Planning Home Weddings
Advice on having a wedding
celebration at home and tips on outdoor home weddings
Also see
outdoor wedding supplies,
decorations for outdoor weddings and
wedding reception centerpieces
Having your wedding at home
can be one of the most memorable and special experiences of your
life. But if you don’t plan ahead, a wedding celebration at home
can be one of the most stressful experiences.
No matter what the size of
your home is or what kind of condition it’s in, your home is
probably not ready to accommodate the hundred or so guests that will
be coming to your home wedding.
Home weddings are typically
more personal than other types of weddings. And though they’re
often smaller events, wedding celebrations at home can be
more expensive than other types of weddings due to the cost of
rentals, permits, decorations and staff.
Planning home weddings
requires more organization and potentially more elements (like a
permit for any outdoor tents) than other weddings – especially if
you’re having an outdoor home wedding.
You
may be overwhelmed at first, but once you have a few tips to work
from, you’ll feel more organized in planning your home wedding. And
while it may be more work on the planning side, home weddings are
well worth the effort because well, there’s no place like home.
Tips For Planning Home Weddings
To get
prepared, read on and we’ll go over our top tips for planning home
weddings. With this advice, you’ll be on your way to creating a
beautiful and stress free wedding celebration at home.
Consider the Guest List for Your Home
Wedding
 One of the first
elements of planning a home wedding is for you to determine how many
people will fit comfortably in your home.
If your guest list has
over 50 names on it, bring in your wedding planner or caterer to
help you access how many people you can reasonably have.
Remember that even if
you’re having an outdoor home wedding on the lawn, you may need to
move everyone indoors in the event of inclement weather.
Get the Right Rentals for Home
Weddings
When you rent
a venue for your wedding ceremony and reception, typically the venue
will have tables, chairs, a dance floor, sound system, etc. included
in the cost of the rental. For wedding celebrations at home
(outdoor home weddings in particular) you’ll need to rent quite a
few items. A couple of the things that you may need to rent are: a
tent (with a dance floor), tables, chairs, table linens, dinnerware,
napkins, barware, a generator and portable restrooms.
Talk to your
caterer to see if they can provide some of the rental items. Table
linens and napkins are often part of your catering cost.
Even if your
home is equipped with 2 or 3 restrooms, you’ll probably still need
to rent portable bathrooms for your wedding celebration. One
restroom for every 35 guests should be adequate. Instead of basic
port-a-potties, rent upscale restrooms with lights and sinks for
guests to wash their hands.
Parking for Your Wedding
Celebration at Home
You can’t
expect all of your wedding guests to find parking in your
neighborhood, so you’ll need to hire parking valets for your home
wedding. Make sure that you not only hire valets but also determine
where the cars will be parked. You don’t want to annoy your
neighbors by blocking their driveways.
If your guest
list is very large, check out the area around your home and use a
school or church parking lot. You can give guests directions to the
lot and then use a shuttle to transport guests back and forth to the
wedding location. If you are very near a parking lot, the parking
valets can use it to store the cars. Just get the proper
authorization in advance to use the lot.
File
Your Wedding Permits
You’ll need
to check with your local government about what kind of licensing
fees and permits you will need to take care of. No matter where you
live, if you’re erecting a large party tent for an outdoor home
wedding, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to get a permit.
You may also need to get a permit in order to valet the cars for
wedding guests and you should check your local regulations regarding
noise as well. Permits and fees differ depending where you live,
but make sure to leave room for them in your wedding budget.
Take
Care
of Your Home’s Yard
If you’re
having an outdoor home wedding or part of your wedding ceremony or
reception will take place outside, you’ll need to make sure your
yard looks nice. This may mean putting down new sod or planting
some new shrubs.
If you have
green, full grass, you may also want to consider what putting a tent
and a dance floor on your yard will do. After the wedding, your
grass may be yellow or damaged in some places.
Another
concern for outdoor home weddings is bugs. Use fans, citronella
candles or insecticide spray if mosquitoes and flies are prevalent
in your area. You don’t want pests bothering your guests.
Insurance for Weddings at Home
To protect
yourself from everything from guest injuries to damage to your home,
consider getting additional insurance for your home wedding. Keep
in mind that you need the same type of insurance that a wedding
reception site would. Check your homeowner’s insurance to see what
it covers, then you may want to get a supplemental policy for the
wedding. The security of having insurance will ensure that a simple
accident won’t put a damper on your wedding day.
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