Ceremony and Cocktail Hour at house

Possibly a tent (depending on your states weather). My part of Northern Michigan was so rainy this Sept... if you rent chairs, the same place may have tents. Good luck and happy planning! 🍀

This was actually my idea, not to necessarily cut cost but I was going for a very intimate wedding ceremony. So far it doesn't look like that will happen as the venue we picked for the reception is 30 min from my house.

I sort of did this. We did our own cocktail hour where the church ladies made all our food and we supplied the drinks as well. It was mostly just fruit and some little pastries.

Is there enough room for parking? Do they have an HOA or city/county covenants that prohibit large gatherings/events? Will neighbors be okay with the sound? Do any neighbors have barking dogs or young kids that may be loud and interrupt the ceremony? I assume you'd have to rent generators & bathrooms depending on the size of their house, and a tent in case you get bad weather.

In addition to Mrs.D's questions, what about seating during the ceremony? My sister-in-law got married in her yard and her family including myself end up sitting in the back on a blanket because the seating arrangements were terrible. There was no reserved seating and chairs were limited. It wasn't enjoyable because our view was blocked and sitting on a blanket in the grass was rather uncomfortable especially for those of us in dresses. I would also make sure there is enough space for every person to have a chair and that you have enough chairs for each person. No one should have to stand or sit on the ground. Also, do you plan on renting microphone that will be used during the ceremony? I would recommend that you do otherwise people aren't going to be able to hear you. A friend of my got married and they didn't use microphones and I couldn't hear a word the bride said. We were able to hear the officiant and groom because they spoke louder so unless you plan on speaking very loud, but clearly then a microphone is a must.