Hosting your wedding at home, “What I know for sure” Blog #3 of #10

Many couples dream of being married at their childhood home or vacation home. Perhaps you have a wonderful backyard with flat healthy grass and a garden? Perhaps there is a large back porch? Perhaps your home is on the water? Perhaps your childhood home has many bedrooms that close family and friends can use to stay the weekend?

I adore it when people can go this route. Ashley Douglass Events plans many weddings at private residences, including second marriages. To add the memories of this special day to the long picture book of memories from childhood or to begin making memories in a new house you have just begun to call home, is oh so sweet.

Hosting a tented wedding or any sort of wedding in your own home is certainly a project and we highly recommend having an experienced wedding planner on board. Below are some variables to take into consideration…..

Happy Planning =)

The upside…

1. You can get ready in your home
2. You don’t need to travel to the reception site
3. You may be able to get in a little bit more shut eye the night before
4. You don’t need to worry about LAST CALL
5. Some family and friends may save on hotel accommodations
6. Those staying at your house are already where they need to be for the after party and morning send-off brunch
7. You don’t need to worry about anyone telling you that you can or can’t do something
8. You will have all the time in the world to set up and breakdown
9. You can begin or end whenever you want
10. If you are having a tented wedding, you MAY not have to incur the charges of a cook tent if your home has a great chef friendly kitchen

Some other details to consider….

1. You may want to invite your neighbors
2. You will want to rent a generator, event insurance and be sure that your caterer and sound people are competent with off-site events
3. You may need valet
4. For good will, you may want to invite your friend that is a police officer or firemen
5. Think about hiring a cleaning service to come the next day
6. You will want to rent a dumpster unless the catering company is willing to take the garbage with them when they leave.
7. All tented weddings and weddings hosted at private homes have larger rental bills than weddings hosted at venues. There are some exceptions to this rule I am sure….
8. Your parents or yourselves may find this way more stressful
9. You may have to have someone at home during the day to wait the arrival of rentals, especially if you do not have a planner
10. I am going to repeat myself kind of —If you think you will get stressed getting ready in the same place as your wedding will be getting set-up, then we highly suggest reserving a hotel room or B & B nearby, arriving back home to your wedding day once the celebration begins! You are still going to get all the benefits of being at home on your special day, but cut back on unnecessary stress. Lastly, it is truly exciting to arrive to your wedding once it is all set-up! Walking into the event space is a much anticipated happy gasp you do not want to miss!

BONUS: You MAY want to cover the top of your pool if your crowd is on wilder side or this is a strong reason NOT to cover the top of your pool. DON’T JUMP if you do not have a change of clothes and it is past September….just saying….;)

PLANNING SEASON HAS BEGUN!

Happy Planning 2014 & 2015!

Ashley Douglass Events is a boutique events company, planning weddings, mitzvahs, social and corporate events throughout Connecticut, New York and beyond. Years of experience in both design & coordination, ADE is the right event planner / wedding planner for detailed oriented couples. We are your project managers with a heaping dose of creativity thrown in the mix. We plan social gatherings, corporate events and weddings all over. We have offices in both Greenwich, CT and Huntington, NY. Learn more by contacting us today at 917.748.6281 or click here for our short form. Call us today to book your HOLIDAY EVENT, small or large, social or corporate, in your private home or at a fabulous venue!