A stylish wedding with trestle tables of eucalyptus, a pavlova tower, and traditional lion dancing at dry hire venue Dilston Grove, South London.
Tien (the bride) is a restauranteur so had the vision, food, and drink for her wedding nailed, but with a new restaurant launch on the horizon she had zero time to put it together! This, combined with two other ceremonies (a legal one and a traditional Vietnamese one), meant she needed a bit of support with her planning – so, luckily, she had a few great sisters on hand to help, and also me to help pull the most difficult one together!
One sister in particular was an amazing help and sought me out to assist with their third nuptials and party at Dilston Grove, because I’d already worked at the venue a few times before. It’s quite a difficult dry hire venue because it’s in the middle of a public park in South London, so because of this it has various access, noise and safety restrictions, specific load in and out times, lots you can’t do, and an early curfew. Oh… and it also doesn’t have any kitchen facilities! All this is easy to manage though, if you know how 😊
We did load in and set up the day before, as much as we could, and it was a mass team effort between the couple, all their close family and friends, and me. We trolleyed all the equipment, décor, food, and drinks across the park, and got everything perfectly set up for the ceremony the next day. We only had four hours (the max available for load in the day before at the venue), so it was around two hours loading in and around two hours setting up and finessing – while also accepting table and chair deliveries etc. It was a bit of a mad rush as we got closer to the end of Friday, but it made Saturday a breeze – so that the only thing that was started from scratch on the day itself was the food prep.
Saturday came and it was a gorgeous sunny September morning. The couple opted to do the majority of their couple photos and group photos before the ceremony, so that they could ‘get them out the way and enjoy the rest of the day’. This worked brilliantly given the slightly shorter times we had at the venue for the entire day (12pm – 11pm access only). This also meant the couple arrived relaxed… and on time!
The ceremony was conducted by a friend and then there were drinks and snacks on the lawn. The couple had a few photos and then snuck off to change into traditional Vietnamese outfits as a surprise for their guests – and reappeared as a traditional lion dance troupe entered through the park and danced right up to the venue to greet their guests! Guests couldn’t believe it and were completely wowed – it was such a wonderful surprise! And such a lovely personal touch! All the while, the catering team were flipping the ceremony space for dining. I returned after coordinating the lion dance to assist with the place names, table names, and prep and position the eucalyptus table runners.
Later, a friend set up their pavlova tower dessert station and the bride’s brother took care of the party… And party they did! It was a very relaxed affair and a chance for the couple to relax and have fun with their friends after their previous two ceremonies, and you could totally tell. They were just so cool calm and collected throughout.
It was an 11pm curfew, so I stayed until after then to close down the venue and ensure the guest’s safe exit from the park. But an afterparty followed elsewhere for the couple and their guests!
Wedding Coordination by Devine Bride.
“I can’t recommend Laura enough. She was amazing from beginning to end! Super organized and meticulous – she made sure we had the best time ever on our wedding day. She’s very calm and relaxed – nothing fazes her! No question was too silly to ask and she made us feel at ease with everything. The lead up to and even after the wedding she helped us with great recommendations from furniture hire to the best place to print thank you cards. She’s an absolute pro and the loveliest person!”
Photos kindly from Lisa Devlin @ Devlin Photos.
CONTACTS AND SUPPLIERS
Wedding Coordinator: @devinebride 💁🏼♀️
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Dilston Grove
Photographer: Lisa Devlin @ Devlin Photos
Table, chair, crockery, cutlery and glass hire: Classic Crockery
Florist: Pesh Flowers
Food: Sam Tamburg
Alcohol: Brick Brewery | Bibendum Wines
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Please email any hellos or enquiries to laura@devinebride.co.uk
