Outdoor Weddings

having an outdoor wedding on a budget...how do you do it?!

So i'm having an outdoor wedding..most likely, i have to make my final decision on the venue this week as July is quickly approaching...With paying for only the venue & everything else is seperate...from the tent, dance floor, tables & chairs to the catering plus EVERYTHING else...how do you do it.. where can you save? i need some peace of mind here before i make my final decision! any advice is so appreciated.

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Re: having an outdoor wedding on a budget...how do you do it?!

  • Definitely price all of the items that you mentioned above before you make your final decision. You don't want to put down a deposit on your venue and find out that you can't afford the rental items that you need to make it pleasant for your guests. Don't forget that you might need AC in July!
    "When life hands you lemons, make a beef stew." Andy Milinokis
  • I have officiated many weddings that were very inexpensive for the bride and groom.  Having a outdoor wedding on a budget is easy.  Just follow these 5 steps.  

    1.  Use a park or family backgyard
    2.  Ask friends for help regarding catering, photography, cake, etc.
    3.  Don't stress over minor details
    4.  Keep your wedding invitations to a minimum
    5.  Enjoy 

    Good luck
    Rev. Greg D. Gordon
  • I'd try to find a venue where you don't have to rent all that additional stuff.  There are lots of parks around here (WI) that have nice pavillions with picnic tables... so you'd save a tent and table and chiar rentals.  
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  • We rented a venue that included only tables and chairs. Luckily there was a patio we used as the dancefloor, so no worries there. But I went with candle and petal centerpieces instead of flowers so that helped out the florist's tab. Being outside, the extra florals weren't missed. We hired the cheapest dj available and made a playlist for him. I ordered nice classic invitations from Exclusively Weddings I think, they were 200. DIY'ed programs and favors. We didn't bother with a cake topper used flowers or cake knife set and toasting flutes, we used what the caterer had with them. No cake stand. We paid the caterer an extra 100 to do the cleanup at the end of the night and that was so worth it. Sorry if this turns into a wall of text, I made paragraphs but TK from my phone gets all wonky.
  • We rented a house on the lake. We have it for 3 days for a third of what ANY venue quoted us for ONE DAY! We are saving by having the rehersal dinner there,  spending our wedding night there and putting some of our guests up there too!
    Scrap the dance floor if you can. But you have to have a tent, just in case! Even the lake house won't hold everyone. Hope this helps.
    Visit The Nest!
  • we are having our venue at a state park- its only costing us under $800 for the whole day and it has a small indoor reception area with chairs and tables already. This way we have the ceremony outside and then the reception is indoors out of the july heat. If you can find a venue, like PP have said, that has chairs, tables, etc, it will be a better help on your budget. Or check out locations that dont seem as obvious for a wedding, this is usually where you can get a great location for a fraction of the cost!
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  • We rented a beach house for the entire weekend where the wedding party stayed and the reception was held in the "backyard". We didn't rent an actual dance floor since the patio deck was used as our dancefloor, and instead of using a DJ we did an ipod reception and it went perfectly! We also took the risk and didn't rent a tent (I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS). We got extremely lucky and avoided rain, but I was so stressed about it.

    I would recommend searching for various rental companies and comparing prices for the tent, chairs, etc. once you pick a venue (if the venue doesn't provide these things). The use of a park is a great suggestion as well!
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  • I agree with the others finding a place that includes chairs and tables will save you a lot of trouble and money.  I am renting a lakehouse and using the patio for a dancefloor. Especially since you are thinking about July, I highly reccomend an indoor reception. So far finding a reasonably price venue with everything I wanted has been the hardest part of wedding planning process, almost as hard as meeting the groom! Good Luck!
  • I want an outdoor ceremony as well, with the recpetion indoors but I wanted it at the same venue. However, the venue we found and love does not have an outdoor garden type area, just th espace for the reception. The venue does come with tables and chairs for upwards of 250 people. And it is gorgeous, big and clean. It has a space for a dj and with my 150, enough room to leave space for a dance floor.

    However, it'll be cheaper for me not to go with their all inclusive pacakage, so I am going to be bringing in my own food, and decorations. The catereing company I have in mind offers a pacakage that includes the main course, appetizers, drinks, dessert, table linens, napkins, the plate service, chair covers and waiters for one (pretty low) price. I need to make an appointment with them, but I am pretty happy I found them. Decorations I plan to do as much as I can by myself: the space is so nice though so I don't have to do much to it. My issue now is do I book the space and then hunt for a ceremony site or keep looking to find one where I cna do it all in one place? Good luck. 
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  • book at lauxmont farm. they have akl that in one pakage and you can do payments. call at 7795052.they have 4sites inside andboutside doors with a cocktail area. all included in same price. check their website to see pictures. they are not so expensive.
  • I'd keep looking at different places. I am having an outdoor wedding and found this AMAZING place that does EVERYTHING. They provide chairs, tent, the food, if you want, everything just depends on what you are looking for but I've found that it is the same and not as stressful if not less that way.
  • Wanted to give an update to my previous answer. We decided to do the ceremony in our (nice, very ample) backyard and host a cocktail hour in the newly build ranch area. It would cost less than $100 to just rent chairs for the ceremony. With all our tees, flowers, grass we don't need much decor. Add that to the cost of the reception site, and we're still coming in under $600. 

    I found a florist that is giving me an amazing price for the centerpieces, bouquets, bouts, and petals and flower girl basket. I could not say no, plus I haggle her down to a price I was comfortable with and she offered a payment plan. 

    I sy keep looking. Chair and table rentals can add up on top of paying for the venue...and it might not be worth it.  Also find a caterer that has a package that includes table linens and chair covers (if you want that option). It'll save you too.
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