Planning a Farm Wedding: Power, Water, Toilets and Access

A farm wedding gives you space, views and a long table under the trees. What it doesn’t give you, unless the farm is already set up as a venue, is anything a venue normally supplies: power, water, toilets, lighting, a kitchen, parking, and a road that stays usable in the rain.

The way to plan one is to treat the farm as a beautiful empty field and work through each of those in turn. In the Eastern Cape that might be farmland behind Humansdorp, the Gamtoos Valley around Hankey and Patensie, or further inland in the Langkloof, the long apple- and pear-growing valley that the R62 follows through Misgund, Louterwater and Joubertina. Here’s the checklist.

Working farm or farm wedding venue?

Neither is better. A venue farm costs more on the invoice and less in planning time; a working farm is usually the other way round. Our guide to choosing a wedding venue has the questions for a site visit at either.

Power: generators, and how big

Unless the farm has a reliable supply exactly where you need it, power means a generator. A farm outlet may cope with a few lights and a speaker but not with a caterer’s equipment, and an extension cord across a field isn’t a plan.

Make a list of everything that needs power and give it to the generator hire company:

• the caterer’s urns, warming cabinets, fridges or cold room, and any electric ovens
• lighting for the tables, the bar, the kitchen tent, the paths and the toilets
• the DJ or band, and the microphone for speeches
• bar fridges and freezers for ice
• toilet trailers that need lights or pumps
• any electric heaters or fans
• somewhere to charge phones and the photographer’s batteries

Generators are rated in kVA, and the usable power in kilowatts is lower, typically about 80% of the kVA figure. Let the hire company size it from your list, with headroom. Then ask:

• Does a technician stay for the night, or do we refuel it ourselves?
• How much fuel will it use for the whole event, and is spare fuel included?
• Where can it stand so it’s out of earshot, with the fumes blowing away from guests?
• Who lays and covers the cables, and are the connections weatherproof?

Put battery lanterns along paths and at the toilets too, so a generator hiccup doesn’t leave anyone in the dark.

Water and toilets

Ask whether the farm’s water is safe to drink, where the taps are, and how much the caterer needs for cooking and washing up. If there’s any doubt, buy drinking water in. Toilets that flush need water and somewhere for it to go, so check the farm’s system before you plan on using the house bathroom for eighty people.

Unless the farm has enough toilets near the reception, hire them. Luxury toilet trailers look and feel like a proper bathroom; chemical portable units cost less and need no water. How many you need depends on guest numbers, how long the event runs and whether there’s a bar, so give the hire company all three and ask what they recommend. Then think about where they go:

• on level, firm ground that the service vehicle can reach
• along a short, lit path from the tables
• far enough from the dining area to be discreet, close enough that nobody crosses a dark field
• with a separate one for catering staff if you can

Roads, parking and access after rain

Most farm weddings are reached by gravel, and a road that’s fine in sunshine can be a problem after a night of rain. Rain falls in every month on this coast, so plan as if it will.

• Drive the road in an ordinary car, then ask whether a tent truck, a toilet trailer and a catering van can get in and turn around.
• Check for low-water bridges and drifts, which can be impassable after heavy rain.
• Ask where guests park and what happens if that field is wet, including whether there’s a tractor on hand to pull out a stuck car.
• Put up signs at the turn-off and every fork. Don’t rely on a map pin alone on farm roads.
• Decide who opens and closes the gates, and whether livestock are in the camps you drive through.
• If the drive is long or tricky after dark, book a shuttle from town.

The caterer’s kitchen

Without a farmhouse kitchen to borrow, your caterer needs a working space of their own:

• a kitchen tent or covered area close to the reception but out of sight
• level ground, lighting and power for their equipment
• water for cooking and washing up
• tables for plating, and room for fridges or a mobile cold room
• a plan for waste and grey water

Ask early what they need, because it shapes the generator and the layout. If the menu involves a spit braai or potjiekos, the fire rules below apply. Wedding menu styles compares plated, buffet and braai options for outdoor sites.

Neighbours, noise and permission

Sound carries a long way in the country, and your wedding is your neighbours’ Saturday night too. Tell the nearby farms early, give them a phone number for the night, and agree a time for the music to stop.

Check whether the event needs municipal permission. In Kouga, for example, the event application pack exempts events of fewer than 50 people with no amplified sound or temporary structures. Larger events need an application at least 40 working days ahead, a noise exemption application (including public participation) if there’s amplified sound, approval for any marquee, and a zoning certificate for the venue. Where a temporary land use departure is needed, Kouga wants that application at least three months ahead. Ask the farm owner what earlier events needed, and get the answer in writing.

Insurance, fire and safety

• Insurance. Ask the farm owner whether their public liability cover includes an event like yours, and ask your broker about event cover. Kouga’s and Bitou’s event applications both ask for a public liability insurance confirmation letter.
• Fire. Dry grass, wind and a spit braai are a bad mix. Agree the fire rules with the farm, keep fires in braai drums or pits, keep an extinguisher and water nearby, and skip sparklers and fireworks in dry, windy weather. The local fire service can tell you about restrictions; in Kouga, the fire and disaster management emergency number is 042 291 0250.
• Water. Dams and rivers are a real risk for children after dark. Keep play areas well away and have an adult watching.
• Animals and fences. Electric fences, livestock and farm dogs all need a word in the guest information.
• First aid. Someone sober with a first-aid kit, who knows the way to the nearest hospital.

Accommodation and getting guests home

A long drive home on a dark gravel road after a wedding is the riskiest part of the day. Options include cottages on the farm, guesthouses in the nearest town, a shuttle at set times, and designated drivers. Warn guests about animals on country roads at night. Our guide to guest travel and accommodation covers how many rooms to hold.

A farm wedding checklist

For the shelter, our guide to stretch tent and marquee weddings covers sizes and anchoring, and the outdoor wedding rain plan explains the cut-off time for the call. For quantities of everything in the last row, use the wedding hire checklist.

Next steps

Visit the farm twice: once to fall in love with it, and once with this list, ideally after rain. Then get everything the farm is providing, and everything it isn’t, in writing.

Tarika’s hire range covers the chairs, tables, linen, crockery, glassware and décor a farm doesn’t have. With full planning, we book and coordinate the rest, from the tent to the toilets, and pack it all away afterwards. For farms further inland, travel beyond about 60 km from Jeffreys Bay appears on the quote as its own line, so you can see exactly what the distance costs.