Weddings at Home

rebeccp · April 2011

Hey Ladies!

I know that I want an outdoor wedding, but I am leaning towards a wedding at home as well. Has anyone done this? If so, do you have any advice?

cschuma2 · April 2011

Weddings at home can be very tricky. You have all of the obvious things that you will have to rent: tables, chairs, linens, plates, glasses, silverware, ways to keep food and drink warm/cold, fans if it's warm, outdoor heaters if it's cold, a dance floor, outdoor lighting for an evening event, etc. That's an awful lot of extras to take on that a venue will generally supply if they traditionally handle weddings.

You also will have to rent port-a-potties. I have issues with port-a-potties and would never want to use one on my wedding day or expect my guests to use one. I think it's the lack of running water part that gets me though. Purel just doesn't cut it for me if someone has urine (or worse!) on their hands and then is grabbing food from a buffet. There are nice port-a-potties which are more like bathrooms on a trailer. These have running water, but are usually super expensive.

Also, what about parking? I't's unlikely that you have a parking lot at this person's home. Having the guests park in your yard will be a disaster of moving cars all night long when someone is blocked in. Having people park in the road will just mean that you have several guests that will be walking from quite a ways away to get to your party.

Personally, I would not have really considered doing something at home as it really doesn't seem to save you any money and I feel it adds a lot of extra stress. That being said, I certainly don't think it's a bad idea if you're properly prepared. I've seen plenty of pictures of gorgeous outdoor backyard receptions.

medusia00 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_weddings-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:666Discussion:d6011c5b-db51-4112-ae98-e23cc92bc1acPost:ec00c3c9-ac81-47b7-8439-8e9322a100ba">Re: Weddings at Home</a>:
[QUOTE]Personally, I would not have really considered doing something at home as it really doesn't seem to save you any money and I feel it adds a lot of extra stress. That being said, <strong>I certainly don't think it's a bad idea if you're properly prepared. I've seen plenty of pictures of gorgeous outdoor backyard receptions.
</strong>Posted by cschuma2[/QUOTE]

This, I think if you can do it right, and have thought about everything you will need it can be very very pretty!! But make sure you know exactly what you need in order to pull it off, and for your guests to be happy and not walking forever to get there.

tlgilmore · April 2011

We are having an at home reception at my FIL's house. We are having a smaller wedding and expecting 50 People. We are getting married in a park and then back to their house. It is in a resort community so we rented the house next door too. So we have parking and restrooms covered. We are also not doing a fancy sit down dinner either...

I think it can for sure be done. Just depends on what you envision.. HTH!

Ghoti · April 2011

We're having ours at home

Tents and lighting etc add up, but for where we live, we're still saving a fortune.

Check your local rental companies and price it out

mattsdorothy · April 2011

We are sort of having ours at "home". Our backyard neighbors/friends are letting us use their backyard for the ceremony, then we are going to a restaurant for a dinner reception. It has been a headache - I feel like everything with our house and our neighbors' yard has to be converted to perfection, especially because this will be the first and perhaps only time that many of our friends and family will see where we have made our home. The parking situation won't be too bad, since we are having a small wedding with lots of carpooling, but it is a legitimate conern that PPs bring up.
The problem is, you think it will be simpler and less expensive, but once the wedding gets closer, you see all these little details that need attention: Oh! Powerwash the house! Wait, are those windows dirty? Dandelions! How do I get rid of those??
Of course, I am 17 days away from our wedding, so I might be getting a little neurotic about things...

Arayx2 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_outdoor-weddings_weddings-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:666Discussion:d6011c5b-db51-4112-ae98-e23cc92bc1acPost:ec00c3c9-ac81-47b7-8439-8e9322a100ba">Re: Weddings at Home</a>:
[QUOTE]Weddings at home can be very tricky. You have all of the obvious things that you will have to rent: tables, chairs, linens, plates, glasses, silverware, ways to keep food and drink warm/cold, fans if it's warm, outdoor heaters if it's cold, a dance floor, outdoor lighting for an evening event, etc. That's an awful lot of extras to take on that a venue will generally supply if they traditionally handle weddings. You also will have to rent port-a-potties. <strong> I have issues with port-a-potties and would never want to use one on my wedding day or expect my guests to use one.</strong>

I agree with this. I hate them period but to be dressed up nice and pretty for a wedding. I would not do this myself personally

Magdala9 · April 2011

I was a BM at two backyard weddings. They can be beautiful.

There is a lot of logistical questions. To accomplish this, you need to be a VERY organized person with a LOT of patience. You also have to ensure that there is sufficient seating for everyone, that the ceremony is viewable by everyone, there is sufficient space for people to move around. You also have to have a very long talk with your family and the neighbors about the intrusion into their lives.

Both weddings were at houses where the parents and grandparents of the bride lived in adjacent houses. The neighbors were invited to the festivities and the families had a significant amount of land available for set up and vehicle parking.

sunshine9779 · April 2011

I agree with not wanting port-a-potties, but was so happy to find that a septic company near me has event rental porta-trailers. Here's a link to what I found so you can see it. I'm in NH, so this company won't work for you, but you could look around to see if it's available near you.

http://www.davesseptic.com/16_foot_luxury_mobile_restroom_trailer.php

GL

Kalithia · April 2011

I will be doing my wedding in my backyard, it's small but doable. The wedding will be in October at 2pm so not so cold or hot! All my guest are close friends and family so they already know where I live and the parking situation. I have a guest bathroom that 1 person at a time can go in. We can dance in the grass and have just as much of a good time as on a solid floor. Renting party material is a lot of savings compared to a wedding in a venue. My wedding will not be so formal so we will be using plasticware but I am getting a caterer who will have access to the kitchen so that solves the food issue. I'm very organized so I think I got it so far!

jess9802 · April 2011

We are having our wedding at my FMIL's home. We expect fewer than 50 guests, and will have guests park on the street. There are two bathrooms that guests can use. The party rentals turned out to be quite expensive - over $800 for tables, chairs, linens, china, flatware, and glassware. Because it is taking place at a private home, we are able to skip a bartender and avoid paying the huge marked-up costs on alcohol that we would have paid at a venue. In the end I believe we are saving money this way, especially when I factor in what we are providing for our guests.

morrisonFTW · April 2011

I think you definitely need to take into account the number of guests vs. amount of space, amenities, and parking available.

We're going to have a small <50 wedding in our backyard. We have a large pad that will accomodate five cars, our families each plan to carpool, and there is a nearby lot that will be NBD for extra parking.

We have two restrooms in our home, and we're close with our neighbors.. I'm going to ask my next-door (whom is also invited to the wedding) if my FI, me and our moms and dads can use their restroom. Many would scoff at this, but we're close with our nextie. That takes seven people off of the list to use the restrooms in our house. I wouldn't rent port-a-pottys either!!

It's going to cost nearly as much to rent all of the tables, chairs, etc. as it would cost to rent a venue, but having the luxury of being at home, in a backyard that we love is well worth it for us.

Also, unless you're going to contract something with your caterer, expect to handle every aspect of 'customer service' yourself. You're in charge of making sure trashcans don't overflow, carafes of water stay full, chafing dishes don't burn out... I'll be hiring a day of coordinator as well as a bus-boy type person.

iluvmy0341 · April 2011

We're expecting 50-75 people and having it at my father's house. We also have 4 bathrooms so don't have to worry about port-a-potties! It all depends on the size of your location, amount of guests, and how everything will be handled (chairs, tables, dancing, etc.).

bc1984 · May 2011

I'm doing a wedding at my dad's house in just 25 days (ahh!). The costs add up quickly (chairs, tables, linens, tents, lighting, porta-johns...). If you're having a smaller wedding, I think it's do-able. We're having about 75 people, which is big enough. My dad has a huge yard and plenty of exterior outlets to run to the tent for speakers and lights, so parking and space won't be so much of an issue, but it is something we had to think about. We rented 2 port-a-potties (with running water!!) because I didn't want the traffic in my dad's home.

It might cost more, but at the same time, the uniqueness and the special connection with having a ceremony at home is what mattered to me. There are a lot of extra logistics to think through, but you will have a one of a kind venue! Best wishes!

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