How should I do this? Moving ceremony chairs

OR I was thinking of asking the homeowner of the farm where we are having the wedding, if he has hay hales we can use as "bench" seats for the ceremony?

I officiated a wedding where they used hay bales for seating -- cute!

I imagine your groomsmen will be in photos right after the ceremony, so either ask some guests or hire someone to set chairs, bus tables, etc.

How far is it from your ceremony space to the reception tent? How many chairs are we talking about?

We're doing a very hands on wedding and a team of my friends will be in charge of chairs. I have also been to a wedding where after the recessional, they kindly asked the guests to pick up their chair and walk it to the tables, and please assist the elderly. It was a very casual wedding so no one was in heals and no one minded. We thought about doing it that way but since the reception is inside we imagined a log jam at the door so we are relying on a specialized team of chair movers. Make sure none of them are family or bridal party that you want in the pics.

Any older cousins or children that would have fun doing the task?

Hay bales could be fun, but be sure to have blankets to cover them so they are not itchy (adding more to your costs)

The reception is just feet away, I was thinking of having everyone grab their chair, but wasnt sure if it would be "proper" but I dont think our guests would have an issue with it...

I was at a wedding a few months ago that had this chair situation. The caterers moved them and some of the male guests chipped in to help.

We were planning to just ask some of the male cousins/uncles to help, although I'm sure that once other guys see them grabbing chairs, they will offer to help as well.

I like the hay idea...as far as asking guests to move chairs, I personally think that's rude as I'd want my guests to enjoy the wedding day...so I would hire a DOC...but if that's not in your budget, find a family member or friend who has been itching to help you. I know I had a couple who wanted to help out.

Bride's, Grooms, please do not ask your guests to man handle their own chairs. They are dressed in their Sunday best, expecting to enjoy a nice evening of relaxation and fun. This is hard work and if it is in the south, hotter than it needs to be, it really is not a very appropriate task to ask your guests. My suggestion is to either rent plenty of chairs or choose a venue that has enough chairs to accommodate your head count. Then no one is inconvenienced, and trust me they do mind.