The sun might be retreating and the nights might be drawing in, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun. But if your idea of a fun night is witty banter, and catching up with old friends and family you might feel that the traditional house party isn’t for you. If you don’t drink or want to support a partner or friend who is teetotal, a more sedate occasion like a dinner party might seem like a better option than a traditional house party… but that would involve chaining you to the oven when you could be mixing with friends and loved ones. 
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The truth is that you can have an incredibly fun and lively party with nary a drop of alcohol served. You don’t need to worry about how your friends will react. They’ll come to see you, not to get squiffy! Besides, you can pull out all the stops to show them that you don’t have to drink to have a fun and memorable party…

Prepare guests

Just so everyone knows what to expect, it’s a good idea to remind guests beforehand that they will be attending a dry party. They might want to go for a drink or two beforehand and that’ll be their prerogative. Just so long as they know that while you won’t be serving booze you’ll be serving up a whole lot of fun.

Get some help in the form of dry bar hire

There’s an infinite number of taste combinations that can be unlocked in the form of delicious and refreshing drinks without the need to add alcohol to the equation. But rather than experiment with different combinations of libations yourself and risk things going horribly, horribly wrong, why not consider a Dry Bar Hire? You can choose a variety of different styles to suit the theme and tone of your party and with a flexible choice of staffing, you’ll have a skilled professional on hand to keep your guests refreshed and entertained. 

Play games

Alcohol can fill the void when there’s nothing to do. The more tiddly people are, the less inclined they are to restlessness or boredom. But if you have an itinerary of fun games to play, this will ease conversation and social interaction in a much more meaningful way than alcohol consumption. 

No matter what kind of crowd you’ll be entertaining there are always a fun range of games to play together whether you want to yuk it up with a game of Cards Against Humanity or break out the Twister mat.

Don’t be stingy with the snacks

When your palate isn’t numbed by alcohol, everything tastes better! Make sure that you capitalise on this by serving up a great selection of snacks and finger foods to delight your guests. You can go as high or low end as you like, but try and make sure everyone has something tasty to snack on, even if it’s just a mini pizza bagel.
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Take lots of pictures

Finally, be sure to take lots of snaps of the fun. Showcase the tasty food and delectable drinks and all those happy, smiling faces. Hopefully when you post them online you’ll show people that they can have a great time without drinking. 

For one of this years Halloween gatherings at our Home in Spain, I created a really simple and pretty (because I only DO pretty) pastel with black and gold, tablescape for a few of the girls who were coming around for the evening. 

I grouped together pumpkins in various sizes and shades to create a centre piece. The Pumpkins are from various stores. The large gold ones are from Tk Maxx, Whilst the smaller ones are from Amazon and spray painted in chalky spray paint in various pastel shades. 

Although this tablescape is not too different from one I created last year (HERE) I'm pleased that I found a new way to use some things that I already own. Adding in the black accents not only creates a different feel but also makes it a little spookier. The addition of the velvet spiders also adds a little bit of interest. 

Isn't Halloween such a fun holiday!?

Belle 
​Xx 

So the final part of of Our Wedding in Provence is here (for Part 1 and 2 here) and I really hope you've enjoyed following along as much as iv enjoyed a trip down memory lane sharing it with you. 

I think my favourite part of the day (which as everyone will tell you, goes by in seconds) was after the ceremony and cocktails. Tony and I snook off with our photographer for some wedding portraits just as golden hour started to hit. Id read lots of comments on line and heard many options on this, mainly saying not to do it and to instead spend the time with guests but for me this was one of the best decisions we made.
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It gave us some much appreciated alone time together in what is a whirlwind of a day. It really helped that our wedding photographer Ian was very discrete, and really made us feel comfortable. He was also hilarious which was a lovely and very welcome bonus.  Now not only do we have the memories of our stolen time together but we have the most beautiful portraits that will stay with us forever. ​

And the best thing about it was that it felt like a lovely and magical moment together reflecting on such a special day. ​

The Chateau was surrounded by the most gorgeous grounds perfect for some beautiful images and I loved that we were able to create some really provincial inspired shots that I'll cherish forever. 

After our stolen moment we joined that rest of the guests for Dinner in the courtyard. The tables were mildly inspired by my favourite movie Marie Antionette. Very delicate, feminine and patisserie inspired. 

We tried to add in as many thoughtful touches as we could. Fans for guests to keep them cool when it was hot, pashminas for the ladies for when the sun went down. I found that Etsy was a fantastic website for sourcing unique and original gifts and accessories for the wedding  
For My bridesmaid, along with the gifts I gave to them in the earlier post, I gave them  love heartnecklaces from Tiffany. 

We dressed the fountain in the courtyard with floating floral arrangements, rose petals and candles. 

We made our own escort cards using dried lavender purchased on a previous trip to Provence. 

In keeping with French tradition, we were presented with our wedding cake and its one my favourite memory's to date with its twinkling sparkler glittering away as it made its way towards us. Our wedding cake's were made by Laduree, and the main cake was aptly names the Marie Antoinette cake... which as Iv mentioned was a big inspiration of the wedding. We also had a traditional french cake called a croquembouche which is a tower of choux pastry puffs piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel flavoured with Orange Blossom, Rose along with a macaron tower and the most beautiful individual petit fours 

We found that Laduree candles were such a good candle to burn as they come in patisserie fragrances... making them perfect for the desert table. For guest favours, we gave individual box's of macarons to take away.  

After our first dance, we were treated to a performance from one of our friends which was another highlight of the evening and so lovely to incorporate our friends into our wedding. 

We finished the evening with a sparkler send off against the backdrop of the chateau and it was the perfect way to finish the most perfect day. 

Thank you so much for following along, let me know if you enjoyed these posts in the comments below

Belle 
Xx

My Dress - Vera Wang 
Shoes - Christian Louboutin
Jewellery - Jenny Packham
Bridal lingerie - Agent Provocateur
Venue - Chateau de Massillan
Photographer - Ian holmes 
Cinematographer - MG Image
Flowers - Atouts Fleurs