Just to confirm it is not a marquee party to which many trees have been invited, just a lawn with lots of trees in it (that may or may not want to go to a party).

The lawn is covered in large, medium and small trees. To give away how to tackle this problem the large and medium trees are too tall to fit inside a marquee but the small ones can just about fit inside.

Well tended gardens filled with trees and beds are usually owned by the older generation (hence golden wedding anniversary). Family gardens usually have more open spaces.

requirements:

• Lunchtime meal ideally for 100 but maybe less depending on capacity available
• No lighting or dance floor required

My suggested solution next week.

Thanks for reading

Spencer

The first thing to note is that marquees in a field are from from easy and far from straight forward. They’re easy to erect as there’s no constrictions and you can often drive to it but too much choice is often a head-ache.

Keeping everyone in one place is key, the easiest way to do this is to have large enough marquees to house everyone inside for a formal function or to create a courtyard type feel for an informal function. If you’re using an outside space for drinks or similar then you want to create a set area, this could be picket fencing (formal) or hay bales (informal) or outside seating collected together just outside the marquee.

My suggested solution:

It’s an informal function so I’ve used three marquees to create a horse-shoe arrangement to keep everyone in one place. The marquees would all be open to the courtyard so people can drift in and out of the marquees.

The hog-roast would be to one side of the outside furniture, it makes a good talking point and is like a magnet for some guests (mainly us blokes). Keeping it nearby (downwind of the marquee though so smoke doesn’t blow in!) keeps everyone together so you don’t end up with two parties.

Notice the large variance in number of expected guests, this is very common amongst informal functions. You just have to allow enough room and a variety of seating for most but not all people, that means the marquee won’t look empty if numbers are on the low side but can still cope with a higher number of guests.

Mixing up different size tables gives an informal atmosphere along with a few large open spaces and just chairs around the edge near the dance floor. The bar, buffet and music (generally a band rather than DJ in this set up)  are all central though people can sit away from the music but still be part of the party if they want to.

Other things to consider with marquees in a field:

• Get the customer to cut the grass as short as possible as early as possible. Cutting it short just before the marquee is erected leaves spiky stubble which is difficult to get a good surface on using carpet or matting.
• If the event is planned far enough in advance get the marquee footprint rolled as well as this makes the world of difference.
• Parking is often in another part of the field, make sure the marquee is orientated to be attractive to people as they arrive (so they’re not clambering round from the back) and that there’s some lighting for them to find their cars afterwards.
• Fields are generally a long distance from a house so generators are usually required (but can be set a long way back from the marquee so order plenty of cabling with it)

Thanks for reading

Spencer

Easy one this week, a wide open field:

requirements:

• informal wedding for 120-200 guests in July
• guests will be parking in the field
• food will be supplied by hog roast and bbq’s throughout the day so there’s no formal sit down meal
• disco in the evening

Easy right? My suggested proposal next week.

Thanks for reading

Spencer