Venue Search

On pretty much any wedding timeline, in the very first to-do’s is usually finding a venue, as usually this is the biggest expense and will help shape your overall budget for everything else. So that’s what we decided to do first.
Before Hunter and I even got engaged, we were looking at potential venues here and there. We were definitely set on something very rustic, but because of the date, we chose most of the barn venues around us that were unavailable due to lack of heat. We found about five that were potential good options, each with its own pros and cons. Once we got engaged and started talking about our realistic budget, we had it narrowed down to three options and started booking tours (I had already gone on two, but never with Hunter). We went to our very first tour and I absolutely loved the venue ( I had seen it before and loved it just as much then as well), however, once we started going over logistics with my mom and family friend ( who is helping to coordinate the wedding ) they saw some red flags, as did Hunter. The first being it was just over an hour away and about 85% of our guests would be driving that or more on our day. Although it doesn’t seem too long to all of my friends, I would be a little concerned with family having to drive home too late after drinking, or that they would want to leave early. And I don’t think it’s practical to expect people outside of my bridal party and immediate family to opt for staying in a hotel near the venue.
The same went for the other two venues we were looking at, one was just over an hour and the other was more like 2 hours away. So, we went back to the drawing board. We did lots of googling and more searching around, talking to friends, and finally looking at other options for venues. That’s when we came across the structured tents.
(If you don’t know what they look like I created a Pinterest Board of our inspiration https://www.pinterest.com/FunctionallyTessa/wedding-tent-inspiration/ )
At first, I didn’t think that a tent was an option based on temperature control, but I have found that pretty much anything can be done at this point. I was SO surprised to find that there are thousands of rentals available to completely custom design a tent to the point that it looks just as (if not more than) amazing as a traditional venue. You can rent everything from hardwood flooring to bistro lighting and chandeliers, and literally everything in between. And luckily for us, my parents have the perfect space to host the wedding and are super excited to do so.
This way we will be able to completely customize our “venue”, without having to worry about following all the rules of a traditional venue. That’s not to say that there won’t be obstacles but they are much more manageable. We definitely didn’t make this decision lightly as hosting your own wedding can be extremely difficult and time-consuming. But, after visiting rental companies and doing lots of research we think this is the best option for us and our big day.
I am still doing tons of research to find the perfect vendor options but I have found that most rental companies allow changes to be made all the way up until the week of the event (except for the tent, of course, that should be booked well in advance). They also drop off and set-up the tent usually days prior to the event date, for example, we would get the tent on Wednesday and have up until Saturday to completely set-up the inside to our liking. PLUS there are tons of DIY ideas out there for pretty much everything we could possibly want, and another added bonus to being at my parent’s property, everything can be done on-site and wouldn’t have to be transported to any venue. Another obstacle we are definitely avoiding is time. We have about 18 months before the wedding so we have plenty of time to plan and build for the big day. We also have a huge advantage being that my parents keep their property in pristine condition and my mom happens to be a bit of a self-built designer, so all of the landscaping will be done in our colors and florals. We will also be adding power-lines to the outer buildings so we won’t have to worry about using a loud generator but allow us to still have outside lighting. We are still working out what we will be doing about bathrooms for guests, and also what insurance policy we should go with.

To sum everything up, I made a Pros and Cons list-

Pros
-You can utilize all the space you have! Spread out!

-Tear down doesn’t have a time limit

-Sentimental Values an you can always revisit

-Getting ready can be on-site with no transportation

-No rules about decor

-Landscaping can be completely personalized

-Months of preparation

Cons

-You’re responsible for the set-up and tear-down

-Possible time constraints ( Working, Social life, Kids, etc.)Total control of budgets & vendors

-Possible City permits needed/ give heads up to your neighbors

-Insurance policy

-You may need a generator or some other extra power source

-Finding or renting bathrooms

-Weather

-Months of preparation

This might not be the best option for everyone and sure there are feasible other options, but for us this is perfect. We have more than ample time to make our dream venue, and it’ll make the experience so much more personal!