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The short answer

When planning garden party catering, La Casserole sees four costs that matter just as much as the food: cover for bad weather, power and refrigeration, tableware and furniture, plus service and clean-up. If you only outsource the food, you are still responsible for all the other moving parts, and their impact often becomes clear only on the day itself. With one provider handling the marquee, rentals, styling and staff, you have one point of contact and one event plan.

Key takeaways

• A party on private property will not usually require a permit, but the Environmental Service South Holland South notes that noise nuisance, a marquee or a public element may still require notification or an APV exemption.
• When noise is measured, music carries a 10 decibel correction on top of the reading, according to the Environmental Service South Holland South. That means a garden party with a DJ can exceed the limit much sooner than one with background music.
• Anyone who prepares and sells food several times a year must operate under a HACCP food safety plan, according to the NVWA. Inspectors may check storage temperatures and whether the food preparation area is suitable.
• Good weather is not a planning strategy. According to the KNMI, August 2025 saw an average of 35 mm of rainfall, compared with a normal 83 mm. One exceptionally dry month says nothing about the following year.
• When comparing quotes for garden party catering, always include the four often overlooked costs: the marquee, power and refrigeration, tableware and furniture rental, and set-up and pack-down hours.

Why a garden party can cost more than a venue, and still be the better choice

La Casserole works in a market where caterers, rental companies and event agencies each deliver one part of the event. Private clients often only realise this when the individual quotes begin arriving. The same lesson comes up time and again with couples and families celebrating a milestone: the garden may be free, but everything a venue includes as standard is not. (Services)

A venue comes with electrical circuits, toilets, a wash-up area, heating, lighting and flooring. A garden does not. For one hundred guests, you are effectively building a temporary restaurant, from refrigerated storage to cocktail tables, cooking equipment and outdoor lighting.

Still, people choose to celebrate at home for reasons that go beyond money. Your own garden does not come with a venue manager’s 23.00 cut-off, a shared car park with another event or generic decor you have to disguise with flowers. The atmosphere is already there. You do not have to create it from scratch.

The mistake is in the comparison. A venue quote of €95 per guest is placed next to a catering quote of €55 per guest, and the garden option looks cheaper on paper. Add the marquee, refrigeration, tableware, furniture and set-up hours, and the difference often disappears. When arranging garden party catering, ask for every item to be included in a single quote from the outset. The same calculation applies when planning a wedding or private party without the stress, where the venue choice shapes the rest of the budget.

What can you do in your own garden: permits, noise and food safety

A garden party on private property is usually permit-free, but noise, a marquee and the number of guests can still trigger a requirement to notify the council or apply for an exemption.

Noise is where plans often go wrong

According to the Environmental Service South Holland South, permitted noise levels can vary by municipality, neighbourhood, street and even time of day under the Environmental and Planning Act. These details are set out in the local environmental plan, so there is no single nationwide limit. The same source highlights the music correction: 10 decibels are added to the measurement result. As a result, an amplified live band can exceed the limit sooner than conversation at the same perceived volume.

In practical terms, this means two things. Ask your local council what noise level and end time apply at your address, and apply for an APV exemption early if you plan to use amplified music. Point speakers towards your own home, rather than the property boundary.

The caterer is responsible for food safety, not the host

This is where DIY hosts most often underestimate the challenge. The NVWA states that anyone preparing and selling food several times a year must follow a HACCP food safety plan. Inspections can cover hygienic working practices, the suitability of the preparation area, correct storage temperatures and pest control.

That legal obligation does not apply if you are cooking for your own private party. The food safety risk remains, though. Meat and dairy left on an outdoor table for three hours on a summer day are unsafe regardless of the rules. For garden party catering, a professional provider brings refrigeration, temperature monitoring and a sheltered preparation area. That is not an optional extra. It is exactly why you hire them.

Checklist:

• Call the council at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance and ask about the noise limit and end time in the environmental plan for your address.
• Apply for an APV exemption as soon as you book amplified music or a DJ.
• Let immediate neighbours know in writing about the date, end time and a phone number where they can reach you.
• Ask your caterer how their HACCP plan works and how they will manage on-site refrigeration, rather than simply asking whether they have a plan.
• Check whether the marquee or any structure will extend onto public land. If it does, additional rules almost always apply.

DIY, individual suppliers or one provider: what does it really cost?

There are three options, each with a different level of risk. Doing it yourself means calling everyone, collecting equipment, setting up and washing up. Combining individual suppliers means becoming the project manager: you coordinate the marquee crew, caterer, rental company and DJ, while working out who is waiting on whom on the day. One provider means one event plan and one invoice.

The table below compares the three approaches across the areas where time and money tend to disappear. These are practical guide prices, not a formal quote. Your actual cost depends on guest numbers, menu choices and how accessible the garden is.

The cost people most often overlook is transport. Every supplier charges their own call-out fee, loading time and collection trip. With five suppliers, you pay five times for the same journey to the same garden. When one provider manages your garden party catering, those trips are consolidated. This is also why using one catering partner can often work out more cost-effectively than separate quotes suggest.

Where the budget grows in real life

Imagine a couple planning a reception and dinner for 90 guests in a family garden. The catering quote looks attractively priced. Then come the items that were not included: a marquee with sidewalls, a refrigerated trailer, lighting after sunset, cocktail tables, tableware, a generator because the fuse box cannot cope, and two additional servers because the route between the kitchen and garden is longer than expected. With garden party catering, the total price per guest can rise by several tens of percent compared with the initial estimate. Not because anyone was overpriced, but because no one had budgeted for the whole event.

What should you handle yourself, and what should you outsource for a garden party?

The decision should not be based on budget alone. Ask instead: what could go wrong on the day, and who could still fix it?

Power is one of those things. A standard household electrical supply will not usually cope with a refrigerated trailer, hot-holding equipment, sound system and lighting all at once. The fuse does not blow during set-up. It goes around 20.00, when everything is running. By then, it is too late to solve the problem. Ask your caterer to calculate the required load in advance and decide whether a generator is needed. The practical details, including a weather contingency, are covered in this guide to garden party catering and avoiding power and weather issues.

Weather is the second issue. According to the KNMI, August 2025 recorded an average of 35 mm of rain, while 83 mm is normal. A dry month like that can make a marquee seem unnecessary. It tells you nothing about the following year. Book the marquee for garden party catering as insurance, not decoration.

What should remain yours? The guest list, music, speeches and the personal styling choices. Those are the details people remember, and where a supplier adds little value.

Three questions that make the decision easier

1. How many guests are you inviting? For up to around 30 people, DIY with a private chef can be realistic. From around 50 guests, refrigeration, service and washing up become a logistics operation rather than a simple task.
2. How long will the event last? Three hours of drinks requires a very different refrigeration plan from a party that begins at 15.00 and ends at midnight.
3. Do you want to be the host or the organiser? You cannot fully be both. If you want to enjoy the day, hand over the operational work.

Checklist:

• Measure the available garden space and subtract the room needed for the marquee, buffet and walkways before setting your guest count.
• Have the required power in kilowatts calculated and compare it with your electrical distribution board.
• Set one end time in the event plan and communicate it to suppliers and neighbours.
• Agree who will clean up afterwards and how late that work is allowed to continue.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a wedding for 100 guests cost?

Total budget. A complete wedding with a venue, catering, styling, bar and staff can range from several thousand to tens of thousands of euros in the Netherlands, with catering often the largest cost. For a garden party with 100 guests, €55 to €95 per guest is a realistic guide when the marquee, rentals and service are included. Always ask for a quote that clearly lists transport, set-up, pack-down and staff hours.

How much does a party for 100 people at home cost?

At-home party. Hosting at home saves the venue hire fee, but you still need to bring in the facilities a venue provides: a marquee, power, refrigeration, tableware, furniture and toilets. In practice, a well-organised home party for 100 guests can therefore cost roughly the same as one at a venue. The difference is that you control the end time and styling. The biggest saving rarely comes from DIY. It comes from consolidating suppliers, so you only pay for transport and set-up once.

Do I need a permit for a garden party?

Permit requirements. A party on private property usually does not need a permit, but the Environmental Service South Holland South notes that noise nuisance, a large number of visitors, a marquee or structure on public land, or a public character can require notification or an exemption. Rules vary by municipality. Call your council 4 to 6 weeks in advance and ask specifically about the noise limit and end time for your address.

What time does the music have to stop at a garden party?

End time. There is no longer one nationwide cut-off. Under the Environmental and Planning Act, permitted decibel levels can differ by municipality, neighbourhood, street and time of day, and are recorded in the local environmental plan. Remember that music has a 10 decibel correction added during a noise measurement, so you can exceed the limit sooner than expected. A timely APV exemption may allow different rules and higher volumes.

What happens to the food if it rains?

Weather plan. A good event plan sets out in advance where food preparation, the buffet and guests will go if it rains, including the point at which that decision is made. In practice, this is often decided on the morning of the party, while there is still time to put up the marquee. Without cover, an outdoor buffet has to move indoors, which almost always causes bottlenecks with more than around 50 guests.

Conclusion

Planning a garden party with catering is not just about the menu. It depends on the four essentials around it: weather cover, power and refrigeration, tableware and furniture rental, and the hours required for set-up, service and washing up. If you only budget for these after accepting the catering quote, the cost per guest can climb unexpectedly and you can end up acting as project manager rather than host.

The practical order is simple: first, confirm guest numbers and the end time. Next, call the council about noise and any notification requirements. Then have the necessary power load calculated. Only after that should you request quotes that include every cost in one place. La Casserole’s complete approach, bringing catering, styling, rentals, technical production and project management together in one event plan with one contact, is designed to keep that process on track.

About La Casserole

La Casserole is a full service event partner based in Best, combining catering, styling, technical production, rentals and project management into one complete solution for corporate and private events. With more than forty years of experience, its own event venues in Brabant and an established partner network, the company delivers events from concept to execution for businesses, couples and private clients.

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