AirBnB wedding Venues

Airbnb wedding venues. Do you do it or not?

Airbnb and vrbo have become the thing to do when you travel in the past recent years. You get to stay in someone's home and have it all to yourself at the destination you travel to. This is very appealing, especially when you have a group of people you are traveling with and everyone wants to stay together. 

Now, the question is, do you utilize one of these homes to have your wedding? In my opinion.. YES! How do I know? Well.. I've done it. But this blog will break down some of the pros and cons of  renting an airbnb. So lets get into them.

2. CONVENIENCE
With having the home for the weekend or more, you have the opportunity to be more relaxed about your wedding day. IF you wish, you can have all the rentals from your local vendors show up the day before and use the morning of to set it up. If you choose not to have any rentals, then even better, you can use this time to relax and soak in the scenery before you get ready for your vows. The convenience of staying at the location is less stressful. There is no rushing, wondering if you forgot to pack something, some homes have it where you can even bring your pets with you so no worries there either. 
Another huge convenience is if you choose to, you can have your wedding guests staying with you as well. No one is trying to travel to you last minute or go home afterwards. The night can be so stress free knowing no one has to leave to go home and everyone can celebrate your nuptials with ease.    
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Pros:

1. COST
The cost of weddings seems to keep heading up hill, costing more and more per year and with every new trend that comes out, adds more money. 
Renting an airbnb can help cut those costs in half if not more. Renting a home for the weekend with a gorgeous backyard or view will always be cheaper than renting a venue. Even some of the small chapels you can rent for your wedding cost thousands and you only use them for a few hours. You can combine the price of the home, rental chairs, cake, bouquet and alter for less than the venue. That's a huge savings.

3. HONEY MOON AND CEREMONY WRAPPED INTO ONE
The honeymoon is a topic that I swing both ways on. Its one that I get both sides whole heartedly, so its tricky. I understand newlywed couples want to go to that tropical place out of country and hang out on the beach for a week drinking pina colada's. I am all about that! But if you can't really afford that, or if you find it difficult to get away like that, then this option wins! You are already looking for an airbnb with beautiful scenery to have your ceremony, why not just stay an extra few days and use it as your honeymoon as well. You can pick somewhere the two of you have always wanted to go, rent a cabin or a home, have your ceremony, and the rest of your stay is the honeymoon. This could actually fit into number 1 and number 2 because it is both cost effective and convenient. 

4. STRESS FREE
When having a big wedding at a huge venue, it can be chaotic. I hear my brides say a lot, that they don't really remember the details of the wedding day. Everything went so fast it seemed and there was so much going on all at once that it became a blur to them. Having your wedding at a Airbnb takes that away. Its small, quaint, elegant, and just easy. You aren't being rushed here and rushed there. You get to really soak in the whole day. Sleep in if you'd like and drink your coffee in peace overlooking the view you chose. You can even sit in the hot tub right before you get ready to put your dress on if you want to. The whole day is yours to relax and enjoy. 

5. PERSONAL
Your wedding becomes personal. You aren't sharing it with people you don't really even know. Its just the two of you and a handful of family and friends. You will remember every second of it and every person that was there. You can talk and mingle with every one. You can have quiet time with your new spouse to soak in the moments. You won't feel that you have to be pulled in 10,000 different directions. You feel extremely loved and supported because there isn't anyone there that shouldn't be. Its just personal.... and personal is by far, to me, the absolute best. 

CONS:

With all the pros there are at least a few cons. Here are a couple that I found while planning our Airbnb nuptials 
1. RULES
Some places on Airbnb and Vrbo don't allow "parties" and although I don't consider a small wedding ceremony a party, they do. The noise ordinance is another thing that may be an issue depending on the house you rent. Find a place that you love that isn't in a neighborhood where the neighbors might complain. Although you personally may not be loud, the music from the ceremony might be and the owner can get in trouble for that.  I found that once I reached out and spoke with the owner of the property and told them what I wanted to do, they were ok with it, but I had to give the exact number of guests that were coming and staying, so make sure to rent a place that sleeps enough people for your guests that are staying. It is their home and they don't want it trashed, understandably, so you do have to respect their concerns and wishes. 

2. LIMITED AMOUNT OF PEOPLE
You can only invite a few people to attend your ceremony if you decide to have it at an Airbnb. Depending on how many people you are wanting to invite would determine if this ceremony option is right for you. If you can't or don't want to narrow your guest list, then a larger venue may suit you better. 

3. CHOOSING LOCAL OR DESTINATION
Making the choice of a local Airbnb verses one out of town is a hard choice. Or at least it was for me. I personally chose local but not before booking one out of town. I ended up changing my mind about going out of town because of the people I wanted there. Not everyone could get away on the same weekend for an entire weekend, so I opted to stay close. If your date is flexible however, this may not be an issue for you. You can sit down with your guest list and pick a weekend that works best for everyone. My experience of staying close worked out fine. I rented a house right on the lake that slept 9. I had about 30 guests at the ceremony. Some of our guests did stay the night and helped us clean the next morning and check out. I didn't get the beautiful mountain backdrop that I wanted with the destination plan but I did get the gorgeous lake and all the guests I absolutely had to have there. It worked out perfect for us. So be prepared to have to make a few adjustments here and there when planning an Airbnb ceremony. 

 The beautiful couple, in the pictures on this blog, Kathleen and Peter, chose an out of town Airbnb that slept the number of people at their ceremony. They had the stunning Ocoee river flowing through the yard and were surrounded by tall trees, twinkling lights, and the sound of water flowing. There was no alter here, I mean why did you need one? Local vendors delivered the rented chairs and tables to the cabin the day before and picked them up before they left. A local flower shop made the bouquet and boutonniere and the local bakery made a gorgeous cake. The morning of the wedding, the bride visited and chatted with all her guests, which were close family and friends, and enjoyed her time with them. This wedding was so personal and elegant and the bride said she wouldn't have had it any other way. 

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Author: Stephanie Taylor 
Photographer and Owner of Marilyn Ray Photography