Field Wedding Venue in New England on the cheap

The overlook at Geer tree farm in Griswold CT (close to the casinos)

-The do have a noise ordinance- reception can only go until 10pm

-no camping but does have a fire pit

- a little over you 3-4K but includes tent, table, chairs and a barn with bathrooms which add up if you bring in yourself

Which state do you live in?

Check out Blissful Meadows in Uxbridge, MA. It's not a campground but there may be some campgrounds in the area. They have a large rustic barn on a golf course. Beautiful spot.

I grew up in Central Mass, and there are a lot of beautiful places in the area for not that much. Check out The Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster, MA, and the Red Apple Farm in Athol, MA. Those would be my top picks in that area

Have you searched Airbnb? We found a place in that area but it would not be large enough for 175 people.

Have you searched Airbnb? We found a place in that area but it would not be large enough for 175 people.

My venue would work, but they only do a few dates a year and they book quickly. It's Camp Hoffman in West Kingston, RI...check Girl and Boy Scout camps though, they might be perfect. Hoffman is a Girl Scout camp, but the council has lots of other properties that have more dates available. Look at GSEM, GSSNE, Minuteman BS council, and Narragansett BS council.

Ummmm might be late for this year...are you open to another month or next season? We booked a brand new venue in Holden MA in September of last year for this year and most places we looked were pretty booked.

Wow, thank you guys for quick comments. I will start looking into these places as soon as I can. To answer some peoples questions:

Michelle: I live in Southern Maine, but most people will be coming from the greater Boston area, or flying into Logan. That's why we want it relatively close to Boston.

Molly: My fiancé has checked vrbo, which is similar to airbnb, but I have not myself. I should probably look into both those places myself to make sure she didn't miss anything that might work for us. I really think this may be the best option, as all we really care about is a big piece of land and airbnb type places will probably be a lot less expensive than a dedicated wedding venue.

Brooke: I know that it is relatively late to plan a wedding, but I'm certain that there are still places that have open dates. They will just be harder to find.

Thanks,

Ben

I got a little bit stuck on bathrooms not being a must...

Jeleebeenz: Lol, of course bathrooms are a necessity. It would obviously be nice to have nice facilities on site, but if we are gonna be out in a field we will probably end up getting some nicer port-a-potties. We should probably just make it a requirement though, having port-a-potties at a wedding is definitely not ideal.

Great idea! Love these ideas! So great!

There is nothing about this that is going to be cheap. Before you go any further, look into the other costs; tenting, catering, liquor, valet parking, even the porta-potties.

Celia: I have, I estimate tents+equipment rental will be about 3k-5k, food 25 per head, booze 15 per head. I never said it would be cheap, but if I arrange everything myself it will almost definitely be cheaper than if I pay a venue to do all the work for me. Even if I don't save that much money, I will probably end up with much more flexibility in my options.

In my mind renting a piece of land, if that's all they are really providing, should not be that expensive. I just have to find the right person to rent from.

I am in the very preliminary stages of planning, so if you think that my ideas are unrealistic, maybe they are. In my mind, people throw parties all the time without spending that much money, but whenever it's a wedding all of a sudden it is "guaranteed" that it's going to be expensive. I just don't really get why there is such a large disconnect in cost between a wedding and a party, at least the one I'm trying to plan.

Thanks for the help,

Ben

When you say restroom isn't a prerequisite, you understand the cost and hassle of renting port-a-potties, right?

Elizabeth, I hadn't put too much thought into it, but from your tone I'm guessing that you are implying that it is more expensive and hassle then it is worth?

Here is an article that discusses similar ideas to what I have in my head http://www.bridalguide.com/planning/wedding-budget/budget-friendly-backyard-wedding

I really do think they're unrealistic. I used to do this for a living, and creating a party in the middle of a field for 200 people is a LOT of work.

It's going to cost you more than what you have allotted. A nice porta potty trailer all by itself is close to 1000.00.

You need staff, and a lot of it. That 25.00 for food is just the beginning.

If you have never catered a party in a remote location for this many people...this probably isn't the time to practice.

As I said, I think before you get any further down this road, you need to get concrete costs for everything you need. Because that article is not realistic.

That article is proof that it can be done, and I have already started doing the research. That 25 for food is a quote from a catering company that provides the staff, it is included in the price. That 3k-5k price is a quote from a rental company, that provides the staff to set up and break down the equipment (tent, stage, bar, tables, chairs, bathrooms). These are quotes that I have received from real companies, so I'm not sure how it's unrealistic. I have been doing research, most of it really doesn't seem to be that hard to find out, except for a venue.

Most of the venues that I have found seem to charge way to much for what they are offering. Why would I pay someone to buy me alcohol, when it is far cheaper to provide it myself? It's not very difficult either. Any work that I am willing to do myself, organizing or otherwise, means that I'm not paying someone else to do it, thus making it less expensive.

It is very likely that you are correct, and I will find out it is cheaper and easier to just go with a venue who solves all these problems for you, but I want to find that out for myself. I can't tell you the number of times I've been told something is difficult, only to turn around, do it, and find out it wasn't that hard.

My question remains, even if it is a stupid one, does anyone know of a rentable field with the qualities that I am looking for? Let's add bathrooms as a requirement, since after discussing it I really would rather avoid renting port-a-potties.