Paella Wedding Catering for 120 Guests in Welwyn, Hertfordshire
Catering a wedding for 120 guests takes careful planning, plenty of preparation and, in our case, some very large paella pans!
This paella wedding catering booking in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, was particularly special because it began with a recommendation.
Maria first contacted me while planning her wedding. Her sister had previously attended an event where Your Paella had been catering and had told Maria all about us.
She loved the look of our traditional paella cart and setup, but most importantly, she told Maria how delicious the paellas had been.
There was just one problem.
Maria hadn’t been there to try them herself!
Maria has her own catering business and had been working on the day of that previous event. Now she was getting married herself, and she told me:
“I’m getting married and I want you to cater for my main wedding meal. I can’t wait to taste Your Paella!”
No pressure then!
Paella Wedding Catering for 120 Guests
Maria wanted to offer her guests three different paellas for the main wedding meal.
We were catering for 120 people in total:
- 60 portions of Mixed Paella with Spanish chorizo sausage, chicken and mixed shellfish
- 50 portions of Meat Paella with Spanish chorizo sausage and chicken
- 10 portions of Vegetarian Paella
That meant three freshly cooked paellas and enough choice to suit the different preferences of Maria’s wedding guests.
Large weddings are exactly where our setup comes into its own. Our pans allow us to cook substantial quantities of paella at the venue while guests can see their main meal being prepared from scratch.
A Beautiful Marquee Wedding in Welwyn
The wedding was held at Maria’s sister’s home in Welwyn.
A large marquee had been erected in the garden and beautifully decorated for the wedding reception. Inside were the tables where all 120 guests would later sit down for the meal and continue the celebrations.
Originally, Maria wanted us to cook in the garden too.
However, once we looked at the available space, it became clear that our 3m x 3m catering canopy and full paella cart setup would take up too much of the garden.
Fortunately, there was a field immediately behind it.
It was ideal.
We had plenty of room in the field for the cart, pans and cooking equipment without taking valuable space away from the wedding itself.
There was easy access between us and the marquee, so the arrangement worked extremely well.
It’s a good example of why a little flexibility can make such a difference when providing outdoor wedding catering. Every venue is different, particularly when a wedding is taking place at a private home.
Cooking Three Huge Paellas From Scratch
With everything set up, it was time to start cooking.
Preparing paella for 120 people isn’t simply a case of making a normal paella bigger. There are a lot of ingredients to prepare, and the timing of each stage matters when you’re working with pans of this size.
Everything is cooked at the event, allowing the flavours to develop in the pans before the rice and final ingredients are added.
For guests, it also means their wedding meal hasn’t simply arrived at the venue in catering containers.
They can see it being cooked.
And when three huge pans are bubbling away at the same time, it’s quite a sight!
Working Alongside Maria’s Catering Team
This wedding was slightly different because Your Paella wasn’t providing every part of the meal.
Maria has her own catering business, and her team were preparing canapé trays for the wedding tables.
Our responsibility was the main course: the three paellas.
We’re completely happy working this way.
Some couples ask us to take care of the paella while they arrange their own starters, desserts or other food. At other events, we work alongside another caterer.
As long as everyone knows how the service will operate, it can work extremely well.
And at Maria’s wedding, it did.
From Our Paella Cart Straight to the Wedding Tables
Normally, many guests enjoy coming directly to our paella cart to be served.
There was easy access from the marquee to our setup, so we could certainly have done that at this wedding.
But there was no need.
Maria’s catering staff came out to us with serving trays. We portioned the freshly cooked paella onto the trays before the team carried them into the marquee and served the guests at their tables.
It gave Maria the style of table service she wanted while allowing us to concentrate on producing the main meal.
The two catering teams simply worked together.
Everything ran smoothly and, importantly for a wedding, everything went out on time.
Outdoor Wedding Catering Without Needing Electricity
The field itself was very well equipped for a large wedding.
There was a luxury portable toilet facility and a large generator supplying electricity for the event.
We didn’t need the generator for cooking.
Our large paella burners run on gas, which gives us considerable flexibility when catering at outdoor locations.
Gardens, marquees, fields and unusual wedding venues can all present different challenges. Being able to cook without relying on a large electrical supply makes our setup particularly well suited to this type of wedding.
Mixed, Meat and Vegetarian Paella
As the paellas developed, the three different choices began to come together.
The biggest was Maria’s Mixed Paella, combining Spanish chorizo sausage and chicken with mixed shellfish.
Alongside it we cooked the Meat Paella with Spanish chorizo sausage and chicken, plus a separate Vegetarian Paella.
The three pans gave Maria’s guests plenty of choice while still allowing everyone to enjoy the same style of freshly cooked main meal.
And Then the 5-Star Reviews Arrived…
Once all 120 wedding guests had been served, there was still enough paella for members of Maria’s catering team to enjoy some themselves.
The feedback afterwards was fantastic. Wedding guest Jordan described the paella as “absolutely stunning”, while Logan praised the team for being friendly and attentive and said the food was “hot and fresh.”
Both left Your Paella 5-star Google reviews following the wedding.
Feedback like this is always lovely to receive, but it’s particularly special when it comes directly from the people we’ve just catered for.
Finally, Maria Got to Taste Your Paella
Of course, there was still one person’s verdict I was waiting for.
Maria’s.
She had originally booked Your Paella because of what her sister had told her about another event.
Until her wedding day, she’d never actually tasted our paella herself.
At the end of the meal, Maria came over to see us.
She told us how pleased she was with everything and that her guests had been telling her how delicious the paella was.
After first hearing about Your Paella through her sister, Maria had finally been able to experience it for herself – at her own wedding.
I think that’s a lovely way for the story to come full circle.
Perfect Weather, Happy Guests and a Job Done
We couldn’t have asked for better weather.
The three paellas were cooked, all 120 guests had been served on time, the catering teams had worked together seamlessly and Maria was happy.
Our part in the wedding was complete.
That’s also when we try to disappear quietly!
We packed away the pans, cooking equipment, canopy and paella cart and left Maria, her family and friends to enjoy the rest of their celebration.
Another wedding successfully catered for – and this one started simply because a sister had enjoyed Your Paella at another event and recommended us.
You can’t ask for much better than that.
Planning Paella Wedding Catering?
Every wedding is different.
You might want your guests to come to our paella cart and be served directly from the pans. You might prefer table service like Maria chose. Perhaps you’ve already arranged canapés or desserts and simply want Your Paella to provide the main wedding meal.
That’s absolutely fine.
We can work with the plans you already have and discuss the best way to provide paella wedding catering at your venue.
Whether you’re planning a garden wedding, marquee wedding or a celebration for 120 guests or more, we’ll cook your paellas fresh at the venue and make our service fit around your day.
Planning your wedding? Contact Your Paella and tell us what you have in mind.
