Tent wedding chaos!

Backyard tented weddings can get extremely expensive because you have to rent everything. All-inclusive venues tend to be more affordable.

This is likely going to be much more expensive than a venue

As previous folks said, don't have a tented wedding on your property to try to save money. It isn't cheap. It's more work and more expensive. It's easier and cheaper to find a venue who will handle most everything, have parking and bathrooms for all your guests, and they will likely be more comfortable. If it's your dream to have the wedding at home or wherever you are having it, then go for it, but you may want to hire a planner, cause there a lot of things that could go wrong there that some folks don't even think about.

My venue is a large wooden lodge. It has that classy outdoorsy vibe. It comes with a large wedding tent already set up, large yard, 10 bedroom lodge for guests, chairs, tables, ect. Maybe look for something like that. I know there are a few ranches in my area that are actual venues. It is a very reasonable price. I agree with the others that renting all that on it's own is super spendy.

My fiance and I are wedding photographers and we live in a rural area so we have shot a lot of weddings where people wanted it to be more of a country setting. Most of these couple have either found venues that are in old barns or old churches that have a lot of that country setting but it doesn't look cheap at all. Uplifting and decorations can transform a place whether it's a barn an old church or a tent. Try finding decorating vendors and look at a portfolio of where they have worksd. Best of luck!

Renting a tent can be $2K+ and you have to rent EVERYTHING else too. It can get expensive. If you look hard enough you can find something. I found a B&B that included everything except the tent. They charged an extra $1,200 for a tent setup.

We are having an outside wedding too. We lucked out because my cousin owns a walnut orchard and we are getting married in the orchard and reception in his backyard. But to cut down on cost I am

Making all my center pieces out of wine bottles, cans, Starbucks glass bottles and making the bouquets myself with flowers from either Costco or the farmer market. We are decorating our selves as well and only paid for the day of wedding planner. Taco bars for dinner is always a hit and cheap. Have your family and friends as much as possible. They are there to help

Don't listen to Jennifer. Your family and friends are NOT your slaves or employees. Don't ask them to help. If they offer, great. They should also attend your wedding as guests and not have to "work".

I agree with other PPs though. A backyard wedding sounds great and inexpensive at first, until you look at all of the rental costs. Venues can be much more affordable than you think. Our venue has an outdoor ceremony area (with indoor area in case of weather issues) and indoor reception area. They also supply the catering, DJ and officiant, although we could use outside vendors. It's going to be $**** for everything for the reception as they also supply linens, decor, tableware, etc.

Some all inclusive venues have tents included in their packages, a local winery does for us

Ok I'm jealous where you all live! Renting a tent and chair and lighting is going to be about 4K. Dj is a family friend, who offered, is a professional and donated her services! We are getting tables from our church and food will be cooked by BIL. I agree about using family, makes me nervous but with his family guest count at 120 they wanted to offer their professional services! Feeding 250 people through a venue (most require their catering) it's not affordable for us! I still plan on researching venues and keeping options open.

If you want a tent with chandeliers and lace, I highly recommend finding a venue that has a more upscale vibe. You are going to spend an insane amount of money on decor. Doing it yourself may sound cheaper right now, but I really doubt that it will be if you're going for an upscale vibe.

Is BIL a licensed caterer? Also, guests really shouldnt be working your wedding.

You really want your friends and family to have to work at your wedding? Is your BIL a licensed professional caterer?

No I agree I really don't want to have family working the wedding, BUT being an old cowboy family if I turn him down it's considered rude. They did FH brothers wedding and it was amazing, yes he is professional!

Ok lady's my Wedding is in 13 days and it's a backyard wedding. Im in Florida and we rented everything. 80 guest to start with , I rented 8 rounds tables , 80 white padded wedding chairs, 8 rectangular buffet tables, cake table, guest book table, sweetheart table, colonial arch with balustrades, ceremony table, 12 led lights ( battery operated any color of your choice) dance floor and a tent to cover all that with curtains on the tent poles all that with taxes, delivery and instalation $2200. They have more stuff to decorate the tents but that was enough for us . I hope this information helps you

I would choose a venue that's all inclusive and cut your guest list down. That will be the easiest and most practical way to save money.

We only did our ceremony outdoors/tented, so I can't speak for reception tent costs, but here's a few tips from a fellow country/farm bride (that also had a ton of lace & chandeliers!)...

- Buy, don't rent, whatever you can...tablecloths, lace, etc. After the wedding you can re-sell and recover most of your money back.

- Stalk your local wedding buy/sell Facebook pages, lots of deals to be found from previous brides.

- Auction and/or yard sales, we bought our tent at an auction sale (it was brand new) and will be re-selling it (or you could rent it out)

- Second hand stores, should be very easy to find old chandeliers and with a bit of DIY they can look better than buying new ones (search interest for some inspiration)

Our families helped a ton with decorations, set up & take-down (gasp, I know, the horror!) But when you're from a small town/farming/ranching family, that's just how it is, everybody helps!

Don't worry, it is totally possibly to have an upscale, farm wedding without breaking the bank.

From what I've heard backyard tented weddings that are nice are just as expensive as a venue

Hi Katie, I don't have any budget advice, but as a therapist, I strongly advise you avoid words like 'dream' and 'perfect'. You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself and this event that aren't necessary. And I can tell you-- no matter how much you spend, it *won't* be perfect. Something will go wrong on the day of, and, unless your name is Kate Middleton, there are things your budget just won't allow. Focus on your goal-- getting married and having an elegant party, and you will find yourself less stressed than if you try and attain a perfect dream, I can guarantee it.

I would look into getting a center that's in your town. We wanted to do a tent wedding, but when we looked into getting the equipments we need for keeping the tent cool and free of bugs. We were basically paying more than regular venues were charging.