with the next morning!

Lots of wedding venues still use this terminology so don’t get confused, it’s just another term for dinner.

It traditionally consists of a starter, main course and dessert, followed by tea, coffee and petit fours.

However, couples are increasingly choosing alternative options for their weddings and opting for a less traditional wedding breakfast!

Some of the alternative options we offer that have proven popular with our wedding couples are street food, bowl food and afternoon tea! Choices that certainly get guests talking!

As well as food, drinks are a really important part of the day and your guests’ experience.

Instead of just the usual wine, beer and soft drinks, why not offer your guests something a little extra?

Consider an interactive build-your-own gin or cocktail station, or a personalise-your-prosecco station.

Guests can pick their favourite drink and choose their own botanicals, mixers and syrups, and decorations to make it fun, interactive and personal.

It also makes for great photos too!

Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you will enjoy! After all, it’s your special day.

Registrars and Celebrants

Once you have chosen your venue you will need to get in touch with the local council’s registrars to book in your ceremony on your chosen date.

The registrars are the ones who will conduct your legal ceremony and bring the documentation for you to sign.

This is necessary for making your marriage ‘official’.

However, something to consider when planning your wedding is how you would like your ceremony to run.

Your wedding venue should have a licence so you can carry out the ceremony in the venue and spend your whole day in that one place, but you are not restricted to this as a rule.

When a registrar is conducting your ceremony, it’s restricted by legislation and no religious or spiritual content may be included.

Registrars often conduct a number of ceremonies the same day, so they are also restricted to time.

They will arrange to meet you both separately for a pre-ceremony interview and any readings must be approved before the ceremony takes place.

If you wanted to make your ceremony more personal and bespoke to you, then there’s an option to use a celebrant.

Celebrants will work with you on your ceremony to reflect your ideas, values and personalities. You will be able to choose what is said, how the ceremony is conducted, how long it lasts and write your own vows.

Celebrants are used for that personal touch but the ceremony they conduct will not be legally binding so you will need to conduct a legal ceremony with your registrars as well.

This could be done on the same day at the venue or in the registry office before your guests arrive, or on another day completely.

It’s your wedding and you can choose how you spend your day!

Other points to consider

• Prepare for some guests not to come.

It’s important to consider that about ten to twenty per cent of the people you invite won’t attend your wedding. This can be due to the location, date, expenditure, etc. so don’t take it personally and prepare yourself for this in advance

• Have a uniform children policy

There tend to be four choices you can make when it comes to children and your wedding: you can welcome all children with open arms; you could have an adults-only wedding so no children are allowed at all; you can include immediate family only; or you can hire a childcare service to look after the children during the wedding. However, it’s wise to avoid allowing some families to bring children whilst excluding others to prevent hurting feelings (unless of course, you have children in your bridal party)

• Wedding politics

A very common cause of contention is the politics involved in weddings. This usually comes from the ‘they invited us so we should invite them’ situation, or family having strong (often differing) opinions and wanting things to be a certain way. However, you need to remember that it’s your day and everyone else is there because they love you and want to celebrate with you

Wedding spend statistic: https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-planning/organising-and-planning/the-average-wedding-cost-in-the-uk-revealed/

I am pretty sure my tips can transpire to any industry but I am so proud to see all the industry come together and share knowledge and tips, I thought I would share my tips on how to keep focused and calm during this period.

The idea of the unknown right now is hard, when will we be back in venues? When will we be able to see our colleagues again face to face? How to reassure our clients that their events are in safe hands when we are ready again. As a venue showing a level of flexibility to booking terms is key.

But how do we keep calm and keep the focus in such usual times? Here are my tips:

• Daily calls as a team – I recommend a morning one and an afternoon one
• Set up some interactive times – quiz night with your colleagues? We are going to all watch the same movie one night – keep team morale up. A virtual book club is planned monthly too

• Have a structure to your working day. Write a daily list and include in this plans to look after yourself including exercise time
• Embrace YouTube workouts – we have seen Joe Wicks daily PE class but his channel has many other videos I use on YouTube – The Body Coach. Davina McCall has also made Own Your Goals free for 30 days
• Use Headspace or Calm app to just take 10 minutes a day to breathe
• Stand! Don’t get stuck at your home desk, stand up at least every hour and get away from the screen, you are likely to spend more time at your screen at home so it’s important to take regular breaks
• Join industry websites for many free webinars – I recommend EventWell, HBAA, MIA, The Delegate Wranglers. You will fill up some slots with some key training which can be really valuable. Sign up to Conference News and M&IT, C&IT and Event industry news emails too
• Projects – you know those big jobs you don’t have time to do? Ideas – upgrade your systems, clear out your PC of old unused folders, clear out your image folders, make new proposal documents, plan future events
• Training Tip Friday – we all take turns in our team to do some mini bitesize training on a topic which we may have learnt about that week or specialise
• Events – keep booking events, venues need your support too and we are ready to plan events right through the year, we have menus we can send you, floor plans, etc…
• Make use of Zoom, Skype, etc.. it’s important you don’t just talk but that you see each other! Just make sure you use your camera correctly and keep secure
• Create a network – link in with your industry peers, check in on them, get advice and share tips. You can create mini chat groups on LinkedIn for example
• Keep a routine – set your alarm still and get ready as if you are going to work still
• Use your one hour outdoor exercise time – I’ve never got into running but I am using Strava and Couch to 5k to encourage my daily run

• Take up a new hobby – Duolingo lets you learn a language on your phone – my holiday is rescheduled so I have plenty of time to learn some basic Japanese! Colouring, jigsaws, knitting are all easy and cheap things to take up
• Clients – what a great time to connect with your clients, just check in on them, ask them how they are and build a relationship
• Let in the fresh air – it might be cold out but it’s important to get some fresh air in your house/flat. Get those windows open!
• Volunteer – you can do this for the NHS scheme or event just volunteer in a buddy scheme such as Stress Matters – Buddies Matter scheme

And above all, we are all very much looking forward to finally being back together again! Please note the below picture was taken last year on a team outing. We are all staying at home and following the rules…

Summer is upon us and with everyone being stuck indoors now is the perfect time to be planning your summer celebration! As we continue to monitor Government advice we are all hoping that we will finally get a summer, even if it is a later one!

Celebrate your valued employees and clients with a night to remember, it’s time to tackle the mid-year slump and re-energise your employees for the year ahead – it is definitely needed after this tough start to 2020!

Here are our top tips to help you plan a fantastic summer party!

Location 

When choosing your summer party venue, think about its location and what style you are going for.

Do you want somewhere ultra-modern, with rooftop city views or a party in a beautiful courtyard, surrounded by blooming flowers?

Consider somewhere that offers outdoor space to make the most of the glorious sunshine and longer evenings, however, ensure your venue has an equally charming indoor space to continue the party indoors once the sun has set – it is England after all!

Catering

If your guests are going to remember one thing from a party it will be the food. We consider any summer party menu to be the main attraction so it’s wise to focus a lot of attention on this!

Sit down dinners are a no-go for summer so why not allow your venue to rustle up something exciting.

A big trend we are seeing this year is street food stations; guests have the chance to interact with chefs as they cook a range of delightful cuisines from around the world – all served from stations with theatrical theming to really wow your guests!

Don’t forget the drinks!

Consider a cocktail, craft beer, gin bar or something sparkling as a welcome surprise to get the party started.

Most venues offer packages for additional drinks throughout the evening – you might want to organise an office poll to determine the favourite wines, spirits & beers amongst your guests to request at your party.

Entertainment

We all love a DJ & Dancefloor, but entertainment can also come in the form of magicians, giant garden games, magic mirrors and Jazz duos.

You can really add an element of personalisation to your party to keep the surprises coming, so ask your venue for recommendations, chances are they know some great suppliers to fit within your budget!

Enjoy the celebration

Even though you have been tasked with planning your companies summer party this year, you need to take a step back from being the ‘Planner’ on the night and enjoy the celebration as much as your guests.

Make sure you communicate with your Event Planner, book site visits to familiarise yourself with the venue and listen to any tips and recommendations your venue has.

To put your mind at rest handover your guest list and details of any suppliers you have booked, so that your venue can take control of this on the night – they are here to help you!

All that will be left, is for you to enjoy the delicious food & drinks with your colleagues whilst taking in the beautiful surroundings of the venue you have booked!

Here at BMA House headquarters, we have been working our magic with our chefs, catering and marketing teams to create a new menu and DDR package to shake up the industry.

Just last month the team at BMA House unveiled our brand new ‘Well Grounded’ DDR package comprising an entirely plant-based menu in line with our green credentials.

The ‘Well-Grounded’ package offers three refreshment breaks, with delicious and healthy snacks, a hot fork buffet lunch and fresh mint tea in the afternoon.  Delegates can select from tasty lunch options such as; Pulled jackfruit & sweet potato chilli with cocoa nibs, soya bourguignon with red wine, wild mushrooms and vegan bacon or tomato gnocchi with Sicilian aubergine stew.

Alongside delicious and nutritious options, your delegates will be saving the environment using our ‘Smart KAPP’ interactive flipcharts and reducing the amount of paper and waste.

Not only have we created this pioneering package, but our chefs also launched an entirely plant-based menu alongside the ‘Well-Grounded’ DDR.

Therefore if clients want delegates to do their bit, perform well and help the planet, but don’t want an entire package, then they can choose indulgent dishes from our breakfast, refreshment, and lighter lunch menus.

Eating a plant-based diet has proven links to health benefits and lowering our environmental impact and we have our ‘Green Guru’ Victoria Lewis to thank for this package.

We spoke to Victoria about the inspiration for the package:

“As the resident ‘Green Guru’ and all-round lover of sustainability, I know that we are a very forward-thinking venue in terms of our green credentials, but we wanted to do more than making changes around the venue, we wanted to get our clients to embrace sustainability too.”

“I worked alongside our Venue Manager Kat, General Catering Manager Johnathan and Executive Chef Gordon to come up with a delicious and nutritious, 100% plant-based offering. We took inspiration from our Botanical Garden and included fresh mint tea breaks, to remove non-biodegradable tea bags and to aid digestion.  We are super pleased with the finished product and proud to say we are only one of two venues to offer a fully Vegan menu. We are successfully selling our ‘Well-Grounded’ packages for 2019 and 2020 and we cannot wait to see more.”

At just £75.00+vat per person, the ‘Well-Grounded DDR’ package is the perfect offering to do your bit for the environment, in a stunning venue that promises to deliver exceptional service. If you want to opt for our ‘Well-Grounded’ package for your next event, then get in touch today!

– Main meeting room hire (09:00-17:00)
– Catering room hire (09:00-16:00)
– Fairtrade filter coffee, speciality tea and mini blueberry muffins on arrival
– Mid-morning Fairtrade filter coffee and speciality tea, granola bars and whole fruit
– Hot fork buffet lunch
– Flavoured hydration station
– Mid-afternoon fresh mint tea and cake bites
– Still and sparkling bottled water throughout
– Interactive flipchart
– Soya milk is provided as standard, dairy provided on request