Are you planning to host a tented wedding bash?
After all, tented events are a great way to display your creativity and preference of style (or you if you want to make your guest envious or jealous). So, why not pitch a canvas and craft a design that highlights your elegance?
But before you jump into the idea of hosting a wedding bash outdoors, there is a thing or two that you need to know. After all, you don’t want to have a wedding where there is no parking, electricity, or location where the grass is tall enough to hide a deadly serpent.
Be it a large canopy tent, sailcloth, or apparent clear frame, you are guaranteed a seamless and sophisticated party from the ceremony to the reception that is worth the spending. That’s if you do due diligence; otherwise, it will get real and fast. Here is what you need to know about hiring a wedding tent.
Gather a team of experts
The classic lie associated with tented weddings is; it’s cheaper; it’s an easy DIY undertaking, and it’s super easy to arrange. Let’s inoculate you against such lies and get real. Planning a wedding is hectic and not to mention the stress that may come with it. Getting an expert guide is paramount.
It is important to work with a wedding planner. However, not just any wedding planner, but one who understands a tent and has experience with organizing a wedding event. With several logistic factors into play, you need to outsource such a role to a wedding planner.
It’s your big day; you should not be stressed up about sound system, or running water, among other things on the D-day, you are supposed to have fun, leave that to the expert team.
Pre-site visit
Whether it’s a lakefront or sites that are nestled between hills – no matter how incredible the idea of the site maybe – you need to have a pre-site visit. Besides, you should have several in mind and visit all of them. An expert planner will ensure to have two or three sites in mind considering the experience.
Nevertheless, not too many site choices that you end up not deciding which one is suitable. Visit the same and look at the venue’s accessibility, is the grass well mowed and ideal for a tented wedding? Is the surface stable enough for a tent to be staked or weighted correctly?
Also, are there amenities, be it running water, cloakrooms, or you will need a portable one. How will the organization and several other factors at play influence your budget? The importance of a pre-site visit cannot be overemphasized.
Get a preview of décor
Look at photographs from the wedding planner’s collection of previous weddings. This is where you get creative. The advantage of a tented wedding is that you don’t have to worry about space. With tents, you can have a custom wedding of your likeness and style.
Ask your planner to incorporate a focal point or a pop of color to spruce up the tent. How about hanging floral installation? With wood tables and chairs and greenery around the tent, you will have an ethereal environment for the wedding.
Also, be sure to have a clearly defined entrance. You know a tent can be accessed from any side. However, you don’t want your guest confused, you want proper order. Therefore, it will be a good idea to have draping or a garland of greenery and florals mark the entrance of the tented space.
Catering
A wedding planner and a caterer are two different job descriptions. The latter plans how the event will look like; the former organizes the meals. This is a deal-breaker; here, you cannot risk picking a random caterer because their portfolio looks attractive. It would be best if you had a referral, trustworthy, and reliable referral.
Talk to your wedding planner if they have one in mind, or if you have one recommended by several friends and family, then you are in luck. Caterers are known to disappoint, from being understaffed to cut on cost leaving your family and relatives waiting tables to fill the gap to serving food menu that doesn’t just hold up at the moment.
Is the caterer experienced with tented events away from the oven and microwaves? You don’t want your guests being served cold meals. Does the caterer have enough cutlery? Or you will have a beautiful themed tented wedding with plastics wares and disposable being used to serve meals. What a spoiler!
