We review the events, activities and goings on behind the scenes in the first three months of the year at By Word of Mouth as we create and deliver luxury events, parties and weddings across London and throughout the UK.
January
By Word of Mouth enjoyed a spritely start to 2024, with plenty to keep the team fully occupied, engaged and inspired as we built the foundations for a busy year ahead.
The team headed off in various directions on company business: up to Scotland on a recce for a series of private events during the Open Golf in July, down to Dorset for a management team offsite, and over to Frankfurt where our buying team scoured the many halls of Ambiente for new presentation and service pieces.
Back in London, an exhilarating ice skating evening with industry friends at Somerset House and the annual BWoM winter party kept the festive season going just a little longer. At BWoM HQ, tastings for a range of exciting events later in the year reminded us that the brightness and elegance of the summer season was not that far away.
Events wise, the highlight this month was a gala dinner at magnificent Guildhall to celebrate Burns Night. The menu of haggis, neeps & tatties croquettas, loin of venison with pan fried mushrooms and a burnt whisky cream with caramelised oranges embodied all the traditional Scottish flavours. As always, some stylish BWoM touches added a modern twist to this celebration of the iconic Scottish poet.
Cementing our new partnership with Positive Planet and kickstarting a raft of sustainability initiatives, the team took part in a brilliant Carbon Literacy Workshop. A day of learning and activities educated and inspired us all to make changes to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment. We are looking forward to implementing our carbon pledges as we continue our journey towards net zero.
February
We tasted the spring summer canape menus together as a team. Anyone who has ever worked for By Word of Mouth knows that the seasonal canape tastings are legendary – a chance to taste and get to know every single one of the next season’s canapes. Looking at the trays and trays of beautiful bites laid out across the kitchen benches, it was hard to remember that it was February and not June, such was the vibrancy of the colours, the delicacy of the garnishes, and the spring summer flavours – bold and beautiful.
February wouldn’t be February without the iconic BWoM Chef’s Table Dinner, which took place amidst the kitchen equipment and was our biggest yet. Sheer elegance was achieved with an exquisite menu from the BWoM chefs, and a stunning dining table for over 40 guests placed at the centre of our kitchens. Sarah Calcutt, CEO of our charity partner, City Harvest London, spoke about its activities redistributing food surplus to community projects across London. In a couple of short minutes, she astounded our guests with stats outlining the scale of food poverty in the UK and the great impact of every pound donated via our charity canapes.
The events diary geared up another notch with events at a variety of notable venues including The Courtauld, Banqueting House, Whitehall, and the Wallace Collection. From the stylish simplicity of dinner at one, long table to the relaxed sociability of a canape reception, February’s events were a beautiful mix of formats and settings, showing the range and breadth of luxury events that can be achieved when working with By Word of Mouth.
March
March kicked off with our hosting a Carbon Awareness Workshop for our venue partners. We welcomed back Andrea from Positive Planet to guide our venue colleagues through the information she shared with us at the beginning of the year and it was inspiring to see how our industry is so aligned in its vision to work more sustainably.
As the calendar nudges towards spring, the events diary starts to blossom along with the trees and this year was no different. One notable evening in March saw us creating large events at both The National Gallery and its neighbour, The National Portrait Gallery. Whilst the NPG’s Portrait Gala dinner for 320 guests was being delivered across all its beautiful galleries, next door at the National Gallery, the team had just 45 minutes to set up a creatively complex event that included three 20ft, oval food bars, a bespoke cocktail bar, lighting, sound, furniture, thousands of glasses and over 100 event staff. The BWoM team showed what meticulous prior planning and preparation can achieve as the event set up unfolded seamlessly and chic trays of chilled drinks lined up with military precision to welcome 350 guests, less than an hour after we had gained access to the event spaces.
Easter is a time when we like to deliver treats to our venue partners and our pastry chefs demonstrated their impressive chocolate skills, hand crafting a gilded chocolate Easter egg, adorned with sugar daisies and tiny golden bumblebees. Getting out and about, visiting some of the most prestigious buildings in London, is a reminder of how lucky we are to work in so many astounding spaces, so many of which we will be spending a lot of time in over the coming months.
Looking Forward
In our next episode, we will talk about the new season’s menus, show you our very own herb crops, introduce new members of the team and offer more insights into how we put together the UK’s best parties and events. Stay tuned!