Outdoor Weddings

Camping wedding logistics??

Hi!  I thought I was the first to think of having a wedding at a summer camp during their off-period, but after searching it have seen a few others!  Anyone here have experience with it?  We would love to have a weekend "summer camp" with all my friends and family, and have found some spots with private cabins, but was wondering about the logisitcs. For example: how do you decide who sleeps in what cabin? Who pays for the accomodations? Do your guests think you're crazy?  Do you make the invites seem like a destination wedding weekend, or also give the option of coming for just the wedding day? I can go on...

Also any suggestions of sites appreciated, I'm having trouble finding a perfect medium between "rustic group cabins" and the too expensive "adult private cabins"

Thanks everyone!

Re: Camping wedding logistics??

  • I think the best you can do with this idea is to offer the cabins to guests as a possible place to stay for the weekend.  If you have to pay for everything up front and the camp doesn't allow people to individually pay for cabins, then it's for the best if you pay it all and offer it for free to your guests.  Having guests pay you seems ... inappropriate.  If you have to pay for them anyway to have the wedding there, just consider it a venue cost.  Offer the cabins up as first come first served.

    Beyond that, you're going to need to offer hotels in the area to people.  I'm 32 and can say that *maybe* this would be fun, but I'd rather stay in a hotel.  I know for sure that my parents and my grandparents would not be sleeping in cabins at a summer camp.  I'm sure you will have guests that feel similarly, especially if the cabins are going to be shared by several couples and do not have bathroom facilities. 
  • Agree with Joy, but have a few things to add. I've worked at a very small camp, I think the most we could sleep was about 140.

    When we rented out the camp, it was up to the renter to arrange everything. You would be responsible for paying for the whole camp, including cabins, whether or not you used them. Yours may be more hands on, but if not, I'd go ahead and assign cabins for those who would like to use them. Definitely give hotel options as well. Camp beds would be really hard on peoples backs, or less than desirable for couples. Are there cabins with double beds, closest, or bathrooms available? Bath houses and community showers are no fun.

    Check on catering: some camps will keep staff to serve you, mine would not. You got access to the grounds and a phone number to the groundskeeper/maitenence man. If not, you'd probably have to figure out how to feed these people all weekend, which sounds really expensive.

    How about hosting your immediate family/wedding party at the camp, and blocking hotel rooms for everyone else? Then you could host everyone in the nicer cabins, provided they have access to everything they'd need. You'd get the camp feel without the expense and headache of hosting your entire guestlist.
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  •  how do you decide who sleeps in what cabin? I saw on one message board there the couple created a special facebook page and only they could approve who was allowed to see anything, for all of their out of town guests. It allowed them to post messages to each other to coordinate things & possible share expenses (Like hey anyone staying at this hotel flying in around time want to share a rental car or taxi)

    Who pays for the accomodations? If it's going to end up being a DW at this camp, you can make guests pay for it, if you were at a tropical resort, they would pay for their own accomadations, why not at this type of location. However, depending on the location, you not be able to have people just call & book/pay for their own cabins. You may have to pay for whole camp rental & figure out a price to charge people or let them stay free as your guests.

     Do you make the invites seem like a destination wedding weekend, or also give the option of coming for just the wedding day? I can go on...

    Things to consider
    -what are the facilities like for getting ready for wedding (like will you do hair yourself or what a stylist?) Will cabins have electricity for you do to your hair or will you have to do it in a common bathroom?
    -Will there be a location for ceremony/reception in case of rain
    -What types of activities can you plan over the weekend to entertain your guests while they stay there because unlike a tropical resort where people will entertain themselves by going site seeing or lounging on the beach or by the pool, a campground, you will need to organize all the entertainment
    -What would be food arrangements? Do the cabins all have kitchens so guests can cook for themselves or is there only one large mess hall, which if that is the case, you will need to organize all the meals/snacks
    -What will you do for flowers? Are there local florist that will deliver out there on the day of your wedding or will you need to figure a different option out?

    I say check out one or two locations to see what they do or don't offer. Then based on the place(s) you like, think of how you would want to organize things (food/payments, ceremony/reception decorations, etc) and then talk to the camp owners to see how what you would like to works with what they allow. For example, use of kitchen, putting up decorations etc. Then check out the prices of just finding a nice rustic location for just using for a day and comparte the prices and the amount of work required for each. You don't want have to spend your whole wedding weekend setting things up & then tearing things down. You want to be able to enjoy the weekend too.

    I know it's a lot to take in, but they are things that are important. Good luck!
  • I have the same sort of idea for my wedding. I have spent weeks looking for the right location. The right location won't be more than 2 hours from our home town allowing guests to come just for the day if they choose, within 20 minutes of hotel accommodations for those who want to stay for all the weekend activities and a camp ground that offers primitive as well as full hookup sites. I will use a hotel room to dress for the big day. The reception will be held at a day use area at a state park. My guests will be responsible for they're own accommodations since I am on a strick low budget and I plan on listing the options in my invitations. Fortunately I have a lot of options in my area. Hopefully you find my plans helpful. And congratulations!
  • The most fun wedding I've ever been to was at a summer camp.  That being said, I would have never stayed in one of the cabins.  It was a local wedding and we went home after the reception.  I think you can offer your guests the option to stay if they want.  If they want to, it's on them to pay for the accommodation, just like if they were going to stay at a hotel.  
  • wonton1wonton1 member
    First Comment
    edited January 2013
    Hi there!
    We are having a wedding at a summer youth camp in August 2013. I also thought i was the first to think of something like this, but there is actually a lot out there for inspiration on summer camp weddings. We have rented a lake side camp with cabins, bunk houses and private dorm style rooms.  In the beggining people thought we were crazy but once we talked about our idea and created a website with full camp details and ammenities, people are understanding and getting very excited! For the logistics on our end, it has been interesting, but we made the decision early on and spread the word on our wedding website that the most "mature" guests and those with special circumstances would get the private rooms first, and if anyone needed a private room to let us know as they are limited. We also made sure to spread the word that we would keep families together and would not put any strangers together in the the same bunk house. So far so good, we haven't had any complaints, a few elderly have asked for a private room and a few couples that will have new babies as they will need a private space for napping, breast feeding and baby crying in the night etc.... Also we talked to the camp and they have allowed our guests to bring their own tents and RV's which is really great for anyone that does want thier own privacy. Also we are close enough to a city where hotels are available for people not into camping. We are asking most of our guests to travel for our wedding so we have decided to cover the entire cost of accomodations which is not to expensive at the camp. But i have read a lot about couples who charged thier guests $10 or $20 a night so you could do what suits your budget or feels right to you. google summer camp invitations for some good idea's on those. We have the option of coming out for the entire time or for as many days as they want to come. some people can only make it for the day of the wedding and some will be staying the whole time, try and google "summer camp weddings" you can find a lot of info that way... All in all we have been getting good responce and are very happy to be doing what we love. If you choose to go this way, dont sweat the small stuff, your not going to please everyone, there are always people who do not like the outdoors. We chose this becuase we didnt want a typical hotel or golf course wedding and this way we could bring in all our own food and booze. Make sure you find out what the camp you choose allows tho, becuase a lot we spoke to didnt allow booze of outside food. to find camps try searching for "camp association" online for your province or state. Hope this helps and happy planning!

    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_camping-wedding-logistics?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:666Discussion:b38171ce-400a-4395-8524-4697869c9452Post:e1b0d03f-a728-4b8c-a08c-809d196c30fc">Camping wedding logistics??</a>:
    [QUOTE]Hi!  I thought I was the first to think of having a wedding at a summer camp during their off-period, but after searching it have seen a few others!  Anyone here have experience with it?  We would love to have a weekend "summer camp" with all my friends and family, and have found some spots with private cabins, but was wondering about the logisitcs. For example: how do you decide who sleeps in what cabin? Who pays for the accomodations? Do your guests think you're crazy?  Do you make the invites seem like a destination wedding weekend, or also give the option of coming for just the wedding day? I can go on... Also any suggestions of sites appreciated, I'm having trouble finding a perfect medium between "rustic group cabins" and the too expensive "adult private cabins" Thanks everyone!
    Posted by jcoy66[/QUOTE]
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