Pasture Wedding

It's not tacky but it is very expensive even though you'd think it wouldn't be.

You have to rent EVERYTHING. Chairs, bathrooms, tables, linens, silverware, dishes, etc. It adds up very quickly.

Not tacky but it will be a lot of work for you. You will have to hire absolutely everything! It will work out to be a lot more expensive than you considered too.

Oh my god I am so jealous!! You have an amazing set up. Absolutely do not worry about tackiness. Your guests will be jealous. Stock a premium bar and they won't care a bit!

Not tacky...just a lot of work & probably more $ than you think; but doable.

It won't be cheap by any means.

What about rain in the forecast? Make sure you have a plan b

It's not tacky, but it is recommended not to use friendors. And if you do use friendors, you should have a contract with said friendor, and you should pay for the service (in your case use of property as a wedding venue). There are a lot of cons to going this route, not the least of which is that these types of wedding can be more expensive than a traditional wedding venue because you have to bring everything and I mean everything in, and that costs money - tables, chairs, linens, silverware, china, glassware will all have to be rented (or purchased). Other things to think about - are there enough bathrooms, is there enough parking, is there even electricity, are there any county noise ordinances? Also, using a family friend's property as your wedding venue can create liability problems. You will need to make sure you have liability insurance and that you hire a licensed and insured caterer and bartender (which you do regardless of your venue). Another potential issue is that 2 years is a long time from now and a lot can happen in that time, including the family friend losing the property (either by selling it or some other reason). Then you would be without a venue. That is a lot of risk for all the time, energy, and money that goes into planning a wedding.

What @tarheel said. A pasture wedding sounds beautiful and romantic until you look at the fine details and logistics of it all.

If you and your FH know you can handle it (both stress and financially) go for it.

You'll need electricity out there for the food

It will only be tacky if the guests are not hosted properly.

Hosting properly in a situation where you have to bring in EVERYTHING takes a fuck ton of money, even if the guest list is small.

Taylor, they can use Sterno candles and chafing dishes for hot food, they don't need electricity. Ice for the cold stuff, but someone needs to take the temps every 15 minutes to make sure the food is safe to eat.

As others said, it's not tacky (provided there's air conditioning available) but more work (aka more expensive) than you'd think. If saving money is your main goal, rent a venue and cut corners that won't affect the guest experience: favors, programs, menus, elaborate centerpieces, etc. Aside from food, booze, and music, your guests won't remember too much more from your wedding no matter how amazing it seems to be.

I agree with the previous commenters. I don't think it's tacky but you would have to do so much work. There are a lot of pros and cons to it.

I would mostly be concerned about the manure smell.

Is the barn actually suitable for a wedding? Does it have a dirt floor? Is it air conditioned? Are there enough restrooms for your guests? Will your friends be spending the time/money to get the property "cleaned up and ready" or will you be responsible?

I ride horses, so I'd absolutely LOVE to attend a wedding in a pasture. Don't even care if there are hockey pucks. ;-)

If the seating is reasonably comfy, the food is decent, the booze is flowing, music is playing, and love is all around, what else do you need? Oh, yeah, a clean place to pee.