The Wedding Series: Venue

Obviously a wedding isn’t going to happen without a place to host it.

Let’s talk venue! I knew right away that I wanted to have a wedding outside. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere with a lot of trees, preferably a clearing in the woods somewhere. And I found just that.

My reception was held at an outdoor chapel in the woods at a church camp. There was a wooden stage with wooden benches, and the scenery was beautiful. The whole setting was breathtaking. The ceremony ended at about five in the afternoon, just as the sun was setting through the trees. The reception was held in the lodge at the top of the hill that led down to the ceremony. Inside were wooden walls and a big fireplace inside a dimly lit room filled with candles. Outside the lodge, the guests were able to walk around trails going through the woods while the sun set. And all of this cost me less than $200.

 

Now, I definitely got lucky with such an amazing venue for such a small amount of money, but there are some ways for anyone living anywhere to get a venue that they love and still save money.

Look at church camps. Many church camps will have an outdoor chapel, which will work for most of the year. If you’re having your wedding during the colder months, most camps have a lodge or indoor chapel of some kind. Church camp prices will run lower than a lot of other places, too.

Another option is a friend or family member’s backyard. The setting is intimate and beautiful, and will most likely cost you little to nothing. I held my reception in a separate building, but you could hold both in the same general area. Even renting a tent or canopy is cheaper than most venues.

The greatest thing about having a wedding outside is that the setting will serve as decoration, saving you even more money. For the ceremony, we decorated the stage with an arch and some greenery, but besides that the woods served as the most beautiful part of the décor. An outdoor wedding also makes for the most beautiful pictures. The setting also allows you to make your wedding as casual or as formal as you would like it to be, as you don’t have to fit your wedding to any sort of décor that already exists inside a building.

It’s not difficult to save money when looking for a venue. Don’t settle for the most expensive, most popular place. Be creative and open-minded. After all, the day will be wonderful and perfect no matter where you have it!