Tips to Planning an AirBnb Wedding or Elopement
Yep, you read that right. Did you know that some AirBnb's will allow you to get married on their property? That can help you save $$$$ on the venue and lodging, and who can say no to that? Keep in mind, it likely needs to be a small gathering, so this works best for intimate weddings and elopements.
As many of you know, I planned my own AirBnb wedding, and I figured I would bring you along and teach you what I have learned along the way.
A few things to keep in mind at the very start of your journey to determine if this is right for you and your love, and how to go about it:
What is the size of your shindig?
An AirBnb is not likely going to house that many guests, but it may have a large property that would allow for more outdoor fun. It's important to keep this in mind when you are scouting for the perfect location. It's also important to note that this is likely only a good fit for an intimate wedding or an elopement. For us, we have an intimate wedding with only our immediate families and two best friends, for a total of 16 people max including ourselves.
Do you plan to have you and your guests stay there?
Once you have size locked down, you need to consider lodging. Is the AirBnb going to serve as your lodging as well as your venue? If so, you'll need to consider number of rooms and beds needed, as well as groceries and how many days and nights you plan to be there. For us, we are planning on spending a weekend of fun with our people, and have the AirBnb booked Thursday night through Sunday morning, and our wedding will be on Saturday afternoon. We're also probably going to do general groceries for everyone, but you have the option to leave everyone responsible for getting what they'll eat.
What kind of time do you need for set up and tear down?
In general, how long will your stay be? As I mentioned, we are having a weekend of festivities, but part of going on Thursday and leaving on Sunday morning is also to allow us to get everything for the wedding set up between Friday and Saturday morning, and then to be able to tear everything down and clean up Saturday night and Sunday morning. Part of using an AirBnb requires you to keep the place clean and tidy and be respectful to the owners and future guests, so it is important to consider this when you are looking at locations and timeframes.
What location are you going to choose?
Perhaps you have a general idea of where you want your wedding to take place, but not sure of the specifics. Do your research of what is around any AirBnbs that you find. Especially if you need wedding decor, seating and possibly table rentals, catering, florals, etc. What restaurants cater nearby? Is it something you want for your wedding meal? Do you want to hire a private chef, and is that service offered somewhere in that area? I am doing many of the decorations for my wedding, but we still have to keep in mind the food, and what we want to do for florals and seating. If you can, talk to someone in the area to see what is around. If you aren't close enough to check it out yourself, have a friend who lives nearby scout out the area, or see if you can join wedding planning Facebook groups in the area to get some more information. We lucked out, because I worked with another photographer last year who was from the area that we are having our wedding, and she sent us several recommendations, including the venue that we are using.
Okay, now that you've answered those questions and have an idea of what you want, and where you want it, here are some ground rules for finding the AirBnb itself.
Search for entire homes - you likely don't want to be sharing your wedding venue with others, limited to a room, or having the host there. There are filter options to look for entire homes, and also filter for the number of people you will have staying.
Don't limit yourself to AirBnb. We actually found our venue on VRBO after I scoured AirBnb for months, thought I had the perfect location, and then it fell through. Some other places to check out are booking.com
Check for reviews - I cannot stress this enough. Don't just book the first place that looks like your vision. Make sure there are excellent reviews and high ratings. We were so close to booking exactly what I thought I wanted, and then found out that the house was actually for sale, so the AirBnb potentially would not have been available. Crazy, but true, so do your research. We lucked out, and got almost the exact same type of place, even a little bit better, on VRBO.
Look at all of the pictures - I say this to focus not only on the home itself, you do want it to have the vibe that you are going for, to be clean and stylish enough for comfort and photos, but also look at the property. You want to consider where you are going to have your wedding. Are there options inside the house to get ready, and also to have the ceremony if the weather is bad? What is the lighting like indoors, are there big windows to let natural light in if pictures are being taken there? Where outdoors is a good wedding location? Is the scenery and background nice? Is there enough room outdoors to have a wedding? How does my vision fit into this space? How will the decor, etc. be set up here? All important questions to consider. This is where it also comes in handy if someone can check out the location for you, or if you have the opportunity to go look yourself.
Check the property rules - this is probably one of the most, if not the single most, important pieces in searching for your venue. That's because some homes don't allow parties or gatherings. However, do not dismay if you find your perfect venue, and it says no parties or events. I reached out to several AirBnb hosts and explained my vision to them for my micro wedding. We are not loud and crazy people, so that also helps, but all of the hosts were willing to let us have our wedding there if we booked.
Be transparent with your host - regardless of the house rules, be transparent with your host about your plans to have your wedding or elopement there. This is respect at it's core. It is their home. Additionally, if you plan to bring in any vendors let them know. And again, clean up after yourselves!
Do your research, have fun, and know it is going to be beautiful and your vision will come to life!
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