backyard wedding....cheaper? not seeming so

future mrsCDC

so we are on a pretty tight budget and I thought asking my uncle to use his backyard as our wedding and reception site would save money...and just looking at tent rentals and table/chair and linen rentals I already feel like this is going to be about the same price as having it somewhere. We're planning on making our own food so that wont be an expense but tents are roughly 1200-2000 bucks. Does anyone know of any places that rent cheaper? we're inviting 150ish people. or i guess does anyone have any ideas? im thinking maybe no tent but sept can be tricky and i dont want to get stuck in the rain.

jaylii9Wed199459

I think that you may be able to find some nice halls that allow you to bring in your own food and beverage. A backyard wedding sounds great, but it can really add up.

A friend of mine got married in her parent's backyard last summer and here are some things she had to work around and pay for: parking (where can 150 park and she needed a city permit for it), had to rent nice porta potties, they had to rent equipment to run electricity to the tent, had to rent tables, chairs, glasses, silverware, plates, catering company etc etc... She told me that in the end her dream backyard wedding happened, but it didn't save her money.

JKohio

The pp makes some good points. If you want to price it out using a hall, some to check out (that let you provide your own caterer) include: the Middleburg Hts. Rec. Center (max 270), Don Umerley Civic Center (not sure of capacity) in Rocky River, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in Bay Village, and Gemini Center in Fairview Park (max 250).

Also, if southwest area would be ok (Brunswick, Medina), there are some more affordable halls like Skyview Lodge ($20-25/pp without alcohol) in Brunswick and Vell's (same range and BYOB which saves $$) in Medina. Houston Hall in Norton is in the $15-20/pp range (w/o alcohol).

There are also several halls closer to $30/pp (in suburbs closer to Cleveland) that are actually a good value for what you get AND they allow BYOB.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

ayamm1123

You Can rent halls with restrooms, tables, chairs, running water, etc. (ie – the necessities) for under $1k in some instances and still BYOfood.  As PP said…the most affordable route actually may be either a place that caters and you BYOB or a rental facility where you BYOB and BYOcatering.  Plus – it will be a lot less stress in the long run IMO.  Obviously if the tented reception is your vision for the perfect day, then by all means, but if your goal is to save some $, that most likely won’t happen!   If you have a location and travelling radius in mind, we can maybe point you towards some other venue options if interested.

future mrsCDC

thanks ladies. yeah if we go the outside route at my uncles it will be in burton. We live on the west side of cleveland.. a little bit of a background on why we chose to do it outside was because we were planning the ceremony outside anyway and thinking reception inside. BUT we're vegan and we want our entire reception meat free which makes dishes roughly 30-89 pp. 30 people salad and pasta (which we could easily make for less) and my FI doesnt want to have it in some 'cheesy pollack hall' (im polish so this is a joke on me)  so we decided outside. We want to keep it pretty casual but still a little classy. so backyard is fine with me i think we may just have to bite the bullet and fork out a little more for a tent. or go tentless? the receptions in a shaded area but i really just dont want to get stuck in the rain...

ayamm1123

There are vegan options for receptions but I can understand wanting to stick to a backyard plan.  Definitely go the tent route however as I truly believe there needs to be a back up for ANY portion being outdoors that day!  Plus - light sources can be strung around a tent vs. being in the dark after 8 PM!  Good luck!

dannyandme

Look for sommunity center, lodges etc  Some have beautiful rooms for next to nothing. They already have tables and chairs. This way you eliminate the tent and table/chair rental expense