Garden parties have always been a hugely popular affair in the U.S., from the formal summer soiree to the all American BBQ party. That trend has made its way across the water in recent years with garden parties now in full flow in Ireland once the summer weather hits.

Summer sunshine is sticking around for longer every year in Ireland, reaching temperatures above the heights seen in holiday hotspots like Spain and Portugal and we’re all finding ways to make the most of it.

If you have a special occasion to celebrate, be it a birthday, Communion, Confirmation, engagement or wedding after party, or you simply fancy gathering some friends and family round, a summer garden party is the way to go.

We’ve put together our top tips to help you make it happen, and ensure it’s a blast!

• Ensure everywhere has somewhere to sit

Summer garden parties create a relaxed atmosphere so you can mix up your seating options, providing foldaway chairs, stools, garden furniture, bean bags, cushions and blankets so that everyone has somewhere to comfortably sit if they wish to.

• Bring the inside outside

If you’re throwing a summer party, unless you want people nesting inside your home, you’ll need to provide a place to shelter in the shade and to retreat to when the temperatures get a little cooler in the evening.

That’s why marquees are such a popular feature at summer parties. Whatever the weather, once you hire a party marquee, you can be guaranteed to host your outdoor party and provide a covered area that keeps guests comfy and out of your home.

• Consider catering

The joy of hosting a garden party at your home is that you can cook and serve the food from your kitchen or get the BBQ going outside. However, this means extra clean up, extra stress and less time spent actually enjoying yourself at the party.

When you weigh up the cost and stress of home cooking vs hiring caterers to prepare and serve a buffet or man the BBQ, it really can be so worthwhile opting for caterers, especially if you have a large number of guests.

• Kegs over bottled beer

Another common trend at Irish garden parties is to provide a home bar experience by providing self-serve beer kegs instead of bottled beer. Miniature versions are available from supermarkets and off-licences, while there are lots of providers who offer larger kegs for hire.

It can work out a lot cheaper to get a beer keg in and you don’t have to fret about consistently replenishing the beer supply and keeping bottles cool. Less stress for you and an entertaining feature for your guests.

• Be your own DJ

If you have a marquee in place, you will have somewhere to house a music system or Bluetooth speaker. So prepare a Spotify playlist in advance, hook it up to your music system or speaker and you’ve got your background music sorted.

Consider the musical tastes of your guests when putting together a playlist – how much does Granddad appreciate dance music? Will the kids get bored of continuous 80’s throwbacks? If you have an Ipad or tablet, it can be fun to run your streaming service through this and allow guests to go up and add songs to the playlist on the day.

Soak up all the summer sun and fun and take full advantage of your garden by hosting a garden party that your guests will truly enjoy. Follow our 5 top tips and you’ll be all set to throw a stress-free summer soiree – Happy planning!

So, you’re looking around your living room or office and trying to imagine where all the people will sit. Even if they stand it’s going to be cramped, right?

If this is you during each year’s festive season it’s time you change your perspective. Don’t look inside the room anymore. Your solution lies outside. Or rather, you can create it outside by simply hiring a marquee.

Here’s why those in the know often use these stylish party tents.

Benefits of Hiring a Marquee

When you stop trying to convert your home or office into the ideal party venue, you can benefit from these marquee features:-

Your outside event can be a dry one no matter the weather since marquees are weatherproof.

– They’re often more budget friendly than hiring a venue or transforming another room.
– You have a range of customization options:
o Pick the size you want
o Decorate in an appropriate theme
o Different styles are available
o Different sizes allow you to pitch it wherever you need it
o With no other furniture using up floor space you can place exactly what you need in terms of tables and chairs.

Here’s the last benefit, unknown to many: Contrary to belief, these marquees are remarkably easy to heat, making them perfect for cold seasons too.

So, where will you use yours? Not sure yet if this applies to your scenario? Let’s count down some possible uses to help you get creative.

One Item — Multiple Applications

Corporate Christmas Party

When you’re catering for the entire office you need space for their partners too. Don’t even think of squeezing them into a boardroom. Whether your available space is on the sidewalk, in the garden or the local school’s sports grounds you can give everyone a spacious area to reminisce about the past year.

Make it even more fun by asking everyone to dress up according to a theme. Decorate the inside of the marquee accordingly for the perfect backdrop to selfies.

Inside a marquee, there can be enough space for a stage and speakers can be hung high enough to produce quality sound. That means you can have a live band or people making speeches and the crowd will hear everything clearly, without distortion.

Christmas Dining Space

If you prefer a more formal event—whether for your friends or colleagues—a garden can be the setting for a magical Christmas dining experience. Hire a small tent for caterers’ equipment if necessary so food doesn’t have to be transported across long distances.

You can set up the ideal event venue by combining different sized marquees.

Christmas New Year Parties

The festivities don’t stop after Christmas though, do they? Hire your marquee for a week and have your New Year’s party there as well. Set it up in a garden area and when the clock strikes 12 everyone can go outside to look at the fireworks.

With the amount of traffic on the roads during these busy nights, it’s much safer and convenient to celebrate at someone’s home or office. But of course, it has to still feel like a party. A marquee gives you the chance to create that environment.

Hire for Christmas Market

Long term hires can be accommodated according to your needs, so why not consider this solution the next time you organize your church, school or community Christmas market? There’s no limit to the number of stalls you can have, apart from how much space you have available. Why not simply change the venue, hire a sports field and see your project grow each year?

That’s the best thing about marquee hire: The versatility. With all that space available there’s no stopping you now: This year’s parties can be legendary.