Most couples are ready to spend about 40-50% of their wedding budget on the wedding venue. If you’re ok with that and want a classic beautiful wedding with as little stress during your wedding planning as possible, just book a nice wedding venue for your big day. Although if you’re looking for a less expensive and more personalized and unique wedding location, we’d like to offer you a few interesting options. They probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a wedding venue, but they can be fun and wonderful-looking.
City park, state park, and national park
A lot of couples have their weddings held in various parks. Of course, you’ll have to work more to organize the event from scratch, but a wedding in a city park or national park gives you 3 huge advantages. First of all, it’s much cheaper to arrange such a wedding than to book a fancy venue. Secondly, you get real freedom of choice in every single detail of your wedding – from décor to wedding theme to tables design, to catering, etc. And the third advantage is the beauty of nature that allows you to take wonderful wedding photos without even trying too hard. If you love nature and want to be close to it at your wedding, choose a lovely secluded place in a city park, state park, or national park for your wedding ceremony. Although, remember that you’ll have to do a ton of work to make everything happen.
Museum
Some museums agree to become a great wedding location. Maybe you have a favorite museum in close proximity or a particular museum is in your field of work or you met your honey in this museum… Anyway, think about this option. Museums can provide a wonderful backdrop for a wedding, and it’s a unique place, is it not?
Zoo or aquarium
These are pretty unique places for a wedding, and they probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a wedding location, but they can be fun. If you love animals, this might be it for you. Especially if you’re planning a kid-friendly event. Just pick a place far from smelly animals). Besides, your wedding photos will most definitely be awesome.
Community center
There is a number of various community centers that can be used to house a wedding ceremony. It’s seriously less expensive to organize a wedding in such a place than to book a specialized wedding venue. And these halls are usually in pretty good condition, so your wedding won’t look cheap and low-budget. Besides, community centers usually have a kitchen where your caterer might be able to work. So, don’t be afraid to look into community centers in your area – it might be a great option for less than $1,000.
Backyard or B&B
If you or your family members (who will allow you to use it, of course) have a large backyard, think about having a wedding celebration there. With some effort and a few grand budget, you can create a wonderful wedding location in a backyard.
With B&Bs, it is sometimes even easier because a lot of them already have some experience in being a wedding location. Moreover, some B&Bs encourage their guests to have a wedding at their place, as a single event brings them a good profit.
For more info about these wedding locations, read our article Backyard wedding and Air B&B wedding from scratch. Tips and tricks.
Courthouse
Many courthouses allow for up to 100 people to attend a wedding. A courthouse is not just a boring office where you can sign the legal papers and nothing more. If you can only afford an inexpensive budget wedding, try to arrange a marriage ceremony in your courthouse. It’s affordable and rather solemn-looking. You won’t be able to have a reception at the courthouse, but any cafe or your backyard is fine for the celebration after the official part.
Field or farm
Couples who want a secluded location for their wedding might pick a farm or even an open field. These places are really affordable (maybe you’ll even get the place for free, borrowing it from your friends or relatives) and you can decorate the space as you like. But as with parks, you’ll have to do a lot of work to provide everything for the event (including electricity, food, transfer, etc). And also, pick a location with a beautiful view – because why else have a wedding in the middle of nowhere?!
