The True Cost of a Woodland Wedding

Beautifully simple… or more complicated than it looks?

There’s something incredibly appealing about creating your own woodland or outdoor wedding. Find a beautiful piece of land. Bring in a marquee. Add some tables, fairy lights and flowers. Invite your favourite people.

Done. Except… there’s quite a bit more to it than that.

A wedding in the great outdoors still needs everything a traditional wedding needs and quite a few things it doesn’t.

You need somewhere for everyone to sit. Somewhere to dance. Somewhere to eat. Somewhere to prepare the food. Somewhere to go to the toilet. Somewhere to wash up. Somewhere to get a drink. Power for the lights, music and caterers. Shelter if it rains. Lighting when it gets dark. Bins. Parking. Staff. Fire safety. Access. And all the little things your guests expect to simply be there.

And that's before you've thought about candles, glasses, ice, toilet paper, hand soap, umbrellas, blankets and what happens when somebody spills red wine on the floor!

This is where the real cost of a DIY woodland wedding can start to appear.

The Oak Grove vs. Starting From Scratch

Our 2027 and 2028 wedding hire is £9,850 for exclusive three-day use of The Oak Grove, with weddings taking place on Saturdays between May and September.

That gives you the time to set up and decorate, your wedding day, and time afterwards for suppliers to clear away, without having to turn your wedding day into a logistical operation. And importantly, the £9,850 isn't simply the cost of hiring a patch of woodland.

It includes a huge amount of the infrastructure you'd otherwise need to source, hire, deliver, install, manage and remove yourself.

Here's what we mean…

What you need

Create it yourself

The Oak Grove

Woodland/event space

Find and potentially hire suitable land

Exclusive use included

Main reception structure

Marquee, tipi or stretch tent

Three stretch tents included

Flooring

Additional flooring hire and installation

Specialist wood like composit floors included throughout the tents
Ceremony area Build or hire an arbour/arch and seating Licensed Living Arbour ceremony area
Tables and Chairs Hire, transport, set up and return Included
Crockery, Cutlery & Glassware Hire, wash and return Included
Lighting Lighting hire, electric power hire, cables and installation Included
Woodland lighting Separate festoon/tree lighting Included
Candles Buy/hire, place and clear away Real wax candles included
Power Generator, fuel and distribution Mains power supply included
Catering kitchen/Catering Space Separate catering tent/kitchen setup Equipped woodland kitchen included
Running water Arrange temporary supply Hot and cold water included
Food preparation area Hire/build Included
Sinks Hire, plumb in Included
Ice Buy, transport and store Chest freezer full of ice + ice maker included
Bar Hire a bar structure, Hire Recruit and organise staff Two fully stocked bar areas with staff included
Toilets/Accessible toilet Portable toilet hire Three luxury horsebox toilets with a Accessible toilet included
Toilet consumables Stock and replenish Facilities fully stocked
Fire pit Hire/buy, fuel and manage Fire pit, fuel and management included
Children's area Create/hire Children's play area included
Lounge furniture Hire Included
Outdoor furniture Hire Included
Parking/Overnight Parking Find, prepare and manage Private parking included
Waste management Arrange bins, collection and recycling Clear-up and recycling included
Housekeeping Organise cleaning throughout the day Included
Blankets/Umbrellas/cushions Buy/hire Included
Wedding coordination Hire separately or manage yourselves Dedicated Wedding Coordinator included
On-the-day management Appoint someone to run the site Event team included
Supplier coordination Manage yourselves Support for you and your suppliers included
Setup and Take Down time Often restricted by hire period 3 Dedicated setup and clear day

Food, drink, catering staff, flowers, entertainment, linens, additional décor, wedding insurance and legal/registrar fees are not included in the Oak Grove hire price.

But how much does all of that actually cost?

This is where comparing venue hire prices can be misleading. A £3,000, £5,000 or £6,000 piece of land or marquee may initially look like an amazing deal.

But what exactly does that figure include? For a wedding of around 100–120 guests, current UK cost guides suggest that a properly equipped marquee/outdoor setup can quickly run into many thousands of pounds before you have even paid for your food, drinks, photographer, flowers or entertainment. Marquee, flooring, lighting, furniture, toilets and power alone can create a substantial infrastructure bill.

A Quick Example of Costs (illustrative example)

  • £5,000 land/marquee hire

  • £2,500 flooring hire

  • £1,000 toilets hire

  • £600 power hire

  • £xx water hire

  • £xx Waste

  • £2,000 furniture hire

  • £xx Tableware/Glassware/Cutlery

  • £1,000 lighting

  • £500 bar (un-staffed)

  • £750 catering infrastructure inc food storage

  • £1,000 little things/decoration

    = £14,350 before catering, drinks, flowers, entertainment or photography

A realistic DIY infrastructure checklist

Here's the bit that often gets missed:

THE BIG STUFF

  • Land or venue hire

  • Marquee, tipi or stretch tent

  • Flooring

  • Ceremony structure

  • Tables

  • Chairs

  • Dance floor

  • Bar

  • Toilets

  • Accessible toilet facilities

  • Catering tent or kitchen

  • Generator or power supply

  • Lighting

  • Heating or cooling

  • Parking

  • Waste facilities

THE MIDDLE-SIZED STUFF

  • Catering tables

  • Buffet tables

  • Cake table

  • Bar furniture

  • Lounge furniture

  • Outdoor seating

  • Signage

  • Coat storage

  • Refrigeration

  • Freezer space

  • Ice

  • Sinks

  • Handwashing facilities

  • Water supply

  • Extension leads

  • Cable covers

  • Fire extinguishers

  • First-aid equipment

  • Weather protection

  • Umbrellas

  • Blankets

AND THEN THERE ARE THE THINGS YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT UNTIL YOU NEED THEM

  • Toilet paper

  • Hand soap

  • Hand towels

  • Sanitary products

  • Baby changing

  • Accessible access

  • Bins

  • Bin bags

  • Recycling

  • Cleaning products

  • Kitchen cleaning

  • Washing-up facilities

  • Glasses

  • Plates

  • Cutlery

  • Serving equipment

  • Ice buckets

  • Bottle openers

  • Bottle bins

  • Candles

  • Candle holders

  • Lighters

  • Extension cables

  • Spare bulbs

  • Outdoor lighting

  • Wet-weather mats

  • Somewhere for suppliers to unload

  • Somewhere for caterers to prep food

  • Somewhere to store drinks

  • Somewhere to store the cake

  • Somewhere for suppliers to park

  • Somewhere for guests to park

  • Somewhere for guests to wait

  • Somewhere for children to play

  • Someone to deal with problems when something goes wrong

The hidden cost: your time

And then there's the small matter of who is actually going to manage all of these elements! This is probably the biggest cost of doing everything yourself.

Someone has to:

  • Book it.

  • Coordinate it.

  • Receive it.

  • Set it up.

  • Check it.

  • Clean it.

  • Manage it.

  • Fix it when something goes wrong.

  • Take it all down again.

You could be that person or you may have another cost in hiring someone to manage this for you.

At The Oak Grove, we provide a dedicated Wedding Coordinator and a team of staff throughout your day, with support for you and your suppliers before, during and after the wedding