Renting Someone's Home for a Wedding

I've only ever seen people do this with friends or family. My dad sort of did this at a bed and breakfast. We didn't stay the night but a few people did.

Check VRBO. I came across one in the area I was looking (Chesapeake MD) but if you go this route please make sure the listing states events and weddings are okay. I've heard horror stories of weddings being crashed by homeowners WITH the police and everyone being sent home.

Make sure that they know it's for a wedding. I'd be absolutely pissed as a homeowner if I put my property on airbnb and it was used for a wedding without my knowledge. A lot of bed and breakfasts have a wedding package or at least can accommodate such a rental. Do expect to pay more (and rightly so) because 50+ people are a whole different animal and do a lot more wear and tear than say, a family of 6 staying for a weekend. If I found out that a wedding was happening without my knowledge (i.e. a neighbor texts me or something), I'd absolutely show up with the police and cancel the whole thing on the spot.

I heard that homeaway.com is good but just like PP said, let the owners know that you are using it for the wedding

I'm doing this! We have a local "resort" that has luxury homes on the premises and we are doing like a family BBQ after the wedding

And yes, I just read all the previous posters. Definitely let them know it's for a wedding. We had a tricky time with the home we are renting despite it being 4000 sq the septic system has to be able to accommodate 50 or so people. The resort really only wanted 40 max but made an exception for us.

I have had a little luck with air bnb

You would also have to figure out how to navigate parking if someone did okay you to use their home.

Check out wyndhamvacationrentals.com. They allow homes to be used for weddings with some additional fees

I've been thinking about doing this with a cabin in Colorado too! But my friend did it in her parents' backyard and warned me that if you're trying to save money, that it's not really cheaper with all the things you need to rent from outside vendors. Good luck!

VRBO and AirBNB will be your best bet. Also, if you're looking for something in a touristy town, Google the town and look for real estate links on its website.

Be careful! These kinds of rentals give owners the right to cancel with short notice which would be a nightmare!

I second the idea of airbnb!

We did that with Airbnb and its beautiful.

I think it was Celia that brought up the fact that they have the right to cancel. However in my particular instance, she has a lucrative business in the town she lives and conducts business extremely well. We have a full contract with her that states its for a wedding, what we are allowed to do there and what we have access to and how long. It also states that day is ours and she can not back out. So you could go with that option as well, in fact I suggest it. Get a contract drawn up if you do find a location and get it legalized.

Also do not try and beat around the bush by trying to obtain the property and not tell them what you are doing because SO MUCH GOES INTO PLANNING AN OUTDOOR HOME WEDDING. Some people just are not comfortable with it.

Homeaway.com may be able to help you. I'd definitely let them know your plans though.

I have nothing real to contribute other than I went to a Cape Cod wedding where they had rented two homes neighboring each other and it was an absolute blast. It was off-season so our rental (which was a MANSION) was super cheap and it was basically a weekend-long beach party. Best wedding ever.

Nothing to add other than is your wedding dare accurate? Sounds like that could be tricky.

Just popping into say that you've gotten some awesome advice here from PP. Additionally, you might want to really make sure you know your crowd for something like this. You don't want things to get out of hand and end up with a HUGE bill to fix someone's home!