Tented Event Tips: Big Outdoor Event DIY Guide

To DIY your next big outdoor tented event, you’re going to need three things: time, patience, and a little help from your friends at Colorado Party Rentals. Acting as your event planner can keep your budget in check, but you need to plan meticulously so that your DIY ambitions doesn’t affect your event. Our first gift to you is to pass on our wisdom from having helped multiple clients DIY a big outdoor event.

Guide to DIY Event Planning

Planning and research are going to be a considerable portion of your event planning duties. One way to tackle your event is to start with the venue, and then work your way towards all the smaller details. A sort of “outside-in” approach. The first step is to picture your event as a whole. When you step back and look at the big picture, what do you envision for your event?

Tent for Every Event

For an outdoor event, you’re going to need a tent. However, many event tents can be configured to your needs, so before you choose a tent style, you need to design a layout for your outdoor event. Draw up a blueprint for how you want the event to look, and then rent event tents that can meet your layout and event configuration.

Designing a Layout for Your Event

Since there are so many styles of tents for every type of event, you can be creative in your layout. The layout is important because it will create a visual appeal to your event, but should also be practical. Design a layout that has great energy and flow, increasing the enjoyment and the success of your event. The layout will help guide your guests to have a fun, positive, and memorable experience.

Dress up Your Tent

Once you have the layout, think about other essentials you need for your tent. Every tent style will have a few accessories that can dress up your event tent, and make it more efficient and practical. It’s always important to think about the practical aspects as well as the decorative so that you cover all your bases. Covering all the bases is the key to successfully DIYing a tented outdoor event, or any event, for that matter. Consider the weather and the time of day, and the purpose of your event to decide if you need to add walls and flooring for a more comfortable event.

Tent Essentials

The types of elements you have at your event will determine the size and the layout of your tent. Make room for tent essentials that will meet the needs of your event. Outdoor events can be anything from a wedding to a festival, to a birthday party, to a corporate event. Each type of event has certain essentials you need to consider. Once you have a tent, you need to bring in furniture, decorations, and other practical elements like flooring, staging, lighting, and heating.

Tables and chairs

Whether you are hosting a big formal sit down dinner, a big company picnic, or a festival, you’re going to need to rent tables and chairs. For most events, you know how many people are coming, so plan accordingly. If you are planning a corporate event with presentations and speakers, make sure you account for the set-up of chairs for the audience. Consider each element at your event, and then make a list of the essentials.

Flooring

If you have a casual festival style event where you want your guests to keep standing or move from element to element, then you might be able to get away without adding flooring to your tent. However, if you need your guests to be seated for an extended period, you want the ground to be even and smooth so that your guests are comfortable. Flooring will also elevate your event to a more formal setting, so you also want to think about the atmosphere you want to create when you plan your event.

Lighting

No matter the event you’re going to need lighting. But, there’s more to lighting than making sure everyone can see. Create the right ambiance with task, mood, and spotlighting. You also want to think about how the event is going to change from day to night, and plan your lighting needs accordingly.

Decorative touches

The final touch to a DIY event is to add purely decorative touches that will elevate your event. Pipe and drape is a planner’s best friend. There’s nothing that can’t be made beautiful with a big of pipe and drape. Hide the metal frame and poles of your event tent with beautiful drapery, and hide staging and storage areas with some pipe and drape that matches the color and theme of your event. Adding drapery as decoration will also add a decorative through-line to make your entire event tent cohesive.

Colorado Party Rentals make it easy and cost-effective to DIY a big outdoor tented event in Colorado.