Indoor - Outdoor Entertaining

Spring and Summer time is the ideal season to enjoy outdoor celebrations whether you are celebrating an anniversary, birthday, christening, graduation, wedding or just want an excuse to hold a party for your friends and family.  When you dine outside the food often just tastes better.  It’s almost as if something magical happens.  At The Orde Food Company we just love this time of year as we really enjoy making clients outdoor celebrations and events really special.

We’ve recently catered for a Christening for Ptarmigan at her home and as you will see from the photos we made use of both the indoor and outdoor space and it was certainly a very special day for family and friends.  Her parents were delighted as the quote below shows.

"Thank you for making Ptarmigan's christening incredible. Everything about your service was fantastic and we are so grateful."

So as we gear up to the summer season and the celebrations begin, we thought we would share some of our top tips to consider when organising an event outside.

1.    Send paper invitations.
In today’s world paper invitations, especially if they drop through your letter box with a brightly covered envelope, are a rarity and a very special treat and surprise.  So why not make your event special at the outset and send a personalised invitation through the post.  It will not only create the sense of occasion and inform your guests, but use this also to find out about any special dietary requirements, it certainly helps in the planning. 

PS don’t forget to add an RSVP.

2.    Create different zones
If you have space at your home or venue, create different areas for your guests.  Often as you can see from the christening photos you can still use your dining room for serving the buffet whilst creating dining areas both inside and out for guests to enjoy their meal.  If you have the space is available it is also good to have a separate area to serve drinks, this avoids congestion and creates an easy flow for your guests throughout the event.

3.    Offer a signature drink
Why not offer your guests a special cocktail on arrival or introduce them to drinks from local producers such as Tempest Ale or Cuddy Bridge Apple Juice?  And make sure that you offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions.  You can even create your own unique ice-cubes, from being a little less ordinary to being something really special by adding edible flowers and herbs to them.

4.    Dress the part
It’s a celebration the ideal time to dress up and enjoy your event and ask your guests to join you too.  Or why not theme the event and ask guests to dress to a particular theme of your choice. 

This theme can then extend to the room and garden decoration and really in favour this year is fairy lights, lanterns and the rustic shabby chic theme especially for weddings and garden parties.  Naturally, you can also theme your food so that the menu served both fits with the event and the season, strawberries are a natural for garden parties in summertime.

5.    Have a backup plan
It is always good to have a backup plan in case the weather takes a turn for the worst.  As we said earlier, if the space permits, a good option to serve your food in the dining room but in addition it is also good to consider a Marquee, Gazebo or even the barn.

We love working with our clients on their special event to make the celebrations truly unique to you and summer is one of our favourite times of year.  If you are planning a special event this summer, or in fact at any time of the year, and would like support with the catering and even the organising, please do contact us and we would be happy to come to you and discuss your requirements.  We will work with you from start of the planning of your event right through to the end to ensure that your special occasion is a memorable one.  Hosting an outdoor event can be daunting but equally can create special memories that last long after summer fades.  

Justin Orde, The Orde Food Company