Creating the Atmosphere
Choose a location. You will likely want your garden party to be outside. This can be in your backyard, a park, or a garden. Consider the view and the scenery when choosing a space. Make sure to pick a location where the ground is level enough for comfortable seating.
Set up lights. If your garden party is going to go past sunset, create soft and romantic lighting. You can use battery powered lanterns or outdoor string lights. You can decorate your string lights with flowers and other embellishments. You can set up candles around your party to create soft lighting. You can even set up torches around the space. Consider lighting a path to and from the party.
Choose a color scheme. Choose around 3-4 colors to use for your party color scheme. You can use bright, festive colors like pink and orange or darker colors like blue and green. You will want your decorations, tableware, lights, and any other accessories at your party to coordinate with the color scheme.
Set up tables and chairs. Have tables and chairs set up in your space before the party. You can bring out any tables and chairs you have inside or use outdoor patio furniture. If you don’t have enough tables and chairs, you can rent them from party or event stores. Set up enough chairs for all of your guests. Alternatively you can lay out blankets and pillows and make your garden party picnic style.
Have decorative table settings. Choose table cloths and place settings that match your color scheme. You can use any fabric for a tablecloth by cutting it and hemming it. Coordinate your placemats and table cloth by pulling together one central color in the designs. You will also want centerpieces for your garden party. You can make elaborate centerpieces or you can do something simple like vases of flowers or flowers in distilled water.
Set up measures to help prevent bugs. No matter how much delicious food, good music, and fun games you have planned, it won’t stop bugs from annoying your guests. You can take measures to help prevent bugs from inviting themselves to your party. Keep any food outside covered with lids or keep the food inside. Set up bug zappers and citronella candles to help prevent mosquitoes.
Planning the Food
Get ready to grill. Since grilling is traditionally done outside, this is a great option for your garden party. You can grill burgers, lobster, steak, or skewers for your party. Set up your grill before the party and make sure you have enough propane and any food you are grilling.
Prepare side dishes. You can have summer themed dishes at your garden party. Have potato salad, watermelon, fruit salad, or cucumber salad. Consider having finger food. It is nice for guests to have easily portable food so they can wander around and mingle while they eat. Good finger food options are cheese plates, mini empanadas, and cucumber stacks.
Get dessert. Have dessert ready for your guests. You can make something yourself or buy something store made to save time. Macaroons, fruit tarts, cupcakes, and key lime pie are great dessert options for a garden party. Get the dessert ready ahead of time and set it up on a dessert stand.
Prepare cold drinks. Have a variety of drinks for your guests. Iced tea is a classic garden party drink. You can make a large tub of it for not that much. Flavored lemonade (such as raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry) is another great garden party drink. Serve mojitos or margaritas if you want to serve cold alcoholic drinks.
Setting Up Activities
Make a playlist. You can make a mixed CD, use a pre-made playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, or you can make your own playlist. Choose songs that are relative to your taste but also will be liked by your guests and suit the atmosphere of your party. You can use classical, country, electronic, pop, or even a track of nature sounds. Have the playlist ready before the party starts so you don’t have to worry about the music during the party.
Set up a sound system. Before the party, set up a system to play the music. Make sure you have enough extension cords for your speakers to reach or that you have a wireless speaker. Test the speakers before hand to make sure they work and are loud enough for your party.
Set up games. Have outdoor games available for your guests. Set up a badminton net, a cornhole, a miniature golf course, bocce, horseshoes, or a croquet set for your guests to play during your party.
Set up a photobooth. You can easily set up a homemade photobooth at your party for your guests. Just hang up a backdrop and get photobooth props (such as signs, glasses, and scarves). You can set up a camera on a tripod or guests can use their phones to take pictures.
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