Eight weeks before go-live, the plan changed completely.

Vestey Holdings’ annual global conference was set for Istanbul. Then geopolitical uncertainty forced a rethink, and the whole event moved to England instead. Eight months of planning, site visits and supplier meetings had to be reimagined into a brand-new event, at pace.

This was KIN’s second year delivering meetings and conferences for Vestey, having brought last year’s conference to life in Barcelona. So when the brief changed, we leaned straight in: if it couldn’t be Istanbul, it was going to be the best of British heritage, countryside and all.

Hosted at Wotton House in Dorking, we brought together 60 delegates for four days of meetings, networking and standout dining. It was designed to make the most of a rare few days when this group is all in one room. Sessions ran from 8am to 6pm most days, with internal and external speakers leading the agenda. Each evening brought an activity followed by dinner. And, being a food manufacturing business, food was never an afterthought.

Event Highlights

Day 1 – Garden BBQ: Delegates arrived to a relaxed, casual welcome dinner in the gardens. It was the perfect way to kick things off before the conference agenda began in earnest.

Day 2 – Best of British buffet: A proper British summer garden party under a stretch tent, complete with sausage rolls, cheese boards and Pimm’s. And, fittingly, there was a bit of rain to make it official. A winery tour through the English countryside made the perfect pre-dinner warm-up. Then a caricaturist and magician kept the evening buzzing.

Day 3 – Gala dinner in the old library: Last night saw guests dressed up for a gorgeous dinner in Wotton House’s old library. Live singers set the tone. After a week of unpredictable June weather, everyone was glad to be eating indoors. The night finished around a bonfire, with a dessert buffet and guests toasting marshmallows. It was the perfect, slightly chaotic, end to the week.

With a small group spending nearly a week together, the event had a different rhythm to a typical one-night party. Guests got to properly know each other, and the KIN team got to know them too. Highlights ranged from swapping scout stories to watching seasoned directors attempt their first ever s’more by firelight.

Behind the Scenes

Not every plan survives contact with the British weather. With better conditions forecast for the following evening, we switched a dinner location with just 30 minutes’ notice. We made the most of Wotton House’s secret garden, pulling it together with seconds to spare. A short shower mid-dinner didn’t dampen spirits in the slightest.

And, of course, there was the small matter of moving the entire event from Istanbul to Dorking. We had just eight weeks to go. Not the brief we started with, but the team turned it around without missing a beat.