Garden Wedding - Ideas Needed!

[buttercup3]

Hey Ladies,

So in very interesting turn of events and what started as a joke last Wednesday, we are now booked for 2 months today to get married in my OHs parents back garden! The invites went out today! Yikes!

The ceremony will be at 3pm (with 37 guests) and the reception will be 5:30pm (with an additional 23 guests, taking us to a total of 60! Yikes!).

It's a Humanist Wedding so we are meeting with our Celebrant a week on Saturday to discuss what we are going to be doing at the ceremony where we have 2.5 hours to entertain our guests with the formal stuff! (That seems awfully long writing that down!)

We are having a buffet (considering the venue I don't think a sit down meal would be appropriate!) and that's about all I have organised so far!

So Ladies - help!! What do I do to entertain 60 people?! I need lots of ideas!

Also if you have any suggestions for decorations/food/anything! I would appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

xx xx

 

[sparkle]

Hi!

We are having a garden wedding too in my parents garden! (and are having 60 guests!!)
Have you thought about Music? We are having a harpist for during the ceremony and a dj for later.

We've also got some big games like giant Jenga and connect 4 to amuse the guests and a croquet set!

My parents have a barn too and we were thinking about putting some entertainment in there.

Good Luck

 

[enola]

I always wanted this kind of wedding and thought having a bouncy castle and face painters and circus skills would be the most excellent thing! Haha, of course, if unlike me you are sophisticated you could go 'Tea in the Park' sort of way and have a live band and decorate things ala Olde Worlde or like on Mama Mia.
You could ask each guest to bring their own china cups and toast champagne from those, have tea roses, maybe croquet and lawn games? You could even go the Alice in Wonderland route as all things related to that are popular at the moment
Best of luck with whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be beautiful!

 

[MrsVenn]

Start saving and washing jars! They look fab with tea lights in and if you dot the whole garden with them, they look great.

Have you seen the paper lanterns you can get too? Something for everyone to do when it gets dark.

Things I would have are:

Bunting
Lots of cup cakes
Pimms and Lemonade
Strawberries and cream
Lots of wild flowers in random jars and vases dotted all over the place
Music in the background
BBQ for later on when people are peckish or have toasted marshmallows as the sun is setting (get a chimnea!)
Let kids create their own ice cream sundaes as puddings
Paddling pools if it's hot enough and super soakers.
Large outdoor games like suggested above - bouncy castle is always a winner for little ones.
Fairy lights on everything too so as the sun sets, the garden is all twinkly.

 

[Frankie]

Hiya were getting married and are thinking of a Hogroast dont know if that kind of thing would be up your street they have there own Chef's to carve it and you can add extra things like Salads etc

 

[buttercup3]

Hi!

We are having a garden wedding too in my parents garden! (and are having 60 guests!!)
Have you thought about Music? We are having a harpist for during the ceremony and a dj for later.

We've also got some big games like giant Jenga and connect 4 to amuse the guests and a croquet set!

My parents have a barn too and we were thinking about putting some entertainment in there.

Good Luck

OH wants to have a String Quartet for during the ceremony so he is looking into that one - I think it would be rather lovely!

I'm going to have to go find some giant games for sure - that's an excellent idea!

I always wanted this kind of wedding and thought having a bouncy castle and face painters and circus skills would be the most excellent thing! Haha, of course, if unlike me you are sophisticated you could go 'Tea in the Park' sort of way and have a live band and decorate things ala Olde Worlde or like on Mama Mia.
You could ask each guest to bring their own china cups and toast champagne from those, have tea roses, maybe croquet and lawn games? You could even go the Alice in Wonderland route as all things related to that are popular at the moment
Best of luck with whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be beautiful!

I'd love a bouncy castle but I don't think we have the room - might get a little one for the kids though to keep them occupied and sit it in the next door neighbours garden... unsure will have to look into sizes but OH's daughter would love it!

We are looking into a Magician too which would be fantastic - there's just so much to organise and not enough time!!!

Start saving and washing jars! They look fab with tea lights in and if you dot the whole garden with them, they look great.

Have you seen the paper lanterns you can get too? Something for everyone to do when it gets dark.

Things I would have are:

Bunting
Lots of cup cakes
Pimms and Lemonade
Strawberries and cream
Lots of wild flowers in random jars and vases dotted all over the place
Music in the background
BBQ for later on when people are peckish or have toasted marshmallows as the sun is setting (get a chimnea!)
Let kids create their own ice cream sundaes as puddings
Paddling pools if it's hot enough and super soakers.
Large outdoor games like suggested above - bouncy castle is always a winner for little ones.
Fairy lights on everything too so as the sun sets, the garden is all twinkly.

My mum is on the jar collection she is planning to put candles on top of rosebuds in them!

I watched a TV show about weddings last week and it had those paper lanterns in it and a tree was set on fire and there is a lot of trees in the garden so think I'll avoid that - I thought of them before I saw the show but now I'm put off! The wedding planner on that show said that the lanterns should only be operated by fire specialists!

I have crocheted some bunting already and it looks amazing! Going to make some more - all pastel colours.

I'm going to make up lots of cupcakes and have them on a stand for the cake - but I'm unsure how to keep them free of bugs etc. And I'm unsure whether or not to have a top tier to cut.

Strawberries and cream, wildflowers, toasted marshmallows, paddling pool and fairy lights are all fantastic ideas thanks! They are going on my list!

Hiya were getting married and are thinking of a Hogroast dont know if that kind of thing would be up your street they have there own Chef's to carve it and you can add extra things like Salads etc

A Hogroast would be great but I think after clearing and decorating the garden our budget might not stretch but I'm looking into it right now! lol

Thanks so much ladies all fantastic ideas!!

xx

 

[belladonna]

To be honest you may not need much entertainment, especially if family who haven't seen each other for ages want to catch up with each other. We went to a wedding recently in a zoo and for the two hours between ceremony and meal we were all supposed to walk around the zoo. Not one person did, they all stood around chatting (there was no where to sit) to each other and completly ignored what they were being told to do.

 

[fuffyburra]

This thread has given me so much inspiration lol. When I read it last night I planned my entire wedding til 3 in the morning Thanks everyone! xx