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Kelsie
Dedicated June 2014

Bring Your Own Lawn Chair? Tacky?

Kelsie, on September 9, 2013 at 8:34 PM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 151

We are having a backyard wedding in Iowa. Both the Ceremony and Reception will be outside. I t will be very casual and low key. We plan on having lots of yard games, volleyball, a bounce house, and we are grilling out for the food. We will have close to 400 guests and that is a lot of chairs to rent! We were thinking about coming up with the idea of bringing your own lawn chair (BYOLC) Everyone is far more comfortable in their own chair anyway. Now what I can't decide is if this is going to look bad to my quests or not... help? Please! Smiley smile

151 Comments

Latest activity by Mrs. Shanon V, on September 11, 2013 at 3:08 PM
  • K
    Expert October 2014
    Kris10 ·
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    I think chairs would be something guests would expect you guys to provide, even for a backyard wedding.

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  • ItsGoodToBeKing
    Master February 2014
    ItsGoodToBeKing ·
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    You're in luck! took pictures of BYOLC wedding out in front of our place the other weekend!



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  • kahlcara
    Master August 2013
    kahlcara ·
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    I agree with Kris. Also, I'm assuming some people are travelling and probably can't bring their own chairs? And I suspect some (even local) might forget to bring one.

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  • AndreaLily
    Master October 2013
    AndreaLily ·
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    I think you should provide chairs, as a guest I would be annoyed about having to bring my own. Btw your wedding sounds so fun!

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  • mrsg
    Master September 2017
    mrsg ·
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    I'd be annoyed about having to fit chairs into my car and then carry them, and possibly lose them. For a wedding of 20 guests, this could work, but for 400, I would just rent the chairs. Sorry!

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  • Future Mrs. M
    Expert November 2013
    Future Mrs. M ·
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    I personally wouldn't have a problem bringing my own chair, but I do see where some people might think it is tacky. I guess it depends on your group... maybe you could rent benches? Is that available?

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  • May
    VIP October 2013
    May ·
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    Probably depends on the crowd. I can't say I'd want to carry my own lawn chair to a wedding. Also some people don't have lawn chairs (I know I don't!) so if you do go that route you should probably rent a few dozen at least.

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  • K
    Expert October 2014
    Kris10 ·
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    Yeah, that's kind of my thought, I'd probably forget mine, or people traveling would have to pack them up with them. I'm with @May- I live in the city and don't actually own lawn chairs, so I'd be a little annoyed at having to buy them and then either donate them or store them afterwards. Your wedding sounds super fun, though, I wish I'd thought of a bounce castle!

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  • Mrs. M
    Super August 2013
    Mrs. M ·
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    Yes, I agree with most of them above. Your wedding sounds fun but imagine what it's going to look like with 400 different looking chairs in one place? I would def. rent. It looks like your cutting costs in a lot of different areas so maybe you can use that towards some nice rentals for your guests.

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  • Donna
    Master June 2014
    Donna ·
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    My sister had a backyard wedding a few years ago and it was very similar to what you are planning. It was very casual and people are still talking about what a good time it was. Her guest list was much smaller than yours, only about one hundred people, and she did have her local guests bring their own lawn chairs. We were driving to Vermont from Pa, so we were not asked to bring them, but the people who did bring their own did not seem to mind. I think it all depends on the kind of vibe you have with your guests. Some of her neighbors provided food as well and my sister has done the same for her close friends. I think she did have to rent some chairs, but not that many. Also people dropped off the chairs ahead of time, so they were set up and they were not walking in with them.

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  • H
    Master October 2013
    HalloweenBride ·
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    It's Iowa, and I think it's fine. I'm from there and I'm guessing nobody would care. You MAY want to have a few extra on hand though, in case people don't have them or forget to bring them.

    But, like others have said, 400 is a HUGE number, do you even have the space to have that many chairs? Or to have food for that many?

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  • Goodbye
    VIP October 2014
    Goodbye ·
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    That is completely rude, I feel you need to provide your guests with chairs....And tables...You were planning on providing those, right? Try inviting less guests if its about the money. If I seen "BYOLC" that on a wedding invitation I wouldn't attend nor would I bother to include anything in the congratulatory card.

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  • Lori
    Master June 2015
    Lori ·
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    Amy S: yes! As I was reading this, I kept thinking, forget the lawn chairs, I want to see this backyard that holds 400 people!!

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  • MJ
    Master June 2013
    MJ ·
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    I think people should bring their chairs

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  • Mrs G
    Super October 2013
    Mrs G ·
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    I don't mind the idea of bringing my own chair. I'd rather bring my own then worry about fighting 400 people for rental chairs haha. 400 people is a LOT! You're much more adventurous then I. I would rent 100 or so though just in case people forget or don't have a lawn chair.

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  • Michelle
    Master April 2013
    Michelle ·
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    I dont think I'd want to bring one, that many people there would be confusion in whose is whose and then there's lugging it around, have you considered a picnic theme and having a few chairs on hand for the elderly that can't get on the ground? I think the blankets might be cute, see if you can get some close friends to let you borrow a few and do it that way, or better yet buy some blankets (cheap ones) and donate to a local animal shelter or homeless shelter afterwards! You could do the blankets by family.

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  • Laura Nicole
    VIP October 2013
    Laura Nicole ·
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    400 people in your backyard? Whew. That's intense! I would say no, don't ask your guests to bring their own chairs.

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  • Megan
    Expert July 2013
    Megan ·
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    Rent the chairs. I wouldn't want to bring mine--they were 25ish a piece, so if I lost them due to 400 people being there, I'd be peeved. I so wouldn't want to do it, I just would stand. If it was a smaller group, and I didn't think I'd lose it, I wouldn't mind. But I'd want to drink and dance and not worry about my chairs

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  • Iris
    Master February 2014
    Iris ·
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    I'm gonna be blunt - with 400 guests is this a wedding, or a family reunion? And I agree with Amy's mention - are you really grilling for that many guests? I can understand wanting loved ones all around you, but 400 is excessive. I am assuming that you have enough $$$ to afford that much food for people, which means you should also be budgeting chairs & tables. Unless you are expecting people to bring their own food to cook as well as chairs...

    Having a laid back wedding is perfectly fine, but IMO not paying for chair rentals is lazy, not laid back.

    Scale back the guest list, or cut something else out (do you really need that bouncy house - sounds like a child's party not a wedding) to make enough room in your budget for chairs. But please for the love of 400 guests, do not make them bring their own.

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  • Celia Milton
    Celia Milton ·
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    400 guests? Bring your own chairs?

    No.

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