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Savvy September 2014

NO chairs at a beach wedding?!?

Danielle, on October 24, 2013 at 10:42 AM Posted in Planning 0 27

Im having my wedding in key west next year. We are planning to get married on the beach and board a boat charter for our reception all inclusive with the same company. I got the proposal back and was going over the costs with my mother who i should mention we call partyzilla. So were going over the list of costs for each item for the beach ceremony. She noticed they were charging almost 20 per chair. We are only having 40 ppl at our wedding. She gave me the stink eye and said the chair set up is going to cost more than every other part of the ceremony combined. Which is true but what am i going to do?? She said we should all just stand around while we say our vows. It would be awesome to put that 1k somewhere else other than chairs but how can i not offer people a place to sit?!? Im going back and forth. I could see if it were 5-10 close relatives and thats it but 40 ppl?! I dunno, what do you think? Pay for the chairs, get rid of the chairs?

27 Comments

Latest activity by Sara, on February 24, 2014 at 8:28 AM
  • CaitlinWife
    VIP November 2013
    CaitlinWife ·
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    Does anyone need a chair? Elderly aunt, etc.?

    How long is the ceremony?

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  • CeCe
    Master May 2014
    CeCe ·
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    Why don't you see if you can rent chairs from an outside vendor and set them up yourself?? That or see if renting benches would be cheaper. there are several alternatives to individual chairs you could look in to.

    Just a thought. Personally though - chairs are very worth it. Especially since there are bound to be some people that can't stand for that long of a period of time.

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  • Out the Window
    Master May 2014
    Out the Window ·
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    Ditto to Amy - find someone else to rent chairs from.

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  • Gia4462
    Devoted November 2013
    Gia4462 ·
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    How long is your ceremony? I wouldn't pay for chairs. Maybe get some for elderly family who can not stand. Our ceremony is 10 min we did not rent chairs. Got a few for grandparents but that's it. Use the money somewhere else. But be sure to tell people it is standing so the wear appropriate shoes to stand.

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  • HISballerina
    VIP October 2014
    HISballerina ·
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    I went to a beach wedding a few years ago and we didn't have chairs. I think they brought some for the grandparents but that was it. If you do that just make sure your ceremony is under 20-30 min.

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  • NLeo
    VIP May 2014
    NLeo ·
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    Is there no other place that can do it cheaper? Could you ask family to load a van of $8 folding chairs from Wal-Mart?

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  • Celia Milton
    Celia Milton ·
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    Keep it to under 15 minutes and bag the chairs.

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  • FutureMrsDelpra
    Master October 2015
    FutureMrsDelpra ·
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    Maybe talk to your family and see if anyone absolutely needs a chair. I would say look into cheaper alternatives or just forego the chairs.

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  • Kate
    Master December 2013
    Kate ·
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    Yea i could have gotten chiavari chairs for $8 -- why the heck are they so expensive??

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  • Jaimee G.
    VIP January 2014
    Jaimee G. ·
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    I am getting married in the keys in January and $20 is a joke. Seriously, i decided to get the "nicer" chairs and they were charging me $6 additional.. adding up too $8 a chair. After dealing with everyone down there I know they will do anything to rip you off start being careful and let them know you will rent your chairs else where. PM if you want to find cheaper alternatives for renting... I caught my Caterer trying to rip me off in the same aspect. She picked the wrong bride to mess with!

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  • Iris
    Master February 2014
    Iris ·
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    My bro & SIL had beach wedding, with just over 50 guests, they only had about 20 chairs, enough for elderly family or people who needed to sit. The rest of us standed. It wasnt too bad, but that's b/c their ceremony was only about 20 min.

    I myself am having a standing ceremony, only with 20 guests.

    It's fine to do if your ceremony is short & you have atleast a handful of chairs for elderly guests.

    And that price is ridiculous. Rental companies usually charge $1-5 per chair, not 20. Find someone else to rent from. They're just trying to take your money for all they can.

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  • K
    Expert October 2014
    Kris10 ·
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    Negotiate! If you want the chairs- then have them, but $20 is pricey. You could buy chairs for less than that, but the venue isn't going to set up outside chairs for you, so unless you have someone else who will do it, negotiate that $20 down. Chances are the venue doesn't want to get stuck with zero, so they'll probably work with you.

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  • D
    Savvy September 2014
    Danielle ·
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    O man! I dont know how long the ceremonies are!! I wanted a guitarist to play while we walk and they gave me an hour so maybe that long?? I have no idea! I feel bad making my family with smaller kids stand and chase their kids or carry them. i just dont know what to do. Can someone give me a good estimate to how long this thing will last so I can better prepare myself? I would get a few chairs for my grandparents if I do decide to skip the seats

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  • Jaimee G.
    VIP January 2014
    Jaimee G. ·
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    20-30 min.

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  • Samantha
    Master May 2013
    Samantha ·
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    I paid $3/chair for our ceremony chairs. I'd shop around.

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  • Donna
    Master June 2014
    Donna ·
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    I would think that your officiant can give you a guesstimate of the length of your ceremony. An hour seems pretty long to me. Your musician most likely has a minimum time. I know that the ones I talked to got paid by the hour with a one hour (in some cases two hour) minimum.

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  • sundaycupcake
    VIP October 2013
    sundaycupcake ·
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    Is there seating elsewhere for the guests before the ceremony? Some guests arrive early and you don't want them standing around from the time they arrive to the end of the ceremony, which could total about an hour.

    That said, I would look for someone cheaper to do chairs and maybe have some family members help set them up instead of paying someone.

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  • Ashleigh
    Master November 2013
    Ashleigh ·
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    I would say 2/3 of the beach weddings I have attended (and I've attended around 8) have not had chairs. Everyone stands around the couple. It's also very hard to hear with the waves, so it does make sense. I think if it's a short ceremony, you should be fine.

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  • Courtney
    VIP September 2014
    Courtney ·
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    That's outrageous! How casual is the wedding going to be? I've known a bride who placed beach towels for her guests to sit on. It was s short ceremony and very causal. Just a thought.

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  • Paris
    Devoted October 2014
    Paris ·
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    When I was planning on having our wedding on the beach they only would provide 30 chairs.i wanted to have more chairs because I was worried about all of elderly people. And I didn't like the idea of people just standing around. Waiting

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