This year our London Mix & Mingle event was held at The Balcony Room at The Swan at The Globe and was organised by members Holly of Pretty Please Events, Rachael of Serendipity Weddings and Katrina Otter of Katrina Otter Weddings & Events

After last year’s stunning London social on the river, the mantel was passed to the three of us to ensure we could put on something even more spectacular.

We set the scene on dry land for this year’s social, at The Swan Restaurant at Shakespeare’s Globe. Their Balcony Room provided the perfect setting, a versatile and bright events space with stunning views of St Paul’s and the River Thames.  The team at The Swan were an absolute delight to work with and went above and beyond to assist us with our plans.

Guests were handed a special glass of ‘elderbubbles’ as they arrived into the room, all decked out in fuchsia and gold. We decided on a palette of bold pinks, splashes of bright orange, and fun sequins – a warm atmosphere on a cool September night.

Gold sequin tablecloths from Pudding Bridge adorned the poseur tables, topped with gorgeous floral arrangements from Gingerlily Flowers.

We had a Wall of Fame pinboard, photos of all the weddings our fellow members were proud to plan over the the last year, framed by more florals and foliage from Gingerlily.

Vowed and Amazed were kind enough to showcase some of their light props at the event – a giant ‘love’ sign and a giant star to give the room some glamour.

Musical accompaniment was provided by Louise & Ben from One Foot in the Groove who performed two fabulous acoustic sets throughout the evening.

Say Fromage were on site with their amazing new gif booth – one of the latest in their range of photobooths. And to make sure we looked our best for the photos? Make-up artist Sarah Stacey was on hand for touch ups and make up tips.

Talented designer Gemma Milly not only provided some very classy calligraphy name badges, but she was also kind enough to run two custom calligraphy mini-masterclass sessions with some of our groups at the event.

One of the biggest hits of the night had to be for the taste buds. From the artisanal cheeses and roast gammon, pork pies and Borough market breads, to the stunning display of desserts, The Swan really did put on a show with their food. Dry ice and a sweet buffet? We think so.

For us, the highlight of this had to be their dry ice dessert table that was stacked full of delicious bite sized desserts and sweet treats including petit éclair au chocolates, mini scones, macaroons, rocky road bites, butter cream cupcakes and meringue pies.

Guests took away a gift bag which contained: gourmet popcorn, chocolate cupcakes by Bliss Bespoke (beautifully packaged by Wrapsody), customised teabags from Victoria Mae Designs, seed packets from Wildflower Favours, perfume samples from Boxdelux and gift vouchers from beauty therapist Theresa MacLeod and The Perfect Cellar.

Mark from Hang the Moon also captured a wonderful short film of the event which you can view here.

Fabulous photos were taken throughout the night by the talented Laura Babb, massive thanks to her for recording the festivities.

Thank you so much to all who attended and helped put this wonderful event together. We had an amazing time and we hope you’ll join the UKAWP for next year’s London social!

© Babb Photo 2013 – www.babbphoto.com