We tried the whiskey barrel setup first and it just wasn’t sturdy enough for the size of our yard. The posts would shift, the barrels didn’t hold up… and we didn’t want lights just around the patio anyway. We wanted something that would go across the whole yard and actually stay up year round. So we ended up doing actual posts and haven’t had to touch them since. They’re on a timer, come on every night, and have held up through winter, storms… everything. I linked the posts, cafe lights and everything we used in my bio if you’re trying to figure out your own setup. homethatworks backyardideas realhometips