Backyard / airbnb wedding

We’re actually planning to do ours at an Airbnb in Toronto and so far things look good *knock on wood*


What I like most so far is that we don’t have any time restrictions, we can do exactly what we want, we’re less likely to be impacted by industry changes and we’re not at the mercy of a corporation. Doesn’t hurt that we have a 24 hr cancellation policy.

We had booked the house last year for our out of town guests and had already asked the owner if we could host our rehearsal dinner there. So far she’s been really helpful and had no problem with us moving the wedding there and even let us pass by and walk around the backyard for an hour taking photos and measurements (there are guests in the house this month).
We had already hired a planner so she’s helping us organize everything super fast in the 4 weeks we have left! And she’ll be critical on the day-of.
It’ll be a tiny wedding for 12 of us but as others have mentioned, there’s A LOT of details to consider.
Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of Airbnb options with enough outdoor space, but hopefully you can find something that works and a supportive host!

We were originally looking at an Airbnb for our wedding and it looked perfect, even had a separate barn type space in case it rained. But what was hidden was that in order to have the barn available to us it was an extra $5,000. Then the owner also wanted us to go through a specific coordinator (which I get) but they were over priced for our budget, then on top of that we would've needed to rent porta-potties or mobile bathrooms since the place was on a septic system. It was just adding up way too quickly for us to make it a feasible option. So just don't be surprised if any hosts that allow you to have parties have some similar conditions too.

A lot of airbnbs list "No parties or events" under their rules, so you will want to make sure whatever you are looking at will allow a party to take place. You have to remember that airbnbs are often peoples homes or private property and they may not want to be liable for whatever large gatherings happen on their property, not to mention the risk of damage.

View quoted message It is unfortunately

View quoted message

Is this a restriction due to covid? I can't imagine any venue that allows weddings to have a 8pm cut off policy.

View quoted message Our venue currently has weddings running from 4-8pm so it's a bit short for us

AirB&B sounds good though not all the work will be done on time unless you have a coordinator or planner to take on the vendors and set up. Same goes for bckyard wedding.
Your venue restriction are set by them and have everyone there. Restaurant may be an idea to have dinner which may the same amount for the set up done by yourself.

What's the time restriction that your venue gave you?

You have to factor in A LOT of work if you're going with a private property like a B&B. First off, is the property equipped to do everything you need it to do: kitchen that can a proper caterer can cook and serve a whole wedding party in (this means industrial fridges, stoves, and ovens), power sufficient to run everything you need (music, lights), a proper bar with running water to serve refreshments, parking. You also lose all the perks that an all-inclusive venue provides that most people don't think about like having multiple toilets per gender available for everyone the whole night, staff to clean the place so that you leave it exactly as you came into it etc.