Garden party on a budget

BugglyB

Hi guys,

Just interested to hear from anyone who has organised a back yard party on a budget. Currently we're costing stuff and its looking really expensive. Things we may need

- marquee
- extra toilet
- food - hog roast perhaps? or we could bbq ourselves?

drinks are being provided by oh's dad

I'm also concerned about music as I know perhaps you need a generator?

Help me please

Maysie

what area are you in? that makes a huge difference and someone might know a reasonably priced supplier for you.

fawny

You need to talk to MrsDrink over in the July2012 thread, as she is having a big garden reception.:D

BugglyB

Am in Leeds area, thanks. I will scoot over to that thread and [STRIKE]steal all her ideas[/STRIKE] get some inspiration

sugarwalsh

For work I recently bought a 9x3m marquee for £115 from eBay. It was z company in Bolton. It was delivered next day and during the terrible weather it was fairly dry. It would certainly be fine for one night.
How many people is it for? Do you need tables, seating, lighting, crockery etc? If it is for quite a lot I would be tempted to get catered in as they can supply lots of things and you don't have the stress!
Mx

MrsDrink

BugglyB wrote: »

Hi guys,

Just interested to hear from anyone who has organised a back yard party on a budget. Currently we're costing stuff and its looking really expensive. Things we may need

- marquee
- extra toilet
- food - hog roast perhaps? or we could bbq ourselves?

drinks are being provided by oh's dad

I'm also concerned about music as I know perhaps you need a generator?

Help me please

As Fawny (:)) says we're having a garden/house party as our reception, for 45 of us.

Marquee? Well we decided we didn't want a formal marquee. Instead I got two 3x3 gazebos (just the roof - no sides) for £17 each from Tescos when it was the Royal Wedding and hence everyone was having garden/street parties. What is your garden like? Do you need the side panels? (I am not even entertaining the idea of it raining)

Extra toilet - As our house will be open people will be free to use our two toilets. (Actually this really freaks me out as I'm really particular about toilets and all those people using 'mine' just creeps me out lol). But yes toilets are an issue. (We're actually DIYing the downstairs toilet - including plumbing in the toilet and sink!!)

Food - the hardest part about doing it yourself is storage of it all. I currently have 2 freezers and 2 fridges to store everything. We're just doing a simple buffet. I currently have food coming out of our ears ha! BUT it is sooo much cheaper doing it ourselves. For the 45 guests, including plenty of cutlery and plateware the buffet is costing us approximately £250. If we were to get a middle of the road buffet from a local butchers it'd cost us just over double. The other thing is alcohol. I didn't investigate mobile bars - no idea how much they'd cost you - instead we have a garage full of the stuff. I have enough for everyone for have 10+ drinks each - ooops. I have collected it since Christmas when things have been on offer.

Music - we're lucky in that we have electricity in the shed to run our pond filtration system, so the speakers are going to be plugged in there with an extension lead. We're using one of our laptops to stream the music. We're not having a disco - the music is just there as background noise so we don't need an over the top sound system.

The other thing I have spent on is decorations - have DIYd and made lots of things we're going to use. Having balloons (not helium because that costs around £1 a balloon and we've got 200 of them); have made some paper hearts to hang all around the garden (my version of bunting, which after all the royal weddings/jubliee/olympic torch route etc I'm personally sick of seeing);

Lighting may need considering - we have two lights on the back of our house that light up the patio, and I have some garden candle torches - that are that citronella so should stop the mozzies biting everyone! I have also made some tealight jar holders that spell out our first names.

Something else to consider - seating and tables - we're hiring white plastic garden chairs (at £1.50 each) and 4ft round tables (£5 each). I'm not doing chair covers, instead I've got fake gerberas (same as my bouquet) to tie to the back of the chairs. We have allowed for 60% of our guests to have a chair/seat at a table. We have plenty of other perching areas though so if everyone wants to sit down they can do.

The whole wedding - the ceremony and BBQ immediately afterwards; and the garden party at the weekend - is costing just under £3k so it most definitely can be done on a budget.

BUT looking back would I do it again? (Bearing in mind we've got 18 sleeps to go) Probably but it's sure as hell has been stressful. Our house is a state - or should I say was. One of the girls on the July board said most people nest when they are pregnant not when they are counting down to their wedding - but it's so true. We've done so much DIYing. That has been the biggest headache. We've still got the downstairs toilet to finish (new waste pipe, plumb toilet, plumb sink, finish tiling); the patio to lay (foundation for retaining wall, wall, chalk, and slabs); and the kitchen to tidy up. HOPEFULLY it'll all be worth it in the end. (We wanted a house/garden party because to us that felt more intimate and more personal to us).

Good luck!!

BugglyB

Mrsdrink thank you so so much for such a great reply. I am only using my phone at the moment so can't write a long reply but you have given me such a lot to think about! Best of luck for your big day x

MrsDrink

The other thing I'd warn you about is how much extra stuff you'll want to do to make your house/garden presentable. (Assuming you're having it at your house - if you're having it at say one of your parents great - they can deal with the stress). This weekend I have scrubbed the kitchen (this is where our food is going to be displayed) - literally from top to bottom. I don't think there are many brides who get on a step ladder and scrub their kitchen ceiling in the run up to their wedding!! I know, I know, people are coming to see us and celebrate with us, not to see our house and criticise us... but well you don't know some of our guests :rotfl:. I am sure though that it will be worth it all in the end. Put it this way - it better had be!!

BugglyB

Well MrsD we are lucky in that it is actually my parents who will be hosting the party!

OH's dad has offered to pay for the booze which is brilliant.

We have 70/80 guests and not enough space in the house for them all, so obviously my main concern is torrential rain!! There is a conservatory for grandparents and so on to sit in if they are cold. The garden is massive so more than enough space for a marquee. Sugarwalsh - I have looked into buying marquees on ebay and so on but just worried that they will not withstand rain and wind? Can you give me any tips?

Both our dads and my oh are very 'handy' and have all tried to convince me they can make a watertight shelter out of marquees but I am just worried it will end up with all our guests huddling in a corner, lol. Then like you say there is flooring, decorations, tables, etc.

Running music from the shed is a great idea as we do have a power socket outside in the garage.

Food, hmmm. I can and have catered for parties before, I am thinking, getting our bbq, mum and dads bbq, next doors bbq and getting some of our mates (who would be more than happy) stationed behind them? Costco run the day before? But then of course there is clearing up, etc, I have this image of me running around sorting out ketchup and so on.

My mum says its all in the planning which I guess is true. The main thing I am worried about is the weather.

sugarwalsh

If you are really worried have you looked at local halls? At least you would be water tight!
The marquee we bought was up for a week during some terrible weather. It wasn't 100% waterproof, the rain was blowing sideways so some got in! Also I think for that many people you would need 2. Obviously if the ground is level you have a better chance of making them waterproof.
I think you can buy flooring and hire tables etc.
My own personal view is for that many people it is easier just to pay someone to do some of it. I don't mind running around helping others, but for my own wedding I didn't want to lift a finger on the day and I didn't want to ask others.
have you looked at papa kata marquees? They are based in your area I think.
Mx

smithkinson

Costco sell marquees that are pretty good quality, they usually have a bit on display so you can see what they're like.