Country Palms vs FREE wedding space
There are likely more than a few couples out there who are facing this decision. Someone in your
family has generously offered their beautiful land or home for your wedding – free! A wonderful and
generous offer for sure! Weddings can get expensive quickly, so naturally you think, “How can I do
better than free, right?” So you say, “Yes, let’s do it!” Wrong – that decision requires a lot more
thought…and caution. Before jumping on the offer, as generous as it is, there are so many things to
consider. That beautiful plot of land or that gorgeous home that was offered, could possibly (and likely)
cost you much more. And I’m not just talking about money.
Let’s examine an extremely common scenario:
Grandpa and Grandma have affered you their beautiful farmland for your wedding – free of charge of
course. It has wide open pastures, lush trees, rolling hills, an old barn, and gorgeous views. After a
grateful and tearful “thank you”, you begin wedding planning. And that’s when you realize…as lovely
as it is, maybe this isn’t such a great idea. You begin to ask questions like; “Where is everybody going
to park? How much does it cost to rent portable toilets? Do I even want my guests using portable toilets
at my wedding? What if it rains? Do I need to clean the old barn? How much does it cost to rent an
event tent? Is there elctricity at the ceremony site? How will we play music? Where are we gonna
dance? What is the cost of table and chair rentals? Are me and my guests covered by liability
insurance? Where are the bride, groom and the bridal going to get dressed? Where can we do hair and
makeup? How do we keep food and beverages warm or cold? How will food be served? Should we buy
garbage cans? What will we do with all the trash at the end of the night? Who is going to clean up?
What about handicapped accessibilty? Will we have heat? Will we have air conditioning? Should we
buy or rent heaters/fans?
After doing some research, and finding answers to all of those questions, your average couple finds that
their “free” venue space cost them over $7000! Then, at that point, they still need to add in the cost of
food, drinks, dresses, tuxedo, hair and makeup, decorations, photographer, wedding officiant, and DJ.
Believe it or not, that’s not the worst part. One of the most underconsidered aspects of this scenario is…
family relationships. Your relationship with family and friends is far more impotant than any amount of
money. It’s very sad to think about, but accepting a “free” wedding space from family or friends often
leads to tensions or bad feelings. Most everyone wants and expects their property to be respected and
cared for. As for your grandparents, in their minds they may begin to say things like… “Will your guests
leave ruts in my yard?” “We want everybody off the property by 7pm!” “We won’t allow alcohol on
our property” “We don’t want that many people here on our property” “I don’t want strangers coming
into my house” “Those kids had better not run through my landscaping” “That DJ is too loud” “ Look
at this mess!” “When are you gonna remove all this trash?”…you get the idea.
As parents of seven children, and grandparents of eighteen grandchildren, we understand the allure of
a “free” wedding space. It’s hard to resist. Your goal is to create special moments and happy, loving
memories with family and friends. What better way to create those memories than by using the
property of a close friend or family? Nonetheless, please use caution. Your free wedding space may
very well become a very expensive way to create tensions among those same family and friends.
Of course here at Country Palms, all those issues, questions and concerns are already taken care of, and
even more.
Country Palms vs FREE Wedding Space
