Doing a wedding on your own land/barn

Table Setting 2

I did manage to keep costs around my budget ($8,000 and I'm from Texas).

However, it pretty stressful because you have to think of EVERYTHING yourself. Down to the napkins, centerpieces, dance floor, and all the little things you don't really think about.

Also, I'd recommend renting everything you can from one rental company, that way you don't have a whole bunch of rentals from different places.

We were going to get married on my family's ranch in Colorado, and ultimately just went with a ranch-themed venue instead. My cousin got married a year prior so he had all the information I needed. It cost more to rent a tent, generators, heat lamps, speakers, commercial kitchen items, etc. and get them to the ranch vs. renting a venue. I'm not sure about your location, but ours is off a county road so we would have to provide transportation for guests (which we ended up doing anyway at our venue but it was cheaper on paved roads). The delivery & setup fees for everything were a ton. My cousin had to regrade the road prior, and get the entire property sprayed for bugs by a commercial sprayer several times. They had to rent restrooms, the septic system wasn't meant for that many guests. There was plenty of acreage and we are far from neighbors, so lights & parking & noise wasn't a problem but that may not always be the case. I think for 50 people or so, they spent around $40,000.

I agree with both posters above! It was SOOO much work so I would make sure you have a good support system and are super organized OR get a wedding planner. I loved my wedding and wouldn't have changed a thing. I did a budget break down of it if you want to get an idea of how much it costs in MD.

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/bam-backyard-wedding-edition/ef1c4ccdccd3252d.html

Hey Erin! I love the sound of your wedding plans, but you're right! Planing a wedding from scratch will come with a lot of additional charges. Of course, if you are adhering to a strict budget it's possible to pull off a beautiful event but it will mean a lot of DIYing and shopping around for the best deals.

Perhaps you could think about hiring a wedding planner. This may seem like a huge cost to start with but their wedding knowledge would be super helpful, especially for thinking of things that you may not have thought of yourself.

You can check out Wedding Rental Companies in your area here to help you with initial pricing. You can also check out Pinterest for DIY and decor ideas to save on costs.

Have you thought about your guest list yet?