Wedding Followed by Camping Weekend

Say we are paying for the first night only. You may want to mention they need to bring their own food and alcohol too (hot dogs or maybe baked beans?) for dessert s'mores would be cute instead of a wedding cake. It's very cute combining wedding with family reunion since guests get two for the price of one. People on here are going to love this idea!!!

I say pay for the reservation. It's too much of a hassle trying to divvy up/collect the money and $543 is not enough money to be worth it. Besides, are that many guests really going to want to crash your family reunion?

Also, do you have an alternative place for guests to stay? I'm not a fan of camping, myself, and would be bummed if that was my only option (other than driving home)...

Cover the entire reservation. $500 is a steal for a wedding venue. It would be a huge pain to try to divvy it up, especially because some guests may stay just for 1 night, some for all 3, etc. I also personally feel that the hosts should pay for the reservation when it covers the wedding plus accommodations if they're in the same spot.

I'm assuming the $543 is for the entire campgrounds, not for each room. If that is the case, I would just pay for it all. As PPs have mentioned, that is a great deal for a venue space and it is going to be a pain to divide that fee.

Cover the entire cost, its a small drop in the bucket compared to the potential for drama if you have to divvy it up.

@I_CRE8: most of our guests (about 1/3) are already family that comes to the reunion each year anyway. Other guests are family and very very close friends that know our families well. There is not an alternative for lodging since this venue is about 40 miles from the nearest legitimate town with lodging.

Not sure if you know how all of your guests feel, but I'm not a fan of camping at all. I would rather drive home after the wedding celebrations are over. Like PP mentioned, do you have any alternative place(s) for the guests to stay, such as a nearby hotel?

ETA just saw your comment, if it were me, I would just leave as opposed to staying for your reunion. But again if it's something your guests are into, it sounds like a fun time

You should pay for it.

I'm not a big camping fan; I'd be going home.

Cover the cost. Also sounds like a lovely wedding (:

When you say "camping," are we talking tents or cabins? As PP have mentioned, some guests may feel awkward if its your family reunion that following weekend. It sounds like a super rad idea in theory, I just can't seem to wrap my head around how it would actually work.

You should pay. I do not camp and camping equipment costs $$ so it would be good to have at least suggestions of alternative places for guests to stay.

@Katie.S.->K: out of the 73 guests we have on our list, 55 people are my family members and very best friends. Of those 55 people, 45 of them have participated in our reunion festivities at least once over the past few years. Of the ten people that haven't, seven of them are my best friends from an internship we all did together (so they all know each other). The remaining three also know each other and some of my family. Of the 18 people on my fiancé's list, 11 are very well acquainted with my family members (they've also participated in reunion festivities at least once and/or holiday gatherings). Of the remaining 7 people, I can almost guarantee at least 5 of them will not make it due to living abroad. That leaves *maybe* 12 people that wouldn't know a large majority of the guests. But my family and my fiancé's family are EXTREMELY welcoming and fun (especially once the liquor gets flowing), so I am not too worried about that.

I really just want it to be a great weekend with the people that we love!

Pay the whole thing, especially since you planned the wedding 40 miles from the nearest hotel.