Advice before getting started??

Advide i would give is give as many vendors as possible to see id they can work towards your budget. Small items if your ebay or amazon shoppers, get it there to save yourself over the retail price.

Shop around for ideas and pricing before finalizing for decor, wedding gowns and favours if choosing that route. Also you don't get your deposit back if you cancel any vendors. I lost about 350 from 3 vendors cause my husnband attempted to cancel the wedding the 1st time. 2nd time, told him to call all the vendors personally. Do not make that mistake.

We had a barn wedding too. We also wanted something non-traditional so we had our ceremony on a Sunday morning at 11:30am and served brunch and mimosas afterwards. We always wanted to do a brunch wedding because we love breakfast foods and also because we wanted something more casual and a better reflection of our personalities. It was a super fun day! We're biased of course, but we got lots of comments from guests that they had a lot of fun and liked the casual outdoor atmosphere. We played lawn games after brunch and just generally socialized with our guests. We didn't do any traditional things - no first dance (we played lawn games instead of having dancing), no speeches, no bouquet toss or anything like that. It's just not our style, but I totally appreciate that other people love those traditional things.

Even if it's simple and non-traditional, it will still be amazing and memorable for you and all your guests!

I would advise checking out many vendors to make sure they are the right fit before booking one. I would also advise sticking to your guns as far as your vision. If you want something super simple then go for it.

What do you mean by non-traditional barn wedding? Do you mean making it seem like something it is not? Or do you just not want to do what everyone else is doing?

I am having my wedding at a hall, so not much help there. But as far as advice take one day at a time and tackle one task at a time, otherwise things can get overwhelming quickly. Shop around for best deals and use this site to reach out to vendors they are pretty quick with their replies and you can send one mass email to all the ones you like. Enjoy the process it can be fun.