19:30
The arrival
We walk in mid-conversation, which is the trick: a couple in the middle of something is a couple nobody doubts. The story of how we met was agreed days ago, along with what may be shared and what stays ours.
Experiences · The occasion is public
The Plus One
The wedding was two hundred people, and his aunt reached me before the starters did. She asked, in order, how we met, how long it had been, and what I do. We had settled all three answers on the Tuesday and they were dull and very nearly true, so they held. I liked her. She was the only person in that marquee doing any real work. Somewhere during the speeches I caught him watching the room watch us, and understood that what he had actually bought was one evening of being asked nothing. He told me a thing in the car afterwards that I have repeated to nobody.
Nobody asks questions the story already answered.
How the evening runs
From the invitation to the drive home
21:00
The table
I am good at tables. I remember names, I ask the questions people hope to be asked, I laugh at your colleague's joke at exactly the right size, and I make you more interesting by how I listen to you. You will not spend one minute managing me.
23:30
The debrief
The event ends; the evening does not have to. The drive home is where it becomes ours: reviewing the room, comparing notes, laughing at everything we could not laugh at inside. If the night deserves a longer ending, extend the hours, ideally in advance.
This suits you if
The Plus One is for
- The wedding-season guest tired of the singles table and its questions.
- The professional whose gala, opening or company dinner expects a partner on the invitation.
- Anyone who would rather host an evening than survive one.
- The private man who wants the room satisfied and none the wiser.
And not for
Improvisation is the one thing I will not do in front of your colleagues. A public evening runs on preparation: we agree the playbook together beforehand, and then I keep to it, word for word, however long the night runs. If winging it sounds charming, we want different evenings.
The practical part
The playbook comes first
Every public evening starts with a short, private conversation: how we met, what I do, what may be asked and what gets deflected with a smile. Your boundaries are written into the story before anyone can test them, and I hold that line with more grace than anyone will notice.
My half of the agreement: I arrive dressed for the dress code and slightly better than it, I drink measured, I am never the silent date and never the loudest, and I leave exactly the impression you would want left. The room remembers a lovely woman; the details stay unrecorded, as everything here does.
Rates are the standard hours on The Hours. Most events sit naturally at four to six hours; a wedding is often kindest as a full day. Screening and a deposit, once, as always.
One thing never appears on the bill: the shape itself. Every experience on this site is included in the hours. The only additions are real ones, agreed in advance: date expenses such as dinner and travel, a suite when I arrange one, or specific items an evening asks me to buy.
Asked and answered
What do we tell people?
Whatever we decided together, days in advance: where we met, how long, what I do. Good cover stories are boring and nearly true, and I will keep ours consistent all night, including under friendly interrogation by your aunt.
What if someone recognises you?
My circles and yours rarely overlap, and I read a room before it reads me. Should it ever happen, warmth and vagueness solve almost everything; discretion is my profession, and I am reliably better at this game than the curious.
Will you actually enjoy it?
Yes, and it will show, which is rather the point. I like rooms, stories and people; a good event is a buffet of all three. Your guests will not be charmed by someone performing charm.
How do you handle the drinking?
One glass, enjoyed slowly, perhaps a second at a wedding. You will never spend an evening managing me; part of what you book is that I stay the most composed person at the table.
The invitation says plus one
Send the date, the dress code, and the story you need.
The occasion and the hours as well. We build the story together, days before either of us walks in.
Composed at eight, composed at midnight.