Large Outdoor Wedding (ceremony & Reception)

I'm currently planning mine for July 11th (fingers crossed) with 80 guests.

I feel like there's a lot more to think about and plan for when going this route, but if you're really organized it's totally do-able! Some things we didn't think too much about until we were knee deep in planning were:

-Flooring for the tent (our reception tent is going in our 'driveway' at our cottage. It's grassy and mostly flat, but we wanted it evened out and to look finished.) The cost of the floor was more than the tent!

-Bathrooms. We're renting trailer bathrooms and I never expected them to be as expensive as they are. We went for the basic model and it's $1200 for the weekend.

-Power. We're lucky that we can use our cottage to power a lot of things, but we're still going to rent a generator or two. Our DJ has his own that he's comfortable with, so we just paid a little bit extra to have him bring his.

-Flowers. I opted for sola wood flowers for the bouquets and am ordering real flowers for in bud vases on the tables. We don't really have a big enough fridge to store a ton of florals for days, so that's why I went faux!

I also hired a month of wedding coordinator to take care of all the little details on the day of. Totally worth it if you can afford it. She's taken away so much stress already!

Overall, I think our budget will be lower than if we rented a venue. Probably between $25-30k. I say if it's your dream, go for it!

Of course order a giant tent and get a dance floor and just plan a wedding in a big open space. this sounds like a great idea!!

Hey Shania! I found a few articles that you might find interesting -

9 Outdoor Wedding Venue Styles We’re Totally Obsessed With

10 Things You Should Not Forget to Rent for Your Wedding

The 7 Wedding Tent Styles You Need to Know

7 Wedding Lawn Games That’ll Keep Your Guests Entertained

25 Awesome Wedding Ideas for Summer

I was in a wedding where the ceremony was outdoors and the reception was in a barn. My top recomendations are sunscreen and bugspray for the whole group, especially the bride (I watched her get bitten by blackflies during the vows). Have some shady areas, especially for older family waiting for photos.

I haven't been or done it though it seems the cost of the venue will be as equal as an outdoor wedding/reception. Somethings can be saved on cost since guests won't mind materials such as plastic. Cutlery, plates and cups are easier than finer china to use and throw out since you won't have any other clean up to worry after the event. LCBO is great if you need to get an event liquor license for your wedding and its on their website to apply when needed. A fee is required and showing the print out will benefit you to buy all that is required without limitations.