Go on – get patriotic!

Red, White & Blue – Best of British

Afternoon Tea Party

Slightly pessimistic yet probably realistic for a British Bank Holiday – Embrace the Umbrella!

If you fancy something slightly more glitzy – bling up your bash with some of these sparkling ideas

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend

If you fancy something a bit more regal – try your hand at these crowns – we made six earlier this week for the opening of “The Queen” exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with myself (shameless self gratification!)

Whatever you end up doing – celebrate in style and have a great weekend – Rule Britannia!

A vision in Lavender for the lovely ladies who attended to the women’s breakfast:

If you’re after something a bit fruity and less feminine, check out these bold and colourful stripes which made a big impression on diners for this corporate dinner:

Using some great suppliers, Alison Price & Co. for delicious food, Nicky Doodson Flowers for some stunning blooms, Greathire for elegant furniture and some zesty stationery from A Bespoke Design.  Be sure to check them out!

Photographs by Henry Stuart Photography

If you’re looking for some inspiration for ways to inject a little springy sunshine or Easter cheer  into your events then check out the moodboard for inspiration below:

We shared our stand again this year with Purple Grape Catering who provided some scrummy treats not only to keep you all fueled up on your hunt for ideas but also providing culinary inspiration for menus, edible favours and other extra special goodies to make your catering unique.  We served up delicious mini victoria sponge cakes in jars, giant jewelled macaroons and lemon cheesecake push ups.

If you weren’t able to get to the show this year and see our spectacular stand, here are some pictures to show you what you were missing!

If you need some of our inspiration of designs you can contact Kelly at Mango Pie or if you need delicious food for your big day, contact Emily at Purple Grape Catering.

Best of British

Bejewelled

Mulberry

Yellow Dove

And here’s some of Mango Pie’s highlights from this year’s show:

JO HECKETT CERAMICS make beautiful porcelain favours, commemorative gifts and keepsakes which add a personal and special touch to any wedding.  We love these little ceramic pegs that have been personalised with guests names – great for pegging on the wine glass as a name place at the table, used on mini washing lines as a quirky way of displaying the table plan and great for taking home and using as a wine charm after the wedding!

We were entertained by the beautiful playing and soulful voices of the VERNON SISTERS; a family ensemble made up of a jazz standards trio and close harmony vocals.  The Vernon Sisters offer excellent musical entertainment for your wedding day.  From the ceremony to champagne reception, wedding breakfast and evening reception band, the singing sisters are the musicians for you!

If you’re looking for something a bit quirky and mobile for your refreshments then look no further than IDEAS BOX, who offer a range of snacks and drinks served from brightly coloured retro tricycles.  From crepes, ice cream, candyfloss and popcorn to the slightly more sophisticate espresso cart which will keep your guests partying all night long! They also offer a range of other services to add an extra dimension to events and weddings.

We were lucky enough to be next door to GC COUTURE and met the team who kept trying to fatten us up with yummy cake samples! If you’re looking for a show stopping wedding cake then check out the great new range.  Our favourites were Isabella and Diana (pictured).  We were also very excited to hear of their new shop opening on 3rd March – we wish you all the best!

On the other side of us were the stunning RAJ TENT CLUB.  We think they add real WOW factor glamour to any outside (or indeed any inside) wedding.  The subtle colours are very elegant and sophisticated making a refreshing change to your standard wedding marquee.  They offer rental and sales of their Indian tents as well as interior styling, furniture and lighting.

ARTFULL SPLODGERS offer a wedding mobile creche service.  They offer a range of activities such as non messy arts and crafts, outdoor games, computer games and a special buffet just for the kids while the adults are eating. They also offer a sleeping area for them while mum and dad get into the party mood.  We love that they provide invitation to go in with the main wedding invite especially for the kids so that they really feel included.  They even offer a morning service too so that mum and dad can enjoy a coffee and nurse their sore heads before resuming parenting duties!

We’re sure you’ve all heard of NOT ON THE HIGH STREET but if you haven’t, get yourselves online and check out the fantastic range of wedding accessories, and gifts they have on offer.  From personlised favours, invitations and candles through to exquisite items for your home and garden to put on your wedding gift list (they offer a gift list service too!) they’ve got it all!  Here at Mango Pie, we can’t get enough and did nearly all of our Christmas shopping with them too!

We were asked this year to design the stand for the HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES and were honoured and delighted to take up the opportunity (and we think you’ll agree it looked quite stunning!). HRP have a wonderful collection of beautiful venues on offer to house your special day; Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, Banqueting House in London and the elegant Orangery at Kensington Palace in West London – any one of these historic buildings will give a picturesque backdrop to your wedding photos.

What wedding design is complete without some stunning furniture? We at Mango Pie selected from GREAT HIRE‘s range to accessorise our stand at the show and there were a number of other pieces on display around the exhibition.   After a recent visit to their showroom, we could really tell how much pride is taken in what they do and their enthusiasm to provide something different for their clients.  So if you’re looking for that extra WOW factor, checkout the range they have on offer, there’s something for every design!

I’ve seen PAUL ANTONIO SCRIBE in action a few times now but I’m always amazed by the beauty of what he does.  His work is spectacular and no-one could fail to be impressed to receive on of his beautifully addressed envelopes on their doormat! They now offer a range of beautifully designed invitations too.  They also design decorative borders, heraldic illustrations and one off scrolls for presentation.

DOTTIE CREATIONS design fantastic wedding stationery and we love these wooden engraved versions.  They’re a really original and different way of sending out your invitations to loved ones inviting them to share in your special day.  They’re great for so many different themes, autumnal, wild west, vintage an natural. We think they’re stunning but if you can’t stretch to wooden invites – they have a beautiful range of paper versions of offer too!  Dottie Creations not only do stationery but they also offer a wedding photography service.  We could not stop flicking through their albums and looking through each beautifully captured memory.  The styling and composition really captured the special moments and the colours and presentation of the albums were really something quite special.  Check out the little pug in this album too!

Big thanks to Chanelle at Segerius Bruce for the lovely photos and to Well Dressed Tables and Options Hire for their generous contributions to Mango Pie’s table.

Mango Pie welcomes its newest team member, Event Creator, Kelly Mendoza

Born and raised in Norfolk, Kelly didn’t begin her career as an events designer but instead as a classically trained soprano. I took some time to sit down with the lovely Kelly to figure out the point at which she fell in love with weddings and decided that planning them and other events was the way forward for her.

Q: Where did the event bug first bite you?

“Even though I studied music, I was pretty active in organising events throughout university for the University Music Society. When I then moved to London and began working for City of London at the Guildhall in 2008, it was like Alice falling through the looking glass! It was a completely different world to anything I had been used to. Probably the most bizarre event I organised there was the annual Cart Marking ceremony for the Worshipful Company of Carmen. The event celebrates the ancient tradition of vehicle branding (literally a hot branding iron!) in the city followed by a lunch for all who attend. Very, urm, glamorous!”

Q: What was your favourite event over the 3 years you spent there?

“My time there was amazing and exposed me to countless events that were weird, wacky or just outright fabulous. I looked after committee hospitality, held dinners on building sites (don’t ask!) and even got to organise an event attended by the Queen!”

Q: How does something that big come about?

“It was 2009 and the British forces had ended their combat operations in Iraq. I was asked to project manage a reception at Mansion House following a service at St Paul’s Cathedral which just so happened to be attended by Her Majesty the Queen! I’ve also worked on events for visiting heads of State from other countries including France, India, Qatar and South Africa but Her Majesty is definitely the highlight!”

Q: Other than the luncheon’s and that side of things, what else did you get up to whilst working there?

“The other part of my job was looking after commercial clients from a venue perspective at the Guildhall. This included some great events for The Man Booker Prize, The World Superyacht Awards, The Financial Services Forum Awards and City Rocks which was a charity concert and dinner to raise money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal with performers such as Bryan Adams and Katie Melua. That was a great night actually, lots of good music and dancing!”

Q: So when did you decide to turn your hand to weddings as well as the other events?

“I actually went to a friends wedding in 2010 and I was completely shocked at the organisation of it all. The planner was flapping but the bride was so calm! It was complete role reversal of how it should be. After seeing that, I completed a wedding planning qualification in January 2011 and then got married myself too! Planning my own wedding was actually less stressful than watching my friends wedding planner flip out.”

Q: What are you most looking forward to doing with Mango Pie?

“Lots of things really! I can’t wait to get involved with all of the quirky and original events the company works on as well as helping brides have their perfect day.”

Kelly has already begun working with us, if you have an enquiry, you can contact her on kelly@mango-pie.com

The refreshing difference this year (amongst a huge list of changes that have been made from last year) is that all the seminars will be FREE! This year I will not be running the ‘Social Media Clinic’ however you can catch me talking tomorrow at two of the seminars.

11.00 Capturing the Imagination – the ISESForum

14:00 Attention to detail – finishing touches & how they make a difference to your event.

I’ll be on stage with Tanya Somerset, Director of Boli Darling and Claire Pasquill, Managing Director of Mask Event Design & Production.

If you can’t make it, or physically get into the room as we already have 550 people registered, don’t panic as our Media Editor, Chris Lewis will be blogging live from the front row from 13:50.
Click here to register for the live blog feed

You can submit questions throughout the talk and participate in live polls which will be shown on stage. You can also ask questions via twitter using the hastag #atd

Hope to see you tomorrow (online or in person)!
Register to attend RSVP