We build a closed in tent from our back door....across the patio....till the carport. We have a patio warmer that we use if its cold. The first year we built the tent, it rained during the night. Woke up on the morning of our party with a collapsed tent and bent poles. Friends of ours came and saved us. Straighted out all the poles and rebuilt the tent with more of an angle and also rope between the frame. Still, every year I still worry about rain at night while we sleep.
The added space it gives REALLY helps.
In the pictures, its all lit up because of the flash, but at night with low lighting and candles you don't really notice it. Of course you have to make sure none of the drunks bang into a pole
Here you can see how the tent is attached to the privacy fence:
And here you can see how we attach black plastic tarp to close off the areas without a fence:
