Festoon lights
Garden Outdoor Lights Mains Powered - 100ft 30M Festoon Light String LED
The single biggest lift for a marquee or barn once the sun goes down.
View on AmazonToilets, power and facilities for outdoor weddings
If your venue is a field, a garden or a beach-side site, everything a hotel provides has to be brought in. The facilities are the least romantic part of the budget and the part guests notice most when they go wrong.
Toilets
Luxury toilet trailers, with proper flushing loos, sinks, mirrors and lighting, are now the norm for weddings. Hire companies size them by guest numbers and the length of the event. As a rough guide, expect them to suggest something like one toilet for every 35 to 50 guests at an evening wedding, but follow their advice. Ask whether the trailer needs mains water and power or carries its own, and how much space and level ground it needs.
Power and lighting
Caterers, bands, lighting and toilet trailers all need power. Most field weddings run on a hired generator. Ask for a "silent" or super-silenced model, positioned well away from the marquee, with a technician on call. Add up the load from every supplier before you book, so the generator isn't underpowered at the moment the band and the coffee urns start together. Light the route to the loos and the car park as well as the marquee.
Water, waste and access
Find out where water will come from: a standpipe, a bowser or the toilet trailer's own tank. Agree who removes rubbish, glass and recycling after the event. Above all, check access. Many Cornish lanes are single-track with high hedges, and marquee and toilet lorries need room to get in and turn. Walk the route with your suppliers before you book.
Questions to ask
- What size of trailer or how many units do you recommend for our numbers and timings?
- Do you need mains water and power, and how close to the marquee must the unit be?
- Is an attendant included, and who restocks during the evening?
- What size of vehicle delivers it, and can it get down our lane?
Useful to have
LED candles
Da by 3 Pack Ivory Flickering Flameless Candles, Black Wick LED Candles with Fairy Lights, Heat Resistant Reu…
Safe in a marquee, and they don't blow out when the estuary breeze picks up.
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Emergency kit
Emergency Kit for Women – Mini Emergency Kit with Over 50 Bridal Wardrobe Essentials, Essential Handbag Kit, …
Safety pins, plasters, a sewing kit and a stain pen. Give it to one sensible person.
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