Party at Your Place
It’s summer! The sun is finally starting to emerge through the clouds bringing with it longer days and cool balmy evenings to enjoy the great outdoors. A perfect opportunity to spend time in the fresh air, catch up with family and friends, relax, dine al fresco, share in some outdoor games and just have fun! Everybody loves a garden party, and nothing brings everybody together better than an outdoor get together. After all, it’s part of our heritage. The Queen’s Buckingham Palace garden parties are an annual tradition where up to 8000 chosen guests enjoy a carefully selected picnic hamper, tea, cake, entertainment and a palace tour.Schools, hospitals and charitable organisations offer hold summer ‘open day’ garden events where the public can gather to watch outdoor sporting events streamed live. Children can channel their energy with bouncy castles and outdoor games and with seasonal food and drink available, these family friendly outdoor garden parties always prove to be an ideal way to spend a summer afternoon.
Planning an Outdoor Garden Party?
However, planning and holding any form of outdoor garden party has its challenges, None more so than the unpredictability of our weather. Yes, it may officially be summertime, but high levels of sunshine can’t be guaranteed. How do you ensure your garden party can go ahead as planned? Do you have adequate outdoor lighting? Does it create a welcoming, ambient summer mood?To give you some inspiration on how to host the perfect outdoor garden event, we look at some of the important elements to bear in mind, and explain how, from start to finish, Events by Knight can take away the planning blues.
Prepare for All Weathers
Nothing puts the dampener on outdoor garden events more than that ominous sudden black cloud and the appearance of rain. Let’s face it, our British summer is unpredictable at the best of times, and those who regularly plan outdoor events must always have contingency measures in place.Think smart, plan ahead with the addition of gazebos, marquees and outdoor tents with seating. Not only will these protect from sudden downpours but also provide shade and shelter from excessive sun and a place for guests to take the weight of their feet.
Garden Furniture // Accessories
Suitable seating / garden furniture is essential. No one wants to stand all day, especially while trying to eat and drink. You’ll need outdoor tables, chairs, cushions as well as ample crockery, glassware and cutlery.
Heating
Even on a boiling hot day temperatures can drop dramatically towards evening. If you’re planning an afternoon / evening event or guests are likely to be staying late, it’s a good idea to think about outdoor heating products such as patio heaters. These also help to create a homely environment.
Lighting
As with heating, the correct use of lighting will bring your event to life. Depending on the size of your garden space, you may like to consider solar powered lights, lanterns, fairy lights, coloured uplighters or even lighting to phase in with music.
Music
A garden party isn’t complete without music. It helps your guests to relax and unwind as well as providing the backdrop for dancing. There are so many options to choose from when deciding on music and entertainment, but do bear in mind your chosen age range and make sure there’s something for everybody. Do you just need a summer playlist created or would a string quartet or a live DJ be more appropriate? Is garden size an issue or would neighbours be affected by too much loud music? If so, a silent disco with the use of wireless headphones might be a solution.
Entertainment
Again, you’ll need to consider the age range of your guests. Ideas could include summer paddling pools and bubble toys for the very little ones, bouncy castles and games for the older children, giant Connect 4, Jenga and interactive games for all age groups or even an outdoor cinema for movie buffs or theme nights.
Garden Décor
Decorating your garden helps to give it that party vibe and welcoming atmosphere. Co-ordinated colour themes work well across balloons, outdoor decorations through to serviettes, floral arrangements, tableware, lighting and accessories.
Food and Drink
Barbeques are a great idea for a summer garden party alongside salads, finger buffets, sandwiches, dips, and light snacks and nibbles. The trick is to keep it simple, seating arrangements may be limited and guests need to be comfortable managing their food and drink. Summer drinks could include ready to pour jugs of Pimm’s, soft drinks, fruit punches, etc. Desserts would best be a choice of individually prepared fruit salads, strawberries, trifles, etc plus a selection of bite sized cakes and pre-sliced larger gateaux.
How can Events by Knight help?
As you can see, putting together any kind of garden party requires time, effort and careful thought as well as access to appropriate resources and equipment.This is where Events by Knight’s expertise and knowledge is invaluable. We produce parties which are guaranteed to impress and a real pleasure to attend. From intimate, friendly garden parties to lavish outdoor wedding celebrations, our parties reflect individuality, style and attention to detail.We’ll take your initial thoughts, ideas and budget and work with you to plan, design, create and stage an outdoor garden party which transform ideas into reality. Our dedicated team of passionate planners have years of experience in designing and putting together spectacular corporate and private events – we understand the latest trends and concepts and we know what works. As professional event planners, Events by Knight also have a reliable network of suppliers and vendors on hand to supply the essential garden accessories as well as the co-ordinated extras. We’re able to cover all eventualities from sourcing last minute marquees, tables and seating arrangements to bringing you the latest technologies for interactive gaming, sound, silent discos. We’re also able to negotiate the best rates and discounts, thus making budgets stretch further.
Come and Talk to Us
We love planning exciting events and gradually seeing them spring to life. Tell us about your ideas for an outdoor garden party, the number of guests and age range you’re planning to invite and budget and we’ll work with you to achieve it. For us, no outdoor garden party is too big and similarly none will ever be too small. Events by Knight create bespoke, tailor made parties fully designed around your special day. From start to finish – layouts, schedules, equipment, accessories, décor, heating, lighting, music, entertainment, catering – we’ll produce, manage and take care of your party, leaving you to relax, mingle with your guests and enjoy being the perfect host, safe in the knowledge that your event is in the hands of professional industry experts. We’d love to hear from you, so if we can assist in any aspect of putting together your summer garden party, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Email: info@eventsbyknight.co.uk or call +44(0)20 3130 4040