Very small courtyard/patio wedding reception ideas

[Purplesndteal]

We've done a fairly 180 and now we're hosting ourselves. Well do it at home but the patio is tiny (6x9ft give or take) there's also an elevated decking that will work as stage/buffet.

We don't expect more than 30 people to show up and even then would be at different times.

Our mothers and children can go upstairs if they feel bored/tired.

Cold buffet or BBQ? I'm hoping to get a tiki bar for the occasion but regardless there's be a lot of cocktails/bubbly.

What about decoration? We still have 10 months to plan so no rush. Tia!

10 months? Is it next March?

Yes, anything between late February/late May Covid dependent

Wouldn't late February, and probably March and most of April be rather cold for an outside wedding?

The ceremony would be at registry office. Our patio would be used just for drinks. It's a rather informal thing (jeans and t-shirt). We might get those heater type.lamps. here in Cornwall IME as long as it's sunny it feels fairly mild.

Don’t risk a BBQ. But I wouldn’t do a cold buffet either at that time of year - I think the guests would appreciate some hot food especially if they’ve been outside for drinks. If you’ve not got large numbers of guests, hot food is more doable and it doesn’t need to be very fancy.
If the patio is to be used just for drinks, don’t invest loads of time or money on decorating it, especially as it could well be raining (or even snowing) at that time of year. It might be nice to have some outdoor fairy lights/lanterns though, seeing as it would be getting dark at around 5pm.

Rice what type of food? Roast? Our kitchen is fairly small, but could be set up for having the spread.