In the UK, garden parties are a way for The Queen to speak to a wide range of people from different backgrounds, walks of life and professions. Did you know that at every single garden party hosted by The Queen:
- 27,000 cups of tea are served
- 20,000 sandwiches are served
- 20,000 cakes are served
Of course, that might be a bit of a tall order for your garden party, and you might not want it to be quite as formal as one hosted by The Queen! So how do you theme a garden party? And how do you decide on the food, drink and other aspects? The first thing you need to do is allow yourself the time and the energy to plan. Have a brainstorming session with anyone else involved in the party, and lay out things like a budget and potential dates, practical things like where in the garden you want the event (if you have a large garden) and how many guests. Once that is done, the second thing you need to do is read this list of garden party themes for inspiration:
1. Bringing The Indoors Out
One huge theme of decor and design over the last few years has been bringing the outdoors-in with features like nature macro art, natural materials used in accessories and furniture, lots of glass and the addition of living walls and hanging plants. So, a fun idea might be to do a bringing the indoors out themed party instead. You could create a ‘kitchen area’, a ‘cloakroom’ and even a living room with some inflatable sofas, pillows and rugs.
2. Holding Your Own Mini-Festival
Festivals are so much fun and are always outdoors so, they could be the ideal theme for your garden party. You could have a face painting station, flower headband making, a welly station, games, a ‘food truck’ cardboard front to your buffet stand, and even a makeshift stage complete with a generator to support a sound system and DJ (you could even invite local bands to play if you have the budget).
3. Prom Night
Why not recreate that cute prom feel with a prom night garden party theme. It is an excuse for the ladies to get all glammed up, whilst the guys get suited and booted. Corsages are a must for dates, and you can set up a photography area, food and drink with lots of punch, a dance area with plenty of floor lights and maybe even some competitions like prom king and queen, with the relevant crowns and accessories of course!
4. A Rubbish Shirts Party
This is one for the lazy garden party planner who doesn’t want their guests to feel too pressured to spend much on a costume. You can jazz up your outdoor space with plenty of clashing prints, ugly pillow covers, maybe some retro snacks and cheesy music. You want it all to be as naff as possible for the biggest laughs. Don’t forget a really cheesy present for the winner of the most rubbish shirt/outfit.
5. A TV Show/Film Theme
Lord of the Rings, Friends, Mad Men, Jurassic Park, the TV show or film is entirely your choice, but it is worth picking one that your friends and family all know! Once you have it set, you can then go to town on the set in your garden. Cardboard cutouts of the characters is always fun for photos, as well as novelty named food such as NY sandwiches with a Friends theme party, or T Rex Mex Mix if it is Jurassic Park. There’s no way to make it cool so you may as well just run with it and make it cheesy!
6. A Toga Party
Toga parties are rich pickings for a garden party because there is so much you can do to theme the space and the guests. Adorn the outdoor area with ivy and vines, grapes, white sheets and lots of gold sprayed accessories. Costumes will be plenty of bedsheets and braided hair with any luck, but you can always have a basket of extra accessories and a fun photo area for added novelty. Food could be Greek themed with lots of cheese, grapes, dips and bread which will be very easy to prepare in advance. According to a study, guests do care about food but it isn’t everything. They would much rather be chatting to you or just having fun in general. So, pre-prepared food is a great idea because you can put a ton of effort in beforehand to impress guests, but you don’t have to do anything special with it on the night.
7. Masquerade Ball
Masquerade balls are a lot of fun, especially when it comes to the costumes. You can ensure your garden space is luxurious and opulent with plenty of velvet throws, pillows and beautiful lighting along with high grade canapes. Guests will have fun preparing their outfits and you can have a competition for the best masks. This is definitely one to pay out for a live band if your budget will stretch to it.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination – Albert Einstein
Your garden can become whatever you want it to be for your outdoor event. This is an outdoor space with no rules, it is a totally blank canvas. Be creative and let your imagination run wild, in the wild.