Eve of Wedding Paella Party
Pre-Wedding Party Catering at The Manners Arms, Knipton.
Pre-wedding party catering can be a wonderful way to bring friends and family together before the big day, especially when guests have travelled a long way to attend the wedding.
On Friday 14th August, Your Paella travelled to The Manners Arms at Knipton, near Grantham, to provide pre-wedding party catering for a wonderfully relaxed gathering of 60 guests.
The bride-to-be was American and the groom-to-be British. With many of her family and friends making the journey from the United States to England for the wedding, the couple decided to organise a special gathering the evening before their big day.
It gave everyone a chance to meet, catch up, enjoy some food and spend time together before the wedding itself.
And for an informal occasion like this, paella catering fitted like a glove.
A Clever Solution for Bringing Wedding Guests Together.
Finding somewhere suitable for a large group of wedding guests isn’t always easy.
The bride-to-be told me that she had originally looked at Airbnbs for family and friends travelling to England, but cost and availability were proving to be a problem.
Then she discovered The Manners Arms at Knipton.
Although it wasn’t somewhere she had initially found advertised specifically for this kind of private gathering, she managed to secure the property for the event and for a little beyond, giving some of the wedding party somewhere to stay as well.
It turned out to be a fantastic find.
The beautiful former pub has 10 bedrooms, plenty of room inside and out and lots of parking. For me as the caterer, access couldn’t have been much easier. There was plenty of space to get the equipment in, set up the paella pans and get cooking.
Pre-Wedding Party Catering for 60 Guests.
One of the things you quickly learn as an outside caterer is just how much difference good access can make.
Some events involve narrow gateways, long walks with equipment or trying to find a level cooking area in a small garden.
This one was the opposite.
There was plenty of parking and excellent access, so getting the Your Paella equipment into position and preparing for service was straightforward.
Once everything was set up, I could get on with what I enjoy doing most, cooking.
Two Freshly Cooked Paellas.
For the 60 guests I prepared two different paellas.
The main pan provided 50 portions of Mixed Paella, made with Spanish chorizo, chicken and mixed shellfish.
Alongside it I cooked 10 portions of Vegan Paella, giving guests who didn’t eat meat, fish or shellfish their own freshly prepared option.
Both were cooked from scratch at the venue in our large traditional paella pans.
One reason I think paella works particularly well for occasions like this is that the cooking itself becomes part of the gathering.
People wander over to see what’s cooking, ask questions, have a chat and watch the pans gradually come together.
There’s no need to disappear into a kitchen and then suddenly reappear with dinner.
The guests can see it all happening.
Why Paella Works So Well for a Pre-Wedding Party.
The atmosphere throughout the evening was exactly what you would hope for from relaxed pre-wedding party catering like this.
It wasn’t the wedding itself, so there wasn’t the pressure or formality that inevitably comes with the big day.
People could relax.
Friends and relatives who had travelled a long way could meet one another, everyone could have a drink and a chat, and the two sides of the family could spend an evening together before the wedding celebrations really began.
“You’d Sell Loads of This in Texas!”
Once the paella was ready, it was time to serve.
And I received one of my favourite compliments of the evening from the bride-to-be’s brother.
He told me that I’m welcome in Texas anytime and that if I ever set up shop there, I’d sell loads of Your Paella every day because it was so delicious.
I’ll take that!
I’ve cooked paella at events all over Britain over the years, but perhaps Your Paella Texas needs to be added to the business plan!
Trying Something New, And Getting Four 5-Star Google Reviews.
I also took something new along with me to this event.
I’d recently got hold of a review stand from Just Tap Review, which makes it incredibly easy for customers to leave a Google review.
Instead of asking someone to search Google for your business, find your listing and then work out where to leave a review, they simply tap their phone against the stand and they’re taken straight to the review page.
There’s also a QR code for anyone who prefers to scan it.
I decided this event would be the perfect opportunity to put it to the test.
And then I discovered a particularly effective way of using it.
When somebody came back for seconds, I’d say:
“Of course! Have you got your phone with you?”
That produced a few slightly puzzled expressions.
I’d then point to the review stand and ask them to give it a quick tap while I got their second helping ready.
It worked brilliantly.
By the end of the event I’d received four new 5-star Google reviews.
For any business that depends on customer reviews, it’s a great little bit of kit because it removes most of the effort involved in asking a happy customer to leave one.
If you’d like to see how it works, take a look at Just Tap Review.
And Then Every Phone Started Going Off!
There was one other memorable moment that absolutely nobody at the gathering had planned.
Members of the group had gathered together ready to hear some speeches when suddenly…
phones started going off everywhere.
At almost exactly the same time, that unmistakable emergency alert sound began coming from phones throughout the gathering.
At 7:01pm on Friday 14th August 2026, the UK Government had sent an Emergency Alert across England and Wales warning people about the very high national risk of wildfires following the exceptionally hot and dry conditions.
So there we were, everyone gathering for the speeches on the eve of a wedding, and suddenly phones all around us were sounding an emergency warning!
Thankfully, it happened the evening before the wedding rather than halfway through the ceremony.
I just hope the bride and groom didn’t have any similar surprises waiting for them on the big day!
Why Choose Paella for Pre-Wedding Party Catering?
This event showed just how well pre-wedding party catering can work when friends and family have travelled a long way to be together before the wedding day.
It doesn’t need to become another formal wedding reception.
In fact, I’d argue that keeping it simple is part of what makes it work.
Find somewhere everyone can get together, provide plenty of good food and allow people to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
For this British-American wedding party, having everyone together at The Manners Arms with two enormous pans of freshly cooked paella turned out to be a fantastic combination.
And judging by the second helpings, four new 5-star reviews and an invitation to take Your Paella all the way to Texas, I think the food went down rather well too!
Planning a Pre-Wedding Gathering of Your Own?
If you have family and friends travelling for your wedding, getting everyone together the evening before can be a wonderful way to start the celebrations.
Your Paella provides freshly cooked paella catering for weddings, pre-wedding parties and private events throughout the UK.
We cook fresh at your venue in our traditional large paella pans, providing both fantastic food and a little bit of cooking theatre for your guests to enjoy.
We can cater for different dietary requirements and offer a range of paellas and Spanish-inspired extras to suit your event.
Whether you’re planning the wedding breakfast itself, evening wedding food or simply a relaxed get-together the night before, we’d love to hear what you’re planning.
Planning a wedding or pre-wedding celebration? Contact Your Paella today and request a quote.
