We cannot thank the team at the Sail Loft enough for the best day of our lives!
Well, where to start! Honestly, we don’t know where or how to! And won’t be able to write everything here! Because it’s so difficult to put into words how absolutely phenomenal Tom, Emma and the team at the Sail Loft made our wedding day! We truly had the best day of our lives! And have never been happier! And that’s down to the team and the venue itself (as well as getting married of course!)!
The pub is in an amazing location – right on the river (and the best side – the South ;-p ) - so the views are brilliant! We were so lucky that it was such a beautiful day – blue skies and sunshine - so the whole front of the pub was open, and our guests were able to mingle outside and enjoy canapés and drinks at the reception, after the meal and into the evening. It also meant that we were able to do a confetti throw, which was great fun! We even had our friends sing to the guests out on the river path! The fact that Tom came to us with this suggestion says it all – we hadn’t even thought about how no one would be inside for the performance - but the team were so aware of, alert to and across everything throughout the whole venue at all times, that they pre-empted, adapted to and managed any situation, to ensure that we had everything as we wanted. We didn’t have to think of anything ourselves!
The actual pub itself is the perfect layout! We had the whole pub to ourselves, which meant that the day flowed smoothly – our ceremony and reception were downstairs, the meal upstairs, then the party back downstairs. The band and dancefloor were one end and evening food the other. One of our priorities was the music and dancing, and this was indeed exactly what we’d hoped for! There’s a fantastic sound system and mics etc for speeches and an MC. Tom and Emma dj-ed our playlists superbly – no mean feat – it really felt like one big ol’ partay (how we repeatedly – sorry! – described what we’d like from the beginning!)! It all worked perfectly! And the décor of the pub is fabulous, so we didn’t need – or want - much extra decoration.
But what really made our wedding was the team. Tom was an absolute legend from the moment we met him, and Emma, an absolute superstar! I don’t think it’s ever been so easy, relaxed and fun to organise an event – not to mention that it was our wedding! They were there always, whether via email, phone, in meetings or on the day itself – we didn’t have to follow up or chase once – they were so on the ball, hardworking, communicative and efficient. There weren’t any problems the whole way through! They listened to what we hoped for on our day, really heard us, understood, didn’t judge, advised as necessary, and then made it happen – and seemed genuinely happy in doing so! It was honestly exactly how we’d envisaged – right down to the very last detail (sorry for going on so much about the Port/Limoncello toast haha!)! Their attention to detail was second to none – you could really tell they wanted everything to be of the highest standard – and it was!
The service from everyone on the team was remarkable – everyone was so attentive, helpful and friendly - my Dad couldn’t get over how outstanding it all was! And the food – the food!! It was absolutely superb! So delicious! And no one went short – something we really wanted to ensure. All our guests have said how excellent the food was – and how well the team did. Those scotch eggs in the canapés were immense! We also thoroughly enjoyed the food tasting which took place ahead of the day itself – everything exceeded our expectations and gave us even more encouragement, confidence and excitement for what was to come! We fully trusted the team and never had any worries about anything!
I could continue to write all day, but to sum it up (!), we were completely blown away by our experience at the Sail Loft! From little details, such as being asked if we wanted our celebratory glass of bubbles during or after our ceremony, or before, during or after our confetti throw (a detail we hadn’t even thought of; we didn’t even expect to be offered it like this, since it was a pub wedding!), to the execution of the whole day and the night, you could tell that Tom, Emma and everyone just wanted us to have the exact wedding we wanted. We still can’t get over it all (in the best kind of way!)! And that’s what’s key – you can have a casual, chilled, fun pub wedding, with every aspect to the highest level!
Tom and Emma, you are wonderful people – so lovely, so personable, so patient, so kind, so funny, so skilled, so incredible at your jobs! We’re unbelievably grateful to you and the team for everything you’ve done for us – all your time, effort, energy, enthusiasm… everything! We truly feel so lucky to have found this pub and you all. You gave us the most magical day of our lives and we really don’t know how to thank you. If we could, we’d do it all again in a heartbeat! So here’s to you – sláinte – thank you! x