Festival season is now well underway with the queues to Glastonbury trailing 15 miles back as party goers descend on the site for the ultimate festival weekend. If you love the boho feel of a festival and are feeling inspired to take the best elements and use it to style your own party, we’ve put together some festival party essentials and top tips to help you plan the perfect celebration.
A mini-festival is a great way to get friends and family together to celebrate birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. It can also be used for corporate events such as fund raisers, press days or the ultimate staff summer party. Our guide will help you along the way.
And if you want to see some ideas on how to master the festival vibe then our Pinterest board should do the trick.
- The Venue
Assuming you’re going for something more intimate than the 200,000+ guests that Michael Eavis has round to his place for Glastonbury, your garden may well be suitable. Just give some thought to the practical considerations such as parking. If you need somewhere bigger and have to hire somewhere, then you’ll have to consider how guests are going to get there, what facilities are offered, how much space is available and electricity supplies (especially important if you’re camping in a field where you’ll need to look into generator hire).
- To Teepee or Not To Teepee?
Obviously to create a beautiful looking festival, normal camping tents are a no-no, whilst a classic white marquee can be over the top; you need something more magical so think teepees and yurts. The positioning of your tent is important too – can you incorporate a natural feature such as a pretty tree inside it? Bringing the outside inside is a key look at the moment and suspending seasonal flowers from the ceiling can look sensational.
- Chill Out Area
Yes, it’s a festival and you want to party all night long but in reality guests also need somewhere to chill out and relax in between all the festivities, so give some thought to seating. We love the use of deckchairs, cushions scattered freely and hay bales spruced up with a little fabric or some blankets to make them a little more comfortable.
- Finding your way round
If you’ve got different activities planned then signage is essential for helping your guests find their way round and also give an authentic festival feel. Think about adding a few fun directions such as ‘This Way’ or ‘Nowhere’.
- What to eat
Food at a festival needs to be a relaxed affair so street food is perfect; look at providing a variety of options at different pop-up stalls. If you’re after something a bit more elegant you could introduce a long banqueting table for guests to sit around. Use large sharing plates and serve cocktails drinks out of jam jars and incorporate edible flowers into your food for a pretty, summery feel.
- The little touches
Bring the festival feel to life with interesting decoration touches. The list of options is endless: bunting, streamers, ribbons, pompoms, festoon lighting, tons of florals and rustic details look great as festival decor.
- Spark Up
We know we always go on about it, but lighting is key at any event because you can use it to create any mood. Inexpensive options include hurricane lamps, festoon lighting, candle bags and flambeaux to add some drama. Get your guests involved too by handing out glow sticks for the dancefloor and as the evening draws on a bonfire is great for snuggling round whilst fireworks would provide a grand finale.
- Dress Code
Encourage guests to dress the part or provide a selection of props such as feather headdresses or floral garlands. What about sending out the invitations as a wristband or lanyard to offer ‘all-access’ pass to the party and provide an authentic festival touch. And if it rains? A big basket of giant umbrellas and a supply of pretty wellies will keep the party going.
- Party All Night
If you don’t want the party to stop but have sound restrictions to consider, then why not consider a silent disco to take you into the small hours.
- Don’t end on a bum note
It might not be the most exciting part of event planning but as any festival goer will tell you, it’s an essential consideration. These days there are plenty of luxury loo hire companies to choose from and a few jars of flowers and luxury soaps will help fit with the theme – depending on your budget you might want to treat your guests to a roll of Hanebisho, the ultimate in toilet paper from Japan which has paper that is so beautiful that it’s been known for people to display them in the living room. Who said camping couldn’t be glamorous!
Evolve Events are award winning party planners, creating luxury events. Our luxury party planning services including free venue finding, event styling and event management to create memories that last a lifetime.
We also offer a free venue finding service. If you’d like our help styling your event or finding the perfect venue just get in touch with the team (email: info@evolve-events.com).
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