Your safety is our top priority. All of our venues are COVID-safe. For more information about what we're doing, take a look at our COVID Secure Standards and our COVID-19 FAQs.
Keeping your business moving and growing is as important to us as it is to you. We recognise that important decisions and deals still need to be made, working relationships need to be strengthened and new ways of working need to be found. Our COVID-safe venues provide a place for you to do all of this in a secure way.
Although our venues will have different safety processes in place, the quality of your experience won’t be changed. You can rely on our venues for award-winning catering, cutting-edge AV and expert teams to ensure your event runs smoothly.
What are we doing to make sure all our venues are COVID-secure?
- All guests and staff are wearing face coverings and PPE.
- Hand sanitiser stations can be found across the venues.
- Social distancing is easy, as we will work your venue to ensure it is COVID-safe.
- Signage to help guests keep their distance.
- Changes to food service, including contactless and grab-and-go options.
More information is available on our COVID-secure FAQ page.
Reliable Receptions
Be it the beginning of an evening event or the end of a productive business meeting, a reception allows casual networking, conversation and informal business to be done. These events are sometimes under-appreciated as the calm before the major event storm but they work in so many different ways for the event planner, and are a crucial aspect of the total event experience.
The evening reception is all about space and time; it could be champagne and Pimms on the lawns of Hatfield House or Hever Castle, or bowl food and wines within the inspirational settings of Aston Villa Stadium or Twickenham Stadium, these events are popular with organisers and their clients alike. But why?
First of all, they allow the event to start in its own time, find its own pace, and act as an elegant prelude to what is to come. They also allow an event to wind down; an evening reception following a full day of business allows for relaxation, a reward and a rest bite for the delegation. On a logistical note, maybe it offers the event team their own chance to turn a room around.
Creating an Experience
At Lime Venue Portfolio, we talk about creating experiences. We’re well placed to do so as well. Our contribution to an event can be both the venue and the food and wine. However it is the event planner that really understands how experiences are made; and no more so than through a reception style event.
Great event planners don’t just organise events, they curate experiences for their delegates that will be inspiring and memorable. They understand that while guests come for content, networking, fine food and excellent wine, they leave with an experience they will remember. A reception is usually part of a wider event but needs to be created as a one off set piece as well.
Summer or Winter
Summer drinks receptions can be amazing; the right mixture of venue, fine dining, a smartly dressed delegation, croquet on the lawn, or the chance to play casual games, can all set a delightful tone. Food can be created that underlines this elegant tone; smart, fresh canapés, light cordials, and seafood served over ice can all create theatre and add to the already stunning surroundings. Depending on the timing, the evening reception can catch the last of the day’s light, creating a passage between afternoon and late evening experience.
Equally a Christmas reception can provide a subtle start to proceedings, a chance for people to relax, put the day behind them, wind down from the company conference, and again provide a steady transition from business to pleasure. From the event organiser’s perceptive food can line the stomach, stop it grumbling and also soak up some of the early alcohol intake.
The surroundings of a unique venue can create conversation, the beauty and elegance of the Imperial War Museum North for instance, which provides views across the Quay to Media City, creates activity that can be taken in at the delegates own pace. For a sporty venue, the chance to enjoy the arresting ambiance of an iconic stadium can provide similar excitement and awe.
Equally receptions are a perfect way to wind down after a meeting. Business events are hard work on delegates; decisions have to be made, creativity is needed over long and intense periods, and the strain on individuals can be warring. Many receptions in unique venues take advantage of the opportunity to walk out of a business focused meeting room, and into a leisure or sporting themed environment. It allows the mind to switch down a gear, take stock and even give the subjects of the day time to resonate and settle. The reception can often be intellectually productive for the business meeting it follows.
Reception Respect
In the UK we have an outstanding events market, led by creative event organisers, but also a wide choice of unusual and unique venues. Event organisers are increasingly turning to historic, leisure or sporting venues to host their events because they set the tone so well, but also because they are run professionally and excel in the important aspects delivery. With Lime Venue Portfolio we can add expertise and flare with food and drink, adding zest and style to the meeting, complementing the objectives of the event organiser, delighting guests and setting the mood from the outset.
The unusual venue market is diverse and exciting, choice is in abundance and event organisers can choose the setting to send the message that they want their guests to enjoy. Its time to give the reception a little more respect, use it for the good of the wider event, or make it intimate and stylish in its own right.