Things to consider before hosting a wedding at home

An at home wedding can provide a level of personalization and privacy that cannot be matched by any other venue. There are many other advantages of having an at home wedding, but there are also some disadvantages and many things you need to consider before jumping in and sending out the invites.

Advantages of hosting an at home wedding

-No venue hire fee-with many couples now purchasing a home together before the wedding and thus having a mortgage to contend with any area they can save money on is a plus.

-Reduced transportation costs- you don’t have to get from home to the venue or the ceremony to the reception if you hold it all in the one place.

-You don’t have to worry about your date being available; this is good if you want to get married fairly quickly. Many popular venues are booked out 14 or more months in advance.

-Privacy-you don’t have to share your venue with other people.

-Sentimental reasons- having your wedding in your home will mean you can reflect upon it for years to come or having your wedding where you grew up will give you a touching memory. 

-You get to set your own rules rather then be dictated by the rules at a venue.

Disadvantages of hosting an at home wedding

-A higher degree of organization is required-when you book a venue, the organizers take care of many details that you will have to take care of yourself at home.

-Cost- Beware it could end up becoming a lot more costly then you first imagined depending on what you require to create your dream day. A venue may already have many supplies that you would have to hire or purchase for your home wedding. In addition you might need to perform some home maintenance before your wedding day.

-The aftermath-unlike at a hired venue you have to think about the cleaning up the devastation left behind.

Things to consider

At home weddings are most suitable if you have a large amount of land where you can set up a marquee or for small casual affairs of less then 20 or so people if you only intend on using the existing home. Work out how many people you can comfortably cater for before doing up your guest list. Then start making a list of all the things you will need to hire. Will you be hiring a marquee? Do you need to hire portable toilets, a dance floor, tables, chairs, crockery/cutlery or linens?

Food

It is a wise idea to have your reception meal provided by a catering company that can take care of all the details for you. If you want to prepare your own food to save money remember to keep it simple. It is probably a better idea to serve drinks and finger food rather then a full meal because the average home kitchen is not equipped to prepare meals for a large number of guests. Imagine trying to heat dinner for 50 guests in one domestic oven. There are many finger foods which can be prepared ahead of time and don’t require heating.

Lighting

Consider both aesthetics and functionalism when considering your lighting. You need to adequately light all areas that your guests will be in when the sun goes down. Consider softer then usual light globes, candles, fairy lights or lanterns.

Decoration

The best tip when decorating for your at home wedding is to match the architectural feel of your home. Consider what the first thing your arriving guests will see and decorate this area to set the tone, for example the front door or front garden. Besides typical wedding decorations like flowers and ribbons consider using your family pictures as part of the ornamentation.

Other organizational tips

-Consider hiring a cleaning service for before and after your wedding. Also make sure you provide adequate rubbish bins at your function.

-Check and abide by local laws regarding things like parking and noise levels.

-Consider inviting your neighbors or at least give them good notice that you’ll be having the affair. You don’t want the police turning up with a complaint halfway through your reception.

-Consider the comfort of your guests if it is going to be hot you’ll want to provide air-conditioning or fans, if it will be cold some form of heating and keep mosquitoes at bay with citronella or bug zappers.

-Appoint someone as coordinator for the day because you need to be able to relax and enjoy it. A mistake that many brides make is obsessing about everything going to plan instead of sitting back and enjoying it. There is even more of a risk of this happening with a home wedding.

-What areas will the guests need to traipse through? Could things like walls, carpets, grass etc. end up damaged. Put away anything you fear might get broken and protect whatever you can, for example put plastic sheeting on the carpet in halls.

-You will need to block off areas where you don’t want guests to go. Hang private signs, lock doors etc.

-Where will your guests park? You could ask your neighbors to hire some of their space, shuttle people from nearby or hire some valets to park the guest’s cars nearby.

-If you are having your ceremony outdoors make sure you consider a wet weather back up.     

-What is your outdoors like when it rains? Where do water puddles gather? Don’t put up a marquee in this area if you can help it. 

-Make sure you have an adequate power supply for things like playing music and giving speeches.

That’s a brief roundup of the pros, cons and things to consider when hosting an at-home wedding. Whatever style of wedding you end up deciding upon, enjoy your day!