Planning a Festival Wedding
Do you love music and the laid back festival vibe with lots of bands, streetfood and colour?
We hear you!
If you’re getting married at a venue with lots of outdoor spaces with plenty of space for you to have music and bands in different areas it can really make for a wedding with a difference.
So what can you do to set the festival vibe at your wedding? Scroll down to see our top tips that most client’s forget about when planning this style of celebration.
Space
Firstly, you’re going to need space, ideally a number of indoor / outdoor areas so that guests can move seamlessly around.
Keep in mind that although you may be trying to recreate Glastonbury, it’s still a wedding and you’ll tend not to have back to back music all day (there’s those little things called vows) so planning is the key and your venue co-ordinator will become your best friend on the day to make sure that it all runs smoothly.
Music
Music is obviously one of the most important elements. Think about the flow of the day and pacing your guests. If you go in hard with heavy music at the start guests will peak too soon in the day and can lead to a lull early evening.
Acoustic sets throughout the day work the best, they have less to set up, guests can talk to each other easily which is important to remember as people catch up with each other at weddings so don’t want to be shouting over a band most of the day.
Have a few playlists ready and a member of your wedding party ready to connect to the venue’s PA between sets so you don’t lose the vibe.
Bars
Bars really set the festival scene, ideally you’ll want an outdoor bar so guests don’t have to keep running indoors through the day, as well as a fully stocked indoor bar in the evening.
A seperate cocktail bar is a bonus that not only adds to the feel of the day and creates a buzz when it opens up, but they stop bottleneck queues at the main bars as cocktails take longer to make.
Food
Street food and pop up food stalls are the key to a good festival. Unlike a traditional wedding breakfast you may be serving up smaller portions more often. Most modern venues will work with you to create a menu plan so that guests aren’t left hungry or too stuffed to dance.
Although you may want streetfood all day (and why not!) you should always have a plan to seat guests for part of the day. Remember that not everyone will want to be on their feet all day and guests will expect to be seated for part of the day.
If guests are staying over at the venue think about providing something for breakfast, not overcomplicated a breakfast butty and coffee usually does the job of getting hungover guests out of bed and ready to depart on time!
Accommodation
If your venue provides overnight accommodation, ask how much there is and if there is the option to bring in additional accommodation such as teepees and bell tents. This is a great way to let guests stay over and cover the cost themselves so not adding to your overall budget.