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One of the perks associated with having our wedding in a non-traditional venue is our ability to include some non-traditional ideas, like camping.
(source)
There will be rooms—with doors and windows and running water—for us Husky’s, our parents and our wedding party (and their respective dates). Most wedding guests will either be driving home to Denver, or staying at a hotel in Pueblo—still a 25 minute drive from the reception.
But some of our more dedicated friends will be tent-camping. So how will we keep our wedding from looking like a Tent City?
Well, the property has over 400 acres, with plenty of space for tents. I have asked only that the tents either be set up out of view from the wedding festivities, or set up afterwards. The property owners are against open flame on the property (and rightfully so!), so the other major restriction is on campfires. If our tent-dwellers want to keep warm in what could be a chilly autumn evening, they should bring warm clothes—not firewood.
Our only other request is that our happy campers leave their site as they found it. The property owners are being so helpful and accommodating, and we want to ensure their generosity is not abused.
Will you have any guests with alternative accommodations? Do you have any further suggestions to keep our wedding from looking like a campground?
What a fantastic idea!!! That will definitely allow the party to continue through the night. Maybe there’s a way to make cute flags for each tent so they look someone like they’re almost part of your decor.. maybe?
Great idea if your guests are up for it! We are getting married on my fiance’s parents’ property which is about 40 acres so there is also room for this. We are tossing around the idea of letting people rent RV’s to park on the property - pricier than tents but potentially cheaper than a hotel with the added benefit of being onsite (the closest hotel to our venue is 30-45 min away…). Plus some RV’s have showers and bathrooms which is nice for guests getting dressed up. I’m not sure how many of our guests would go for the RV option. Has anyone ever had guests stay in RVs?
This sounds pretty funny! We have a few guests driving to the wedding in RVs, so they plan to stay at an RV Park. Definitely not camping, but much closer than a regular old hotel.
I think it’s a great idea to have tents, as long as you can’t seem them from the wedding like you said. This post sidetracked me sooo much tonight. I ended up spending all this time looking at articles about AZ’s tent city!
This is pretty sweet. I would totally be on board, except maybe for the fire ban thing. I love me a good campfire 
I went to a wedding at a campground where we camped for the night. It was so much fun hanging out all day, having a fire, spending the rest of the night with everyone. I know you’re not at a campground, but it sounds like a ton of fun. I would have people set up out of site but not restrict them to putting up their tents late–people might want to arrive and settle in.
Awesome! I wonder how many of your guests will be camping out? I definitely think keeping the tents far from the wedding site is a good idea!
I suggested this idea to my guests at Catalina — to get a group campground just near the reception. No one picked me up on the offer. I was sorta surprised. Who doesn’t love camping!? And it is cheap! Love the flag idea hotwings.
As our reception was in a field, we invited folk to camp if they wanted. About 15 tents took up the offer. They were in the corner of the field, away from the party tent, and were perfectly happy. (It is possible though that they might have wanted to be even further away as our music went on ’til pretty late…)
Camping worked out perfectly for lots of couples who had kids, as the kids could fall asleep in their tents while the adults partied on, (or maybe took turns to party on!).
The big bonus with having campers is that they are all there to help you clear up bright and early (well, after midday) the next day!
We really wanted to do this — we met at a camping festival, and got engaged at the same festival, 4 years later! But I’ve had a hard time finding the right combo of rustic for friends vs. comfortable for family accommodations, so we may end up at an Inn.
Some ideas for your tent guests:
1) Expound on the very Green and Conscientious principals of Leave No Trace: http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php & http://www.backcountryattitude.com/leave_no_trace.html. Tell them you & your partner feel strongly about giving back, being responsible, etc., and that LNT is an example of this.
2) Set up boundaries and decorate them with privacy screening! This could be lovely, and it will also give your tenting pals privacy and a place to retreat. This is huge at camping festivals. You could string up fabric, tulle, sheets, tarps, scarves, ribbons, etc, making rustic or ethereal boundary between their camping grounds and the wedding grounds. You could incorporate your theme elements and colors, so that it looks cohesive and part of your environment, but it will clearly give people a “wall” to leave their tents behind.
3) Remember safety lighting! The last thing you want are drunk guests stumbling in the dark in the woods. Buy glowsticks or LEDs, have guests mark their tent stakes and trails, so that no one trips and they can find their way back. This again can be coordinated with your colors and look magical at night.
oh how fun and fabulous! What came to my mind is using shepherds hooks and lining areas for night time with hanging mason jars and candles… stringing lights in between areas and using tall dowels with fabrics as flags in the ground… also, Conduit pipe is inexpensive and comes in silver or could be spray painted to make archways that you could cover with fabrics etc. (it is also bendable)
[...] Tent City | Weddingbee [...]
OMG… I honestly thought we would be the only crazy people to do this! My Fiance and I decided to do the tent thing because we have some party animals and both our parents are very scared that something unforeseen will happen after they leave the reception. We are allowing people to set up tents, unfortunately they will be seen from the wedding reception only because we are getting married on flat non wooded area (think of a grassy knoll between two corn fields!)
We have about 170 attending the wedding and already have 10 committed to tent camping! Plus we are using his dad’s RV so that we can party with the late party goers!
=) LOVE THIS POST!
@Mrs. Hot Wings: Very cute idea! But my DIY energy is nearly all used up…
@letta: I haven’t, but would think people would be fine with it. I did a lot of RV traveling as a kid, and it was always quite comfortable.
@Miss Sand Dollar: I know. The campfire restriction is a Major Bummer.
@Miss Glasses: I’m thinking we’ll have about 15 camps set up, but we’re not totally sure yet…
@Pastachica: great points, about the kids and the cleanup crew 
@spitcurl: LOVE these ideas! Especially the light sticks. We were just talking about how to get our campers safely to their tents after the party’s over.
[...] allowed many of our guests to camp on the property. This was huge for many of our guests that weren’t keen on paying for a hotel [...]
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Mrs. Husky, Denver Age and Occupation: 26, Systems Administrator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid off Engagement Date: August 14, 2009 Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Rancho San Carlos About Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
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