A to Z of Garden Weddings
Home›A to Z of Garden Weddings
Ambience
It’s important to create the right ambience for your garden party however, what sort of ambience you would like is another question. Think about if you were after a quiet drinks and canapés style reception or if you wanted your guests to have fun and dance into the night.
Budget
Having a garden party is a great way of keeping the costs down. Not only do you not have to pay for a sit down three course meal, but if you are lucky enough to have parents with a large garden, or a local pub willing to hire their gardens you’ve got a much cheaper venue.
Cupcakes
The perfect choice for a garden party wedding cake is the cupcake design. You can individually decorate the cakes with flowers or butterflies and then serve them with the afternoon tea.
Decorations
With a garden party wedding you have the luxury of being able to decorate your outside areas. Look at hanging lanterns from the trees with garlands of flowers and butterflies. For those on a tighter budget, use scraps of colourful material to make your own bunting and hang in between the trees.
Eco friendly
Being an outdoor wedding, it lends itself to being eco friendly too. Start by using recycled card or paper for your invitations, walking to the venue if it’s close enough from the ceremony and use locally sourced produce for your food and drinks.
Fair stalls
Add some traditional fun in the form of fair stalls. Hire in some stalls for your guests to play on such as Hoopla, Coconut Shy and you could even organise our own tombola instead of giving favours.
Gazebo
When planning for a garden party you need to plan for bad weather. The easiest and cheapest way of doing this is by using party gazebos. There isn’t any need for flash marquees with matting and linings, just a simple cover that you can decorate with flowers and bunting. Using gazebos with walls that roll up will allow for you to use them in both good and bad weather.
Hog Roast
When it comes to feeding your guests, it still needs to be impressive and delicious but easy enough to eat if having to stand. Having a hog roast is the perfect option. For less than £500 you can feed 100 people easily. Add a few bowls of salads and you’ll see some very happy guests.
Ice cream
Instead of serving a dessert to your guests, why not look into hiring an ice cream van and let your guests go and choose their own dessert.
Jam jars
A very effective and cheap way of decorating tables and other areas of your garden party is by tying pretty, colourful ribbon around jam jars and filling them with freshly cut flowers, ideally from a garden, and then decorate them with gorgeous butterflies. Alternatively, put tea lights in them and use them to line pathways at night.
Kites
If the weather allows and there’s enough breeze, keep your guests entertained during the day by providing a selection of kites for them to use and play with. They make for a great backdrop for your photos
Lanterns
Help your guests see into the evening by adding lanterns to tables, trees and also the walkways to and from areas such as the car park and toilets
Music
‘If music be the food of love, play on’ and so it should be for a garden party too. During the day keep things light with either a string quartet or jazz guitarist and then if carrying on into the evening, designate an area for dancing, maybe under a big tree decorated with fairy lights, look into getting a dance floor area built and dance into the small hours to a two/three piece band.
Nuptials
Unfortunately, in England and Wales (not Scotland) you have to marry under a permanent structure which is licensed for ceremonies. However, this doesn’t stop you planning a blessing anywhere you like. Look into organising your own celebrant, whether it’s your local priest or a godparent to conduct a service which you can write together and then begin your garden party with the exchange of rings and vows. You would then have a small civil ceremony at your local registry office to legalise it.
OTD
Having an outdoor function takes a lot of organising both beforehand and on the day. Whether you are at a venue with grounds or your parent’s house, having an On The Day co-ordinator is invaluable. They will oversee all of the final arrangements ensuring nothing has been missed allowing you and your family to enjoy the preparations. They will also oversee the running of the day including ensuring your garden party is setup exactly as you wish allowing you to enjoy your wedding.
Parking
Having a venue at a family home is a wonderful option. However you do need to consider where people are going to park their cars. Is there a farmer with a field they could lend to you for the day or do you need to arrange for guests to be collected and dropped off from an area where they can park?
Quiz
To help keep your guests entertained and to add an element of fun into the day, arrange a quiz for your guests to partake in. It can either be done via them having to complete the questions on paper or you could organise a pop quiz with questions relative to the both of you eg/ favourite band, first holiday together etc. You can then present the winner with a prize during the speeches.
Retro games
Garden parties aren’t complete without lawn games. Look into setting up an area for traditional croquette and then for something a bit different you can hire in giant games such as Jenga and Connect 4.
Seating
When planning your garden party a big consideration is seating. If you don’t have a lot of seats available look into hiring white bistro chairs and trestle tables from a marquee company. These are relatively cheap to hire, but you obviously will need to hire tablecloths too. Alternatively, look into getting bales of hay and covering them with material or even for the younger ones lots of picnic blankets on the ground.
Tea
No garden party is complete without a nice cup of tea. After your food has been served and you’ve cut your cake, place trays with doilies on onto each table with teacups, saucers, a milk jug, sugar bowl, teaspoons and a large pot of tea for guests to help themselves. Then serve your cupcakes on plates to each table and you have your afternoon tea.
Umbrellas
Whether the weather is good or bad, umbrellas are a great way of providing shelter. If you’re not using a gazebo and the weather is hot, you will definitely need to provide some form of shelter from the sun. Decorate the underside of the umbrellas with hanging tea light holders or battery operated fairy lights.
Vases
Another cheap way to decorate your garden party is to use vases of fresh flowers. The perfect look for a garden party is to borrow as many different glass vases from friends and family as you can. It will provide you with a really unique and different look to the party.
Wellies
No doubt you won’t need them, however, just in case, have a pair of wellies available for you to wear across any soggy patches. Make sure they are for the wedding and decorate them with stones and feathers to make them look pretty.
Young ones
Garden parties are the perfect location for a wedding reception if you are having a lot of children to the wedding. If you have the space to do so, then hiring a bouncy castle for them is great fun. Do make sure though that any areas such as ponds are adequately covered and that any access gates/fences are secured to stop anyone escaping!
Zones
To ensure the day runs well and goes smoothly, look into dividing your outdoor area into zones. So you would have a zone for drinks to be served, a zone for your food and people to sit and a zone for entertainment. This way, things can be set up in advance allowing you to go with the flow.
Article written by Ruth - www.finesseplanning.co.uk
It’s important to create the right ambience for your garden party however, what sort of ambience you would like is another question. Think about if you were after a quiet drinks and canapés style reception or if you wanted your guests to have fun and dance into the night.
Budget
Having a garden party is a great way of keeping the costs down. Not only do you not have to pay for a sit down three course meal, but if you are lucky enough to have parents with a large garden, or a local pub willing to hire their gardens you’ve got a much cheaper venue.
Cupcakes
The perfect choice for a garden party wedding cake is the cupcake design. You can individually decorate the cakes with flowers or butterflies and then serve them with the afternoon tea.
Decorations
With a garden party wedding you have the luxury of being able to decorate your outside areas. Look at hanging lanterns from the trees with garlands of flowers and butterflies. For those on a tighter budget, use scraps of colourful material to make your own bunting and hang in between the trees.
Eco friendly
Being an outdoor wedding, it lends itself to being eco friendly too. Start by using recycled card or paper for your invitations, walking to the venue if it’s close enough from the ceremony and use locally sourced produce for your food and drinks.
Fair stalls
Add some traditional fun in the form of fair stalls. Hire in some stalls for your guests to play on such as Hoopla, Coconut Shy and you could even organise our own tombola instead of giving favours.
Gazebo
When planning for a garden party you need to plan for bad weather. The easiest and cheapest way of doing this is by using party gazebos. There isn’t any need for flash marquees with matting and linings, just a simple cover that you can decorate with flowers and bunting. Using gazebos with walls that roll up will allow for you to use them in both good and bad weather.
Hog Roast
When it comes to feeding your guests, it still needs to be impressive and delicious but easy enough to eat if having to stand. Having a hog roast is the perfect option. For less than £500 you can feed 100 people easily. Add a few bowls of salads and you’ll see some very happy guests.
Ice cream
Instead of serving a dessert to your guests, why not look into hiring an ice cream van and let your guests go and choose their own dessert.
Jam jars
A very effective and cheap way of decorating tables and other areas of your garden party is by tying pretty, colourful ribbon around jam jars and filling them with freshly cut flowers, ideally from a garden, and then decorate them with gorgeous butterflies. Alternatively, put tea lights in them and use them to line pathways at night.
Kites
If the weather allows and there’s enough breeze, keep your guests entertained during the day by providing a selection of kites for them to use and play with. They make for a great backdrop for your photos
Lanterns
Help your guests see into the evening by adding lanterns to tables, trees and also the walkways to and from areas such as the car park and toilets
Music
‘If music be the food of love, play on’ and so it should be for a garden party too. During the day keep things light with either a string quartet or jazz guitarist and then if carrying on into the evening, designate an area for dancing, maybe under a big tree decorated with fairy lights, look into getting a dance floor area built and dance into the small hours to a two/three piece band.
Nuptials
Unfortunately, in England and Wales (not Scotland) you have to marry under a permanent structure which is licensed for ceremonies. However, this doesn’t stop you planning a blessing anywhere you like. Look into organising your own celebrant, whether it’s your local priest or a godparent to conduct a service which you can write together and then begin your garden party with the exchange of rings and vows. You would then have a small civil ceremony at your local registry office to legalise it.
OTD
Having an outdoor function takes a lot of organising both beforehand and on the day. Whether you are at a venue with grounds or your parent’s house, having an On The Day co-ordinator is invaluable. They will oversee all of the final arrangements ensuring nothing has been missed allowing you and your family to enjoy the preparations. They will also oversee the running of the day including ensuring your garden party is setup exactly as you wish allowing you to enjoy your wedding.
Parking
Having a venue at a family home is a wonderful option. However you do need to consider where people are going to park their cars. Is there a farmer with a field they could lend to you for the day or do you need to arrange for guests to be collected and dropped off from an area where they can park?
Quiz
To help keep your guests entertained and to add an element of fun into the day, arrange a quiz for your guests to partake in. It can either be done via them having to complete the questions on paper or you could organise a pop quiz with questions relative to the both of you eg/ favourite band, first holiday together etc. You can then present the winner with a prize during the speeches.
Retro games
Garden parties aren’t complete without lawn games. Look into setting up an area for traditional croquette and then for something a bit different you can hire in giant games such as Jenga and Connect 4.
Seating
When planning your garden party a big consideration is seating. If you don’t have a lot of seats available look into hiring white bistro chairs and trestle tables from a marquee company. These are relatively cheap to hire, but you obviously will need to hire tablecloths too. Alternatively, look into getting bales of hay and covering them with material or even for the younger ones lots of picnic blankets on the ground.
Tea
No garden party is complete without a nice cup of tea. After your food has been served and you’ve cut your cake, place trays with doilies on onto each table with teacups, saucers, a milk jug, sugar bowl, teaspoons and a large pot of tea for guests to help themselves. Then serve your cupcakes on plates to each table and you have your afternoon tea.
Umbrellas
Whether the weather is good or bad, umbrellas are a great way of providing shelter. If you’re not using a gazebo and the weather is hot, you will definitely need to provide some form of shelter from the sun. Decorate the underside of the umbrellas with hanging tea light holders or battery operated fairy lights.
Vases
Another cheap way to decorate your garden party is to use vases of fresh flowers. The perfect look for a garden party is to borrow as many different glass vases from friends and family as you can. It will provide you with a really unique and different look to the party.
Wellies
No doubt you won’t need them, however, just in case, have a pair of wellies available for you to wear across any soggy patches. Make sure they are for the wedding and decorate them with stones and feathers to make them look pretty.
Young ones
Garden parties are the perfect location for a wedding reception if you are having a lot of children to the wedding. If you have the space to do so, then hiring a bouncy castle for them is great fun. Do make sure though that any areas such as ponds are adequately covered and that any access gates/fences are secured to stop anyone escaping!
Zones
To ensure the day runs well and goes smoothly, look into dividing your outdoor area into zones. So you would have a zone for drinks to be served, a zone for your food and people to sit and a zone for entertainment. This way, things can be set up in advance allowing you to go with the flow.
Article written by Ruth - www.finesseplanning.co.uk
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