is a garden reception a silly idea?

lolly1981

as ive said in another post we are trying to get married as cheap as possible and someone suggested to use our backgarden, its a fair size
it would be the 1st week of august...is it still really risky, as even tho our garden will accmodate alot of people our house however will not!

what do you reckon?

RainbowDrops

I've been to one and it was cute.
Depends how many people you're having - if there's enough room for people to go inside / under a gazebo incase the weather turns, then it should be fine!

Cloves

I think its a great idea and would do it if we had a big back garden rather than a balcony that would fit 2!

You can also make the place look nice cheaply with things like fairy lights and set up tables with finger food/drinks. You can prob pick up a gazebo for £20-30 too to cover the food and as a safely option for guests

I went to a party where they did this and relatives and friends each brought a dish and it turned out really well and I'm sure at low cost too!

lindaatno9

Fabulous idea. Decorate with bunting and fairy lights etc. Beg,borrow some gazebo's and put them all together. :T

ilovetoshop

hi, this is what we are doing also,we have a bigish garden but the house wouldnt fit everyone so we have borrowed a 9 by 3 gazebo ,that way if it rains we have extra cover and if its really hot we also have some shade for little ones,we are also getting married in august(1st) and we are putting fairy lights up and having a few balloons near the outside of gazebo i cant wait:j:j

Annie47

I got married 28 yrs ago at a registry office and had my afternoon reception in my sisters garden and it was lovely. I married on 13th May and the weather was warm and sunny ... just perfect and the evening we booked a small room in a local pub with a DJ and a small buffet, (which was enough food and some left overs). I have been to weddings where the family have over catered with the evening buffet and I have seen so much food thrown away... Money down the drain !
In my experience people don't eat that much in the evening. Keep it simple is my advice. Lets face it people are coming to enjoy your wedding and lots of trimmings arn't important, the occasion in itself watching and enjoying 2 people tie the knot is lovely. Your far better using your money getting your home together. Lets face it its the people you invite that make your day not how much you spend.

faerie_girl

We are doing this! Our house is too small but our garden is a decent size. We are having a low-key wedding with 12 close family (parents, grandparents and my siblings) coming to the registry office.

We are getting a 3x6m gazebo hopefully from JTF at £70. Argos also have lots of gazebos on offer (or they did last week when I looked).

We have two round tables which will sit 4 people each, plus a bench which will sit about 3 and I am going to ask to borrow my parents garden table and chairs. I am considering whether to buy some table clothes to sort of match them in a bit.

I am getting some bunting cheap from ebay, paper lanterns with battery lights, colorful candles and holders. Getting plastic garden plates, bowls, beakers, cutlery from Tesco (all £1 a set).

I am going to be doing a buffet myself. Did a mock up on Tesco home delivery and I think it will come to about £150 including alcohol. I will probably go to Morrisons for some though as I work there and get 10%. My grandparents are big tea drinkers so will be making sure I have plenty of tea bags and milk lol! We are getting a 'celebration cake' from Tesco which I think is 8, comes with pink ribbon and a sugar flower on the top.

Only thing I am stuck about is where am I going to serve food. Our kitchen doesn't have much counter space. When we did LO a little birthday party with him and 6 adults it was just right with me putting trays over our oven (turned off at switch) to accommodate more food. Think it might be too small for 14 people and a toddler, I will have to make them que in the hall lol. We could do with a long thinnish table. I had thought of a pasting table but this might be a really bad idea. I don't think it would hold the weight of food. I might ask on freecyle so we can test my idea.

OH is still majorly unsure of my idea but I am really up for it. He would like to take everyone to a restaurant which will cost more and then we have to think about drinks on top of it! Also our son will get bored after our while, one set of my grandparents will want to go quickly so they can get back to their dog. I will feel much more comfortable at home, LO will be happier. People can come and go as they please. We will probably be eating buffet food for days as I know I am going to majorly over cater lol.

We are trying to keep all our costs to about £600. OH asked me earlier if I would rather cancel it and do it a couple of years but we have been together almost 5 years and have our son. I am fed up of waiting. I must admit I am having big hangups about it being a rubbish day because of our low-budget. I think with just having very close family that especially my grandparents they aren't going to be too fussed and will be happy for us regardless.

xx

faerie_girl

Also just to add that I don't believe in prays but I am gonna be praying hard for good weather lol!

I read something about the weather for June/July/August on Yahoo and so far August is set to be good.

*fingers crossed*

Noctu

Apparently the first two weeks in August will be particularly hot.

Queen_B_3

a garden reception sounds like a lovely idea, especially if you get a nice day but then if you have some sort of gazebo/marquee it can be done in all weathers.

angel13

depending upon the numbers and what you can afford you could hire a yurt

http://www.hooesyurts.co.uk/price-list.html