Tenting Your At-Home Wedding
Happy Tuesday everyone! We hope you’re ready for some amazing wedding tips and tricks because today Janice of Bellwether Events is back and armed with even more at home wedding advice for our readers; today she is tracking at home wedding tenting. Take it away Janice!
Welcome back to the second installment of my monthly series on United With Love about home weddings! I’m fresh from a home wedding in The Plains, Virginia, and have so much advice to share with you! If you missed my first post about home weddings, please check it out when you have a chance! And if you want a lot more information about home weddings, check out my free ebook, The Elegant At-Home Wedding.
Today I am going give you an introduction to wedding tents! After you settle on your guest list and your budget, you will need to work on booking your tent. This will be a big component of your budget so it is best to get this information sooner rather than later. There are a two different kinds of tents that are the most popular, each with pros and cons, and I’m going to discuss the basics so that you aren’t flying blind when you start calling tent rental companies. If you have additional questions, please reach out to me or to UWL vendor, Sugarplum Tent Company!
Pole Tents
Pole tents are an affordable way to provide cover for your wedding guests. These are the tents with the swooping tops that are often compared to a circus tent. Pole tents can easily be found made in either white vinyl or sailcloth. Sailcloth tent tops fully protect you from rain but still let natural light in during the day, and offer that pretty “glow” in nighttime photos. They are also more expensive than the white vinyl tops, so take that into account when choosing. Pole tents require ground staking, so be prepared to have grass all the way around the tent with no obstructions; they will require a 10-foot perimeter for the lines that stake into the ground. Pole tents cannot be placed flush against a building due to the guy-lines. Another thing is keep in mind is that pole tents are not quite as sturdy in high winds.
Frame Tents
Frame tents have a more squared-off look to the tent top, similar to the roof of a house. These tents are typically a little more expensive than pole tents, as well. They can be staked into the ground with a lesser perimeter, or they can be weighted down with giant water barrels. This means that they can be placed flush up to a building and they do not need to be exclusively on grass. The tent top will have a metal structure underneath that you can opt to cover with a liner other fabric draping at an additional cost. Frame tents can withstand higher winds a little better and there is version of a frame tent that is called a structure or Navitrac tent that is even more sturdy in high winds. Call me and I’ll tell you about the tents I had up in the 2012 derecho storm!
Michelle Lindsay Photography
Tent Accessories
There are a few other items you will want to talk to your tent provider about initially. Lighting for your tent and a generator to power your lighting and entertainment are a great place to start as they are necessary. Sidewalls for your tent in the event of hard rain, wind, or cool temperatures can also be helpful. You will also need to consider a safety railing if any part of your tent will be elevated. I will delve into these items in more detail in a future post, so be sure to check back!
I hope you found this introduction to wedding tents helpful! If you have additional questions, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me directly – I’d love to help you with your home wedding! And don’t forget to check back next month for my thoughts on how to spruce up your stationery for your home wedding!