Outdoor Tent Flooring

rileykate26

Here are the quick details: I'm having my wedding March 21st at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC. It will be outside with the reception under a tent; about 100 people. 

I'm worried about women wearing heels sinking in the grass during the reception. (I'm aware of the protective heel covers for walking on grass; would rather not resort to these). Our caterer provided us a quote for flooring the 40x60 tent and it was over $10,000 which is insane.

I'm looking for a carpeting option or something like that for far cheaper (think in the $1000-$2000 range) to cover a 40x60 tent. I like the idea of seagrass carpeting but I'm finding quotes of $1.75 per sq.ft which comes to $4200.

I HATE the idea of astroturf which is very cheap. I think it will look extremely tacky. I've even gone as far as looking at just buying outdoor carpeting at Lowes or Home Depot and then donating to the venue afterwards or something along those lines.

If anyone has come across this issue I'd love to hear your advice, what you did for your tented wedding. Please include specific vendor names if in the area, prices, sizes, etc. Any advice will help!!

emmyg65

We got married outside and just spread the word in advance. Ladies wore wedges, flats or chunky heels and it was fine. (And not $10,000!)

southernbelle0915

If people know your wedding and reception are outside and on grass, they won't wear heels. Look into a couple of equipment rental companies - it's usually WAY cheaper than what you're being quoted by the caterer. See if you can hire them (not through the caterer) to do this.

emilyb213

Our wedding and ceremony were both outside. The rental company that supplied the tent also supplied a dance floor for $1.10 per square foot. The rest of the area was natural grass. I had it on our wedding website that it was all outdoors, and we spread it by word of mouth so that people would know to wear appropriate footwear. As far as I'm aware, there were no issues with anyone wearing shoes they couldn't walk in. Like southernbelle suggested, going through a rental company is probably going to get you a much lower rate for flooring than your caterer, but really, it's not a necessity.

kitty8403

Women who know they'll be outside wear wedges, sandals, boots, & ballet flats. Give them a heads up and they'll skip the heels. You can rent dance floors for like $150 (my area) but they are usually tiny--won't fit the whole tent space. They just offer a more stable surface than grass if someone wants to dance.

Have you looked at home improvement stores for remnants or snap-together flooring?

kitty8403

Also--I don't like wearing heels on carpet. I snag them and trip. Rent a small dance floor if you must, or put down a runner. Grass is fine.

ShanaKatherine

Our ceremony is going to be outside and I put on our wedding website "Ceremony is outdoors in the grass, so ladies choose your heels accordingly". I will also include that on the guest information card with our invites. We attended tent wedding last summer, and the bride also did this which is were I got the idea, I did not see any of the ladies in heels, they all chose nice wedges or flat! Hope this helped

Emily104

I recently went to an outdoor wedding.  We all knew it was going to be outdoor for both the ceremony and reception, so I wore wedges.  Some other girls were there in heels and they were sinking into the ground with every step - but the point is, we all knew it was outside.  If your guests choose to wear heels, then let them sink.  You are not responsible for your guest's shoes. 

kkcaper14

My reception is also on grass and I'm spreading by word of mouth and putting something on our website.  We are including a flipflop basket for guests (women) if anyone wearing heels or if their feet start to hurt!  

MarieBR

Try Snyder.com

Or you could make your own floor with sheets of lanolium and wood.