Client Case Study: Making a Mandap: Ronjon and Shruti - Boreham House

Above: Our magical day at Boreham House with Ronjon and Shruti

January - First Contact

Ronjon's family contacted us in early 2024, they had booked Boreham house as their venue and were looking for a catering package that would satisfy the needs of both Bride and Groom who hailed from different parts of India, Assam and Gujarat.

We provided them with a quote based on their initial requirements and expanded upon a few things which we thought would elevate their experience.

April - Food Tasting

Our Food tasting session with Ronjon and Shruti's family did not take place until April, we were in the middle of a relocation to our new unit at Kemp Road and Ronnie's family were away in India. The food tasting day went well with both sides expressing their satisfaction with the food, a preliminary menu was chosen. Shruti, noticing one of our centrepieces was surprised to learn we provide Decor, we agreed to run through a few ideas at a later date.

April - Booking Confirmation and Decor Discussions

Shortly after our food tasting session Ronjon's mother messaged to confirm she wished to proceed with us as the caterer for the event. Meanwhile, Ronnie and Shruti contacted me regarding decor and arranged a video call. We ran through various ideas, mandap designs and colour schemes. We settled on Pastel Pink for the morning floral theme, and navy blue for the evening.

Early July - Second Décor Consultation

I visited Ronjon and Shruti's flat with my trusty laptop and notebook in early July. I was treated to plenty of home made desserts and a steady stream of drinks. Shruti and I had both been doing our research and had a better understanding of one another. We explored mandap designs and delved into the plans for the evening reception. It was during this conversation Shruti mentioned her Mendhi a couple days prior to her wedding - with my mind preoccupied I lackadaisically agreed, Mendhi's are not too tricky, "It won't be a bespoke stage, but it will be nice, yeah I'll do it, don't worry." Shruti appeared happy.

A sketch of the Mandap design with florals.

Above: The various stages of the design process, rough sketches attempting to incorporate Shruti's ideas, notably the canopy and extended backdrop beyond the four poster mandap.

Late July - Site Visit, Boreham House

We visited Boreham House, I had been there many years prior and memory of the Venue had slipped from my mind. We walked through the various paths and alleyways which connected one building to another. With Ronjon, Shruti and their very competent wedding coordinators we mapped out a floor plan for the ceremony in the morning and a rough layout for the hall in the evening. We also learned a little bit about the timings for the day - things we tight, as it stood we would only have access in the morning from 7:00am, with the ceremony to start at 9:30am. Another complicating factor was the distance of the car park to the marquee, through a series of tight tunnels - we knew transporting equipment would prove a challenge, and to build a bespoke mandap in that time - A real challenge.

Early October

We got to work designing and building the mandap to meet Shruti's vision. We spoke to Boreham House who told us we were welcome to set up the day prior as the venue was empty. It was around this point I realised in my carelessness I had not registered Shruti's Mendhi would be in Leicester! October was one of our busiest months of the year with events almost every day, a trip to Leicester was not on my radar, but regardless, a promise was made so it had to be kept.

Above: A nice first ever trip to Leicester. Right: Shruti and her soon-to-be family partaking in a traditional Assami ceremony where the incoming Bride is gifted presents by the female members of her new family.

Mid October

Days prior to the big day we received some mildly disappointing news - Boreham House had rescinded their offer to let us come in early, they told us they had booked a last minute event. I had a conversation with Shruti and reassured her, we would find a way - the venue would be ready for 9:30am.

Event Day: Morning

We arrived at Boreham House with a team of 10 focused solely on Decor, we managed to complete the mandap, chair arrangement and walkway at 09:28am which is when the pictures below were taken. Two months after the event I can not quite believe we managed to complete the set up in that time frame...

The Priest prepared for the ceremony, the Bride and Groom made their entrances shortly after. The Ceremony took place, meanwhile the team and I went to the local Costa to debrief, refresh ourselves and prepare for the evening.

Above: Photos from the morning ceremony.

Event Day: Afternoon

The remainder of our 35 man (and woman) catering team arrived at 13:30pm, we rearranged the venue, took down the mandap and repositioned the stage platform beside the DJ's station. The venue was unrecognisable.

Above: Photos from the reception prior to guest arrival.

Event Day: Evening

Canapes started going out into the Grounds and accompanying Henry VIII suite, in the meantime the reception hall was complete, guests were treated to an entirely different orientation and floral theme. Guests flooded in and soon after speeches were underway, I was honoured to get a mention!

Packing Up and Going Home

Past 11pm the event came to a close, we packed away and trudged all our Decor, Stage Platforms and now catering equipment back up the 50 metre walk to where our vans were parked. Off all the events we did this year, Boreham House was certainly the most challenging physically and mentally. We learned so many lessons from this one single event and had to expand our catering and Décor inventory significantly to meet the demands set upon us.

Feedback and Reflections

I was invited back to Ronjon and Shruti's home months later for some more dessert and coffee, I guess there's a first time for everything. Ronjon, Shruti and their parents' faith in our business (alongside the seemingly impossible demands they placed upon us) really did mean they became more than just "Clients" - they transcended that, collectively. I'm not poetic enough (or brave enough) to define what exactly that is, but let's just say, they'll be invited to my own wedding when it does eventually happen.

Above: A collection of Feedback from our clients for this event.