Meet the Team

Mandy Matthews - Owner Operator

Having organised a party or “two” Mandy felt The Vino Van was a great way to assist others in providing a very special experience for your friends and family, customers and employees when it comes time to celebrate your special events.  

Coming from a background in tourism, customer service  and organisation Mandy is well placed to assist you from the beginning of your planning process right through to the end goal of ensuring your event is enjoyed by all.

Mandy is involved with Marlborough Dressage, owning dressage horses and attending events throughout the country. The Vino Van sponsors Marlborough Dressage providing the club with our services at their annual championship show – serving drinks at the prizegiving ceremony each year. The riders look forward to this each year and it has become a real point of difference for Marlborough Dressage.

Mandy has a passion for entertaining, loves cooking and welcoming people into her home 

I love to entertain at home, making our friends and family feel special by surprising them with special meals from fine dining to wild game cooked over coals around our fire pit while enjoying a selection of Marlborough wines, craft beer and of course the fabulous selection of gin now on offer.

The Vino Van is an extension of this passion for home entertaining and enables Mandy to provide the same care and thought for your event as she does when entertaining guests in her own home.

Anna Matthews - Operations Assistant

Having grown up in house where entertaining, cooking, milestone birthdays, Christmas celebrations have always been a major part of her life, Anna has developed a great sense of style and organisational ability when it comes to events of any type.  Anna has become the go-to for styling all our family events, decorating the Christmas tree, organising all the special touches that make each celebration unique and memorable.

When Covid hit our shores, Anna was supposed to be heading to Canada for a year of nannying and the beginning of her O.E.  This was not to be and she had to come up with a new plan pretty quickly! Anna thought about what she was really passionate about and Events By Anna was born.  Anna provides neon hire signs, equipment, balloon garlands and beautiful grazing tables and platters through her business.  Events by Anna is in its second year of operation and Anna is busy most weekends helping people style their events and providing her very popular grazing tables which have rave reviews.Anna also helps a few of her repeat clients with decorating their workspaces for Christmas and other special celebrations throughout the year.  

Anna has an eye for detail, colour and style which is a great quality to have involved with any event you may be planning. The Vino Van caught Anna’s eye when it came on the market last year – it was a fantastic opportunity to be part of peoples celebrations and a complimentary extension to Events by Anna with both businesses being able to provide curated experiences for many different types of events.

Anna is a dab hand at cocktail making – her Espresso Martinis are famous in our household!

Anna works at Ngati Rarua as a personal assistant – apart from her normal daily tasks she has become their unofficial events manager organising staff events, taking care of catering for board meetings, decorating the office and generally ensuring that any special events are celebrated and enjoyed by everyone.