Arizona-Phoenix

In case of rain contingency plan

We're planning to have our wedding in a friend's backyard in Las Sendas in Mesa.  If the weather is nice, it will be gorgeous!  I'm concerned about what to do if it rains, though.  The backyard is huge, and renting tents to cover it all will cost us $2,000!  Plus, there are several trees, and I don't know that a standard tent would be tall enough to go over them.  FI wants to custom build a tent, but that will be expensive, too, and a lot of work.  I'm thinking about moving the wedding to a different venue, or trying to book one "just in case" that wouldn't penalize us too much to cancel a week before if the weather forecast calls for clear skies.  If we move to a different venue entirely, I'd love to book a place that has pretty outside grounds as well as an inside option, so we're covered no matter what the weather does.  The problem is that a venue has so far not been part of our budget, and they all seem so expensive!  Does anybody have any suggestions or advice about tents or venues?  I'd appreciate any words of wisdom anyone has to offer.  :-)  Thanks!
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Re: In case of rain contingency plan

  • schlueter2010schlueter2010 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Shenandoah Mill in Gilbert has a really nice inside & a gorgeous lawn area outside - its enormous! The only problem with most places outside is the noise ordiarance. We were going to have our wedding there but didn't want it ending at 10pm. The inside really was beautiful too but it wouldnt fit our guests comfortably - we are having 250+ at our wedding.

    What part of town are you looking at? East Valley?
  • edited December 2011
    East valley would definitely be the easiest.  We have the noise ordinance in Mesa, too, so we were already planning to wrap things up at 10:00pm.  I will look into the Shenandoah Mill.  Thanks very much!  :)
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  • edited December 2011
    I am pretty sure that no venue will allow you to cancel the week before and not make you still pay in full.  They will have in their contract that payment is due in full at a certain point and if you cancel within a certain time frame you will still be responsible for the full ammount.  And honestly, that is really not fair to the venue and the staff that they have scheduled for your event.  Either get a tent for the backyard or move it to another venue completely.  I would say the only way around this is to book your local rec center or church, and most of those are not very pretty.

    You are getting married in April right?  Chances are the weather will be perfect.  You could always rent a few smaller tents for the backyard instead of one big one, that way they can fit in between the trees without having to make a custom one. 

    As for nice venues, the Desert Botanical Garden is one of my favs, it has beautiful outdoor grounds and a really nice indoor venue that probably fits 250-300.  Also, the Phoenix Art Museum is great!  Good luck!
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  • ibstephiibstephi member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    you are getting married in las sendas - you can rent the gorgeous clubhouse i think for 3,000 for a saturday night if I remember -  I would take a peak there since you like that area already ! 

    Shannon mill is got a country feel and kind of outdated ! At least thats what we thought! 
  • edited December 2011
    Thanks for the suggestions, ladies!
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  • edited December 2011
    I was going to also suggest the Las Sendas Clubhouse. My best friend got married there in April and it was beautiful! Have you considered seeing if you can put a tent on hold, and just going with the backyard? Chances of rain are probably pretty slim.
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  • CellesCelles member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Arizona, a safe contingency plan for rain is "wait ten minutes."  It doesn't often last longer than that.  ;)
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  • edited December 2011

    The issue with the tent is that a 30' x 100'  tent costs $1,000 to rent, and we would need two of them to adequately cover the space we'll be using, plus whatever accessories (sidewalls, etc) we'd need.  I'm aware that the chances of rain in April are slim, but I'm not going to risk having something so important and costly as my wedding ruined because it rained and I wasn't prepared.  A friend of mine got married several years ago in April, and that day was the only day it rained the entire month of April.  She was heartbroken because she couldn't have her wedding outside like she'd planned.  I know it isn't likely to rain, I just don't want to get caught without a plan B in case it does.  :-)

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  • NickDanielleBNickDanielleB member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_case-of-rain-contingency-plan?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:71Discussion:dbd62ee8-f237-43e9-b14e-3decd7bef7aaPost:6ab02439-3a73-4f9c-b7af-d4ba6efd96b3">Re: In case of rain contingency plan</a>:
    [QUOTE]East valley would definitely be the easiest.  We have the noise ordinance in Mesa, too, so we were already planning to wrap things up at 10:00pm.  I will look into the Shenandoah Mill.  Thanks very much!  :)
    Posted by chiwawa[/QUOTE]

    We're having our wedding there. If its after 10 then you can move the party inside and not worry about noise. Patrick, the owner, said they just have to worry about noise if the party is outside.
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