Help & Advice
Please find below a few handy hints that we feel may help you in organising your event, if you can think of any others to add to the list please feel free to email them to Emma by using our contact form.
For a seated dining function you should allow floor space of just over one square metre per person. This is the minimum you should allow and only allows space for the dining area. To this you will need to add space for dancing, buffet tables, a bar, a band, entrance ways and a catering area to name a few. For larger events it is not uncommon to require at least two square metres per guest.
For a more casual event where some or all of the guests will be standing it is quite possible to reduce your space ratio down to half a square metre per person.
A dance floor is a real must for most events, to order the right size for your guest list - see our Dance Floor page. The general rule of thumb is that only 50% of people will dance at one time, and you can fit 2 people to one segment of dancefloor eg in a reception of 100 people only 50 will dance, so you will therefore need 25 sections of dancefloor.
Tables are available in round, rectangular and square and come in a number of sizes. The number of guests that can be seated will depend on your place settings and the size of the crockery that you choose. See our Furniture page for more information on tables.
Having enough glasses is vital. If you are setting your table with glasses it is easy to work out the right number but always allow a few extra as spares. For cocktail functions or Pre-Dinner drinks it is a bit more complex. On average allow 2 drinks per person for the first hour and around 1 for every hour after that. This means that for a 3-hour cocktail party for 100 guests you will serve around 400 drinks. How many glasses you require will depend on how many you are prepared to wash during the function, what drinks you are serving and will you be using glasses to serve beer. See our Glassware & Crystal page for more information on glasses.
Crockery - our teacups stack neatly into each other and the 7 ounce teacup itself is quite squat. The coffee cup is a demitasse which means that it is a small coffee cup and only holds approx 4 ounces, thereby making it only suitable for coffee. The 10” dinner plate is as its name implies for the serving of the main dinner course, although again, it is also used for the serving of the dessert, and can also be used for the hors-d’oeuvre course. See our Crockery page for more information.
The 10” dinner plate is as its name implies for the serving of the main dinner course, although again, it is also used for the serving of the dessert, and can also be used for the hors-d’oeuvre course. See our Crockery page for more information. The 10” dinner plate is also used as a liner underneath the soup plate. The soup plate is approximately 9”. The 8.5” buffet plate is used for the presentation of fish dishes and is popular for use at buffet tables. The 8” plate is used for the serving of desserts. The 6” plate is primarily used at the side of a set table to house the roll and/or butter. The sweet dish is used for dessert as well as peanuts etc.
If you are hiring a Deep Fat Fryer or are using one of your own in a temporary kitchen,it is strongly advised that you have a 'F' Class Fire Extinguisher to protect this risk. Most Insurers insist that this type of extinguisher is provided and part of your fire Safety provision. See our Fire page for more information.
To assist us in planning the next stage of your event, please contact us for the best advice and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
