Where to get ready for a backyard wedding?

Lmao @ benadryl brownies. If your MUA is from a salon, definitely see if you can get your hair and makeup done there. If not, is the MUA's house available?

Unfortunately, the MUA works independently (i.e. no salon) and she lives about 45 minutes away

Did you already sign the contract with your MUA? It might be worth switching to a salon.

Do you have any family/friends that live near you, maybe you could get ready at their house? That way it wouldn't be an additional cost.

Agh, bummer. Hotel might be the best option! Or re-consider your MUA. Maybe look into getting one from a salon - but make that decision quick cause your day is coming up fast!

As a cat allergy sufferer, please don't have them get ready in the "cat-free" rooms. The allergens are all over the house and even if they don't have severe allergies, it will most likely bother them.

I'm not horribly allergic, but once I get allergies (which is always if there's a cat nearby), they stay with me for several hours too.

@CJ- contract with MUA already signed! We did my trial at my house and stayed in FH's Man cave the whole time (cats aren't allowed in there) and she was fine. We could use that room to get ready, but there's no bathroom. And while it has a separate outside entrance, the door walks directly out to the reception area. I'm so type A it would make me crazy getting ready in a room where I could literally stare at the preparations going on outside!

Get the cats out and hire someone to professionally clean the entire house. Do not readmit the cats until post-wedding.

Don't neglect items like couch upholstery, bedspreads, towels, even clothes in the closet which can all collect dander.

As someone who breaks out in hives and has trouble breathing around cats, those steps would be essential for me to have a prayer of surviving your wedding.

I am also having a backyard wedding. I think I am going to get ready at a hotel down the street. But benadryl brownies sound like a clever idea. Lol

Would it be an option to rent a tent or something (one of those solid white ones with the side panels that vendors use for markets) to put up in the back yard to get ready in? Also are you renting a bathroom of some sort? It might not be best to have guests go in your house for the bathroom because those allergic to the cats will have trouble (and those who simply don't like cats won't enjoy possibly getting cat hair on their formals). Otherwise are you friendly enough with any neighbors to ask to use a portion of their home for the getting ready?

Do you have a neighbor or close friend that would let you use their house?

Totally agree with Sylphier. It will be misery for guests to have to go into your home to use the bathroom. Also, what if it rains? Will everyone be stuck inside ? Please just pay to get the house properly cleaned and let a friend watch the cats for a few days.

I'm team board the cats and pay for a deep cleaning. Our wedding isn't at our house but I'll be boarding my dog and getting a deep cleaning done because we bought our house last year and a lot of OOT family is going to want to see it. This way I don't have to worry about the dog and her waste in the yard or if anyone's allergic. I love her to death but my guests are important as well.

Your friends will probably be kind enough to say their allergies aren't "that bad", but there's no way a room in a 6-cat house is truly cat free. I have to tell you, I've had to leave a friend's party because there was cat dander on the couch and I got hives. And I've had to go to the ER because I *tried to sleep* on clean sheets, on a mattress that at one point was in a house with cats. Like, this could be really really miserable for your bridesmaids.

CuteNickname's statement about it possibly being very bad despite how minor their allergies might be, made me think to add that while a short visit might be easy enough on your friends, this event is going to take up most of their day between getting ready and the actual event and the extended time around the cats is very very different from a few hours of it. They'll be in and out of the house all day to use the bathroom or touch up makeup, and every time they go through there they'll be picking up more allergens on their clothes and skin just from it being in the air. It could cause some very bad reactions later in the evening. Something that doesn't usually occur to people who don't regularly deal with these kinds of allergies so it is something you might want to think on.

I would rent a hotel room and get ready there. If it is in your block it should be discounted. Then you and FH can spend the night there after the wedding if you want. Or you can spend the night before there.

Exactly @Sylphier!

And just to be perfectly clear, I have been in people's "cat free " rooms before. In fact, my mom, Aunt, cousin and I all had allergic reactions while staying at a hotel this past holiday season. When we finally learned that it was a pet hotel, the staff told us, "well, the pets are only on the second floor, so you shouldn't have an issue". There's common ventilation and common vacuum cleaners and common air shared throughout all of the spaces. Not to mention common clothing that carries dander from place to place.

Think of it as cigarette smoke. Smokers will always tell you that their house doesn't smell. They can't smell it anymore. It's the same thing with animal dander.

Thanks, everyone! To clarify, no part of the actual wedding will take place indoors, nor will any guests be coming inside the house. I am only referring to the wedding party getting ready. We are renting a bathroom trailer and tents, so there will be no need for anyone to come inside. y house is not big enough to accommodate 250 guests!

It will be more expensive for me to board all of my pets and have the house professionally cleaned than it will be to simply pay for a hotel room. I thought about the extra tent idea, but I get concerned about a lack of running water or bathroom inside that tent. It looks like a hotel room might be the best option!

By the time you board the cats you would have been better off getting a hotel room close by .

Yeah just get a hotel room it'll save tons of money and hassle