Page 19 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

Campervan Ruby, parked just off the gravel driveway to the front of the old sand-stone hall, was polished even more so than the glasses; buffed with care and pride to a deep and shiny chianti red. Her stage-light bulbs were aglow, and a pretty strand of ivory linen wedding bunting flapped lightly from the lifted hatch in the afternoon breeze. A small cut-glass jug of fresh ivory roses teamed with milky-green-leaved eucalyptus sat beside Jack’s treasured antique silver cocktail shakers, completing the classy look.

Both Jack and Lucy were delighted to be catering at this winter wedding. The ceremony and traditional wedding breakfast were taking place within the beautiful coastal hall, with its glorious views out over the bay. Jack had been thrilled to be asked to take on the bar facilities. And with some quick thinking after a request for canapés to accompany the welcome cocktails, he’d contacted Lucy, who’d come up with a great idea to give the welcome nibbles a Northumbrian–Italian twist.

Jack had also suggested that the wedding party might want to consider hiring a quirky-quaint horsebox pizzeria that could help with the evening catering too. And, that was that! The job was a good’un. They were becoming quite the team.

Jack glanced over at Lucy; dark hair piled up in a bun and full of focus as she put the final touches to her Italian-inspired platters of canapés. When she finally looked up, he gave her a steady smile and a thumbs up, mouthing, ‘Ready for the off?’ His heart couldn’t help but lift at her warm smile back.

Around them, the shrub-bordered gardens were clinging to their last leaves of late autumn bronze, and beyond that a grassy-green field rolled down to the coast. The view from the ‘bar’ was amazing, with grey-gold winter light settling over a silver-hued North Sea. They were near enough to smell the salt in the air, to hear the cry of a gull. Despite it being a touch chilly (he was glad of his thick tweed jacket beneath his apron), it was a stunning location. Jack was determined to do his utmost to ensure the wedding couple and their guests got the truly special day they deserved. Like every event since he started The Cocktail Campervan, he’d give it one hundred per cent, and he had a few special tricks up his sleeve for later, including some mixology magic with bespoke cocktails, plus his fun ‘Pimp the Prosecco’ hour. In fact, the two of them had plans to turn the evening into a pizza and prosecco extravaganza.

Lucy was feeling a little nervous about the event, but Jack’s broad grin and supportive thumbs up helped to calm her somewhat. Crickey, she glanced down at her watch, there were only five minutes left to go. She’d not made canapés professionally before, so this was a bit of a first, but when Jack had mentioned the couple’s request, it had seemed far too good an opportunity to miss. Her reputation might yet rest on it – eek.

And her head was still swimming about his New Zealand dreams. Or could they in fact be concrete plans? A punch of anxiety hit her. Argh, she just needed to focus on the here and now. It would all be fine, she told herself as she took a slow breath; she was well organised. Her platters had mostly been pre-prepared at home this morning, and just needed some last-minute assembling to ensure the crostini and bruschetta bases stayed crisp. She had basil-and-tomato bruschetta to serve, plus Northumbrian goat’s cheese and olive tapenade crispy toast bites. A trio of bite-sized mini pizza garlic breads were also ready to quickly bake off in the wood-fired oven: traditional garlic and herb butter, melted mozzarella cheese, and some with caramelised red onion.

Abby was with her too, thank goodness, the pair of them ready to waltz between the guests and offer little ivory napkins along with their bite-sized tasty snacks.

‘They look great, Luce,’ Abby commented, as she gazed down at the platters.

‘You think?’ Lucy was still in the clutch of her nerves.

‘Ye-ah, absolutely. My mouth is watering already.’

‘Well, don’t drool all over them,’ Lucy joked.

They both laughed, taking the edge off the tension.

And then the heavy wooden doors of the hall flew open and out fluttered a smiling bride and groom. Her in white lace, him in a smart navy suit, and a whole host of hope, promises and dreams ahead of them. A happy gathering of family and friends followed, with cheerful chatter and confetti in their wake.

‘Aw, doesn’t the bride look beautiful,’ cooed Abby. ‘Love that dress.’

‘Oh yes, it’s gorgeous.’

Bride Sarah was wearing a stylish sheath of ivory satin, which had diamanté jewel detail across the bandeau neckline, and a warm furry stole covering her shoulders. It looked rather Audrey Hepburn, thought Lucy admiringly.

‘And, he’s not so bad either,’ Abby added; her eighteen-year-old assistant’s eyes widening at the rather dishy dark-haired groom.

‘Hey, eyes front, you. Hah, he’s taken, and what about your cute-as-can-be Callum?’

‘Hey, I’m only noticing what’s on view.’ Abby was grinning. ‘I’m more than happy with my lush local lad. We were out on a date last night, in fact. Drinks at the Dunstanburgh, followed by a fish-and-chip supper.’

‘Ooh, sounds very nice. But back to the task in hand. Let’s get cracking here, we have work to do,’ Lucy chided, but she couldn’t help but smile along with her assistant. And yes, the groom was pretty dishy, to be fair, but of course not a patch on that gorgeous bar guy who’d been smiling over at her before.

Once the bride and groom and family and friends had had a chance to catch a champagne cocktail, the two girls – dressed the part in black skirts, white blouses (hah, with thermals beneath) and their All Fired Up aprons – set off amongst the suited and booted guests with their platters of canapés.

‘Can I offer a tomato and basil bruschetta, or a goat’s cheese crostini?’

‘Mini garlic pizzas for anybody?’

‘Do take a napkin.’

Lucy found herself slipping into a rather posh tone. Perhaps it was the sense of occasion and the imposing manor-like venue getting under her skin.

She spotted Jack giving her a supportive wink as she neared the campervan. My, the gathering were buzzing like bees around those nectar-like champagne cocktails. Ruby did look rather splendid with her wedding theming. And Jack had scrubbed up pretty well too: smartly dressed, blond hair slightly ruffled, that cheeky sparkle in his eyes as he chatted to the guests, and those ‘guns’ on display. She noticed he’d discarded his jacket now that he was busier, his muscles flexing as he shook up his cocktail creations. Hmm, if she was All Fired Up, then he seemed to be ‘All Shook Up’ right now! She couldn’t help but stare for a second, and smile … along with several of the guests. As always at these events, she wasn’t the only one who noticed his charms.

Thankfully, the canapés seemed to be going down well, with the platters emptying fast, and appreciative mutterings of ‘Delicious’ and ‘Mmm’ filling the gaps between the buzzy chatter.

With it being a November wedding and a discernible chill in the air, the guests soon began to drift back to the warmth of the hall with its roaring log fires for the afternoon reception. Lucy had taken a look earlier and noted it was styled beautifully; each round table set out with cutlery, napkins and glasses, posy bowls filled with ivory flowers and greenery as centrepieces, and deep-green garlands of fir and eucalyptus with delicate trails of white roses were feathered along the top table. With candles aplenty, and wine ready to pour, it looked like it was going to be stylishly cosy in there. The perfect winter wedding.

Daytime shifted to a purple-hazed dusk, and a further flurry of guests began to arrive in their fancy frocks and smart suits for the evening ‘do’. Lucy had reloaded the pizza oven with logs and was stoking it up ready for action. Jack in the meanwhile was very much back in action preparing for his ‘Pimp the Prosecco’ part of the proceedings. A bit of fun to be had by all, with all sorts of prosecco cocktails conjured up using flavoured gins – raspberry and elderflower were always popular, with fizzing mini bombs, garnishes of edible gold flakes, fruits and herbs and more. The new arrivals were having a great time experimenting with their drinks, and once again there was a real buzz around Ruby. From her pizza baking post, Lucy overlooked the grounds which appeared transformed in the dusk with loops of sparkly lights softly swaying between the trees, and delicate trails of twinkling mini bulbs threading their way through the florist’s greenery that had been carefully swathed along the balustrades of the steps, all the way up to the main hall door. Guests milled about with some spilling out of the hall, still swaying to the beat as the music and dancing cranked up.