Preparing the Garden for an Outdoor Wedding

Throughout the whirlwind that comes with planning a wedding, you need to take a step back and focus on what needs to be done before the big day. If you’re planning on hosting a wedding in your own garden, then there are going to be lots of important checks and things to do before the big day. From trimming the hedges to checking the grounds are safe, it’s time to get your garden in shape for the special day ahead.

Safety First

Before you start to carry out the obvious tasks within the garden, you need to do a full assessment on your garden and figure out just how safe it currently is. Whilst you may think your garden is completely fine and there are no risks, you’d be surprised at just how many risks there can be. Here are the main safety points to double check:

• All walls are secure and safe. If they aren’t, they should be labelled so that guests know not to lean or climb on the wall.
• Steps are clearly marked and safe to use. Make sure there are no loose stones or slabs on the steps as you don’t want anyone falling over.
• Any drops or edges are cordoned off of marked so that people are aware it is there.
• Dangerous gardening equipment/tools are stored away and out of reach of younger children.
• Ponds or water features are well-lit and easy to identify. You can find some competitively priced lights at Bradshaws Direct to add to your pond.

Keep it Neat

Having a neat, presentable garden is going to be at the top of your priority list for the wedding, so now is the time to ensure every part of the garden is trimmed back, cut and aesthetically pleasing. Start with the largest tasks first, such as mowing the lawn, trimming back hedges and bushes and pressure washing the decking or patio. These tasks may take a few days to fully complete and can be weather dependant, so it’s best to get them out of the way first. You then need to focus on getting any nasty weeds or dead plants out from flowerbeds, plant pots and hanging baskets and replace them with fresh new flowers.

Create Easy Access

Your guests are going to want to move around the garden with ease and comfort, especially those who could be wearing high heels, so you need to make sure you’ve got plenty of hard surfacing for your guests to walk on. If your garden is mainly made up of grass, you may need to invest in some surface slabs to lay on top of the grass for people to easily walk around. If you have paving and paths, be sure to light these up with some delicate fairy lights to show everyone where to walk, this will make it much easier than hobbling along the grass in the dark! It’s also really beneficial to label gates and doors with signs to identify where they lead to or what they are for. For example, the main garden in the gate could have a sign saying, “Wedding this way”, just as the toilet door could have a clear “toilet” sign and so on. This will make it much easier for your guests to get around without having to ask for directions every 5 minutes.