People don’t like my venue

Is there something specific they are saying requires too much work or they don't like about the venue?

Are you requiring their help with anything with the venue? If not, and if they aren't contributing financially for the venue, they get no say. They don't have to like the venue, but since it's not their wedding, their opinion doesn't matter here. Your opinion and your fiance's opinion are the only two that matter. If you love the venue and you're OK with the price, go for it!

View Quoted Comment It will require a tent, chairs, tables, dance floor. And we will need to decorate the ceremony area as well. They just basically say I’m in over my head.

View Quoted Comment So your venue is basically an empty canvas that you can make your own which I don't see any issues with that. I will though say that doesn't require more work on your end. You should be able to find vendors that provide the items that you need though. I know our DJ offered dance floor rentals. Decorating wise a florist should be able to assist you. I think if you stay organized you should be fine. Or another option would be a wedding planner.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much. I really appreciate that ❤️

I would definitely recommend a day of coordinator if you don’t have one especially with all of that. They’ll definitely help you not feel like you’re in over your head. And at the end of the day it’s not up to your family anyway

If others are not paying, it's not their business. Your family may have helped in the past in blank canvas weddings and may have residual anxieities, but assure them they will not be free labor with your wedding. If you stay organized, you can do it. I would look at vendors who could do/ provide multiple offerings, e.g. florist can help with other decor design ideas, tent rental or lighting provides dance floor, catering provides servers/ clean up. If you need additional help, you can hire a planner or at the very least day-of coordinator. On your website, specify the wedding is on grass and so guests should wear flats or block heels to be comfortable. Best wishes.

Why did you pick this location? Is it for the view or for sentimental reasons? You may not have to do much decorating and can let the outdoors be your design. Whichever your reasons, hold fast to them and say this is what we want. The rest are rental details, don't worry.

It’s y’all day. If both of you love the venue, what’s the problem? If it has everything you’re looking for, go for it. I’m thinking you guys are paying for it so if they don’t like it, they can pay for the venue lol. Just my thoughts. Planning a wedding it’s stressful enough to have to deal with a lot of negativity. Hugs

Whomever is paying gets to say what is going to work for the budget and the guest list. Just don't ask your guests to work at your wedding and you'll be golden. I would hire people to help set up and break down afterward.

Does the venue have power, water, bathrooms, parking, and an option in case it rains? Do the people that own it have experience with events like a wedding? Those are important to think about before committing to it.

Blank canvas or backyard weddings can be a lot of work and often don't save on the budget when you factor everything in. Just some things to consider.

Jacks makes some very good points. I know people get initially enamored with these blank slate venues, but once you sit down and figure out all extra the expenses and added work that goes into making them safe and usable, it usually ends up being more expensive and more of a hassle than a traditional venue. That being said, if you both love the venue and have it in your budget to hire all the needed vendors and workers to do everything (so you are not asking friends, family, members, wedding, party, members, etc. to do any of the work), then I say go for it! It sounds like your family is mostly just concerned about all the work that is going to need to go into this venue, and they don’t want you to stress out or overextend yourself physically, mentally, or financially. I would just assure them that you are willing to do all the work of planning (or that you will hire a wedding planner/coordinator to do it – which would probably be a wise idea in this case), and that you are financially set to hire vendors to do all the set up, teardown, etc. Once they realize you have thought it through and have it in your budget to hire others to make the venue a beautiful, functional space, they will likely be more excited about the choice of venue!

If you're the ones paying and aren't asking anyone to help with setup/ tear down, I'd just let people's comments go. We had a gorgeous venue that we were paying for ourselves, we had venue staff and a coordinator to handle everything, all our guests had to do was show up and have a good time, and we still got comments about how it was going to be "too much work" and "too extravagant" and "nobody's going to know how to act" and "you're wasting your money for just a day." At one point, I got fed up and showed someone our timeline and the breakdown of the cost of our venue vs other ones in the area to show them how our plans were a) under our budget, b) cost less than what a "regular wedding" (per the commenter's definition) would be, and c) none of the work would fall on anyone in attendance. In the end, everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves. Weddings tend to bring out EVERYONE'S opinions, but unless they're from someone in a position to have a say in anything, they're not worth entertaining.