Portsmouth · England
Wedding paella catering in Drayton, Portsmouth
Treat your guests to live paella at your wedding in Drayton. Everything is cooked fresh on the day, and serve it straight from the pan.
- Food for evening guests
- Marquee and garden weddings
- Receptions after an intimate ceremony
Planning an event in Drayton?
Questions from Drayton
Can you cater a reception after a service at Drayton Methodist Church?
Yes, at a nearby garden, marquee or hall where we can cook. Churches rarely have space for live cooking, so the meal is usually elsewhere. Tell us where the reception will be.
What’s the nearest station to Drayton for guests?
The closest is Cosham station, roughly 1 mile away.
What if our speeches run late?
We adapt. We keep in touch with your venue on the day and time the rice so it is served at its best.
When should we book?
As soon as you have a date. Peak dates go quickly, so contact us early.
Do you work with our venue?
Yes, it makes life easier. Introduce us and we will sort the details.
What happens if it rains?
We cook under cover, such as a gazebo, marquee or open-sided barn with good ventilation. We’ll agree a wet-weather plan with you.
How do you work out quantities?
We plan quantities from your guest numbers, timings and other courses, with a sensible margin. Give us accurate numbers for the best result.
What about supplier meals?
Yes, include them in your numbers. Let us know when they need feeding.
Wedding paella catering in Drayton, cooked live
We can do the whole day or just one part: canapés, a tapas starter, a paella wedding breakfast, evening food and dessert. Whether it’s evening food for extra guests and rustic barn weddings, we’ll put together a menu of a paella wedding breakfast, Spanish desserts and table tapas for your guests.
For a smaller place like Drayton, a garden or farm wedding is often the dream. We need level ground and access. We serve straight from the pan, so every plate is hot, and a queue moves quickly.
- Location
- Drayton (PO6)
- County
- Portsmouth
- Special diets
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal
- Add-ons
- Tapas, desserts, sangria, staff
- Price
- Ask us for a quote
- Page updated
- 23 October 2026
Live paella or other catering?
Live paella is less formal than a plated meal, but with the right extras it feels just as special. When you compare quotes, check what each one includes: staff, crockery, bread and salads, travel and VAT. We itemise ours.
Why choose Love Paella in Drayton
- Tapas, canapés and desserts if you want them
- Plates, cutlery and waiting staff available
- Paella cooked from scratch on site
- Catering across Portsmouth, including Drayton
Read Our prices page And Our guide to catering costs.
Why choose wedding paella catering in Drayton?
Couples choose paella because it feels relaxed and generous, and guests talk about it afterwards.
We are booked for all kinds of occasions in Drayton and nearby. Some of the most common are:
- Relaxed sharing-style wedding breakfasts
- Parties after a register office wedding
- Weddings with mixed diets
- Marquee and garden weddings
Put the station on your invitation: the nearest station is Cosham station, about 1 mile west.
What to look for in a quote
- How many staff are coming, and for how long
- What the caterer needs from your venue
- Travel and parking costs
- How bad weather is handled
About the dishes
Evening paella
Paella makes great evening food.
Paella wedding breakfast
The main event: paellas for every diet, served straight from the pan.
The process
Watching it cook is half the fun. Onion, garlic, peppers and tomato go in first, then the stock and saffron, then the rice, which cooks without stirring while your guests chat. For a summer wedding in Drayton, the sun sets at about 9:20pm in late June and about 7:10pm in late September, so an evening paella for evening guests is normally served in daylight in high summer. For autumn and winter weddings, when it’s dark by about 4:00pm in December, plan lighting for the cooking area.
- Share your date, venue, numbers and plans for the day.
- We plan a menu with you, course by course, and confirm a quote.
- Timings are agreed with you and the venue, around speeches and photos.
- We cook live on the day and serve every course on cue.
- We clear our cooking area, and staff stay as agreed.
Before we arrive
- Give us your final numbers and diets
- Keep the cooking spot clear of fences, hedges and branches
- Have a gazebo or cover ready if rain is likely
Getting a price
A detailed enquiry gets a more accurate quote: venue, timings, courses and extras. When you’re ready, use our quote form.
Read more
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
Hiring a pan and burner is one option, but you’ll still need to source ingredients, prep and cook for hours. A caterer handles all of that.
Cooking it yourself? Test your pan and burner first, keep the stock hot, and do not stir once the rice goes in. Keep a clear zone around the burner.
Where we can cook in Drayton
If a space isn’t suitable, we will tell you, and help find another spot. The main points are:
- Good ventilation: outdoors, or an open-sided cover
- Level ground for the pans and burners
- Space well away from trees, fences and gazebo walls
If you’re unsure, send a picture of the space and we’ll say what we think before booking.
Popular choices
- Table tapas
- Sangria & bar staff
- Canapé tapas
- Dessert
- Evening paella
- Paella wedding breakfast
Diets, allergies and planning
Paella is one of the easiest dishes for mixed diets, because every paella has its own pan. Here are a few tips for planning:
- Let us know about meals for your band or photographer
- Ask about diets and allergies with your RSVPs
- Ask whether your venue allows outside caterers
- Count day and evening guests separately
If things run late, and we will adjust the cooking so it is still served fresh.
We can provide crockery and waiting staff if your venue doesn’t.
Planning a paella wedding in Drayton
Drayton is about 2 miles south of Purbrook, in Portsmouth. Give us the address of your wedding in Drayton, and we’ll plan the journey and set-up. Drayton is one of 19 towns and villages in Portsmouth where we cook. You can also see our page for Southampton, about 16 miles away.
If you’re marrying at a church near Drayton, such as Drayton Methodist Church, a reception in a garden, marquee or hired venue nearby keeps the day flowing: we can be cooking during the photos, so the meal is ready when you arrive. Historic houses near Drayton include Warblington Castle (3.4 miles east). If your reception is at a historic house or estate, ask early about its rules on caterers and live cooking. The sea is within about 5 miles, perfect for a seafood paella wedding. Coastal wind needs a sheltered cooking spot.
We cater weddings across PO6. Local streets include Galt Road, Hirst Road and Court Lane; a wedding at home on any of them works well with live paella. We also cook at weddings in Farlington (1 mile east), Widley (1 mile north), Cosham (1 mile west), Wymering (1 mile west) and Hilsea (2 miles south-west). We also cook in nearby towns such as Portsmouth (3 miles south-west), Southsea (4 miles south), Milton (4 miles south), Landport (3 miles south-west), Baffins (3 miles south) and Rudmore (3 miles south-west).
Nearby you’ll also find Portchester Castle (3.1 miles west) and World War I Remembrance Centre (1 mile south). Open spaces near Drayton include Portsdown Hill and Southmoor Nature Reserve.
- Local schools include Solent Junior School (within half a mile north-east)
- Pubs nearby include New Inn (less than half a mile north-west)
For planners, venues and organisers
Venues frequently have their own rules about outside caterers: where cooking is allowed, access times and the paperwork they need. Send us your venue’s requirements and we’ll follow them.
For larger events, we plan the number of pans and serving points around your timings, so everyone eats promptly. Tell us how long you have for food.
Other catering in Drayton
- Cooked live in giant pans at your event
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options
- Paella, tapas, canapés and desserts
- Sangria, bar staff, crockery and waiting staff