Workshop Transformation?

If drapes or fabric costs too much then I'd just do something simple like a lot of garland or streamers hanging down to cover those insulation walls

I'm a CO bride as well! Congrats! FH and I both immediately agreed we wanted to get married up in the mountains too, Breckenridge area specifically because that was where we took our first trip together. When I started researching venue costs I was SHOCKED! We realized pretty quickly we would need to look at non-traditional venues and since we wanted an outdoor wedding and planned on keeping it fairly small (initially under 50 now we're at 65) we started by looking at RMNP and city parks in Estes, Breckenridge, Frisco, etc. Several of the photographers I spoke with also had great recommendations for locations to look into (and WOW photography is expensive around here too!!). We have decided to use Windy Point Group Campground, which will cost us about $250/night and has a shelter that accommodates up two 100 (though we are bringing in tables and chairs versus using the picnic tables). A couple of friends of ours are getting married at Morraine Park Amphitheater in RMNP this fall with a reception to follow at a hotel. Our other idea was to have an immediate family only ceremony at Sapphire Point (where we got engaged!) and a big reception back home (Fort Collins) with everyone.
The good things about a venue that is a blank slate is that you can decorate it any way you want. My concern would be that it could cost you A LOT to achieve the look you want - for example, draping with fabric and bringing in decorative lighting adds up really fast. We are doing a VERY DIY wedding, but the benefit of a mountain location is that you don't need much decor, versus trying to transform a structure. I totally think you can do it, but if it was me I would regret not trying to find a mountain location, and that's something the two of you will have to discuss and decide for yourselves.
Do you have a budget and an approximate number of people you plan to invite determined? Where are you located or where would you like to get married? Maybe we can give you some other suggestions to look into. We are pretty much paying for this wedding ourselves too, and I acknowledge I will have to give up some of my dream wedding things, but we are focusing our budget on the things that are most important to us: #1 being location! Also, if you are on a tight budget, I won a free DJ and found some discounts at Bridal Shows, so you may watch for those to come through. Good luck!

The exterior land/view is beautiful, but I don't know enough about your typical weather in June to be able to offer a helpful opinion. I agree the cost of "dressing up" the workshop might be very expensive to get the look you're going for. Also, read back over "backyard wedding" threads, and you'll see that many B&G's end up finding it as expensive and a LOT more work to do a backyard vs. an all (or mostly) inclusive venue. Depending on the number of guests you may need to bring in portable restrooms in addition to the furniture, dance floor, bar, etc. If there aren't adequate kitchen facilities in the workshop, you're going to need a caterer who can bring everything in fully prepared and the equipment to keep it hot/cold/whatever. I don't know the temperature in your location, but I'd guess a metal workshop building is going to be HOT/stuffy almost no matter what the outside weather. Will you have to bring in heavy duty fans and/or portable A/C? That will be another cost. I don't want to be a wet blanket, but a backyard wedding can very quickly get much more expensive than you might expect. It depends a lot on the size and make-up of your guest list and what your "vision" is. I'd start by realistically listing every single thing you'll need to make the workshop work for your needs, then I cost it all out so you know what to expect the total to be. Maybe also look at some restaurants that have a large private room or a lodge/hall/etc.; those are often less expensive than a traditional "wedding venue." Once you have all your data, you can make an informed decision. Good luck! Budget/guest list/venue is often the toughest part of planning a wedding.

What I learned from having a backyard wedding was that it costs more to create a venue out of nothing than to pay for something pre-existing. Seemingly small details add up quickly , so I’d definitely really try to break down expenses before deciding. In addition to chairs and tables, it’s tablecloths, napkins, silverware, plates, drink ware, etc. A surprisingly large expense for us was *lighting*. And then things like mobile kitchen set up for our caterers. And of course, restrooms.

Im not trying to be outright discouraging— for us , it was ABSOLUTELY worth it, everything we wanted and absolutely our dream . I had a few wavering moments because coordinating everything was a lot of work. But ultimately this was THE place I wanted to get married, and we made it work and it was perfect. We wanted it badly so were determined. It can be great. The flip side is, if it *isnt* actually everything you’ve wanted and dreamt of , I’d worry that it could become overwhelming. The raw space looks great and with some time energy effort and money, I’m sure it can become picture perfect. You just have to be invested in getting there to make it feel worth that effort.

I think it will be so much money to try to cover the walls/ceiling. How many people are you having, what's your overall budget that you would like to stay within for venue only and then venue with food? What part of CO would you like to have the wedding in?

I agree that it would probably cost a lot to spruce it up, unfortunately. Everything adds up quickly!

I also had a backyard wedding. It was a lot of work and unforeseen costs that I didn't initially think of. I had to rent a tent, chairs, tables, dance floor, tablecloths, speakers, and much more.

It's definitely doable, but it is a lot of work. Especially if you don't have a wedding coordinator.

I can send you the list of things I needed to rent, buy, etc. if you like. Just list your email

View Quoted Comment That would be so helpful!! Thank you SO MUCH!! My email is *.*********@*******.***

View Quoted Comment This is so helpful thank you! My FH and I are both from Greeley so not too far from you! How crazy! I think our all in budget is about $10,000. I would love a mountain wedding but I can’t seem to find something I love and I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of research but if you have any other suggestions I would absolutely love that. We are inviting around 200 people because we both have large families. Of course, many are from out of state, so it could be closer to 150, we aren’t sure yet. What hotel is your friend having her reception at? So you have any other suggestions?

View Quoted Comment Their reception is at the Ridgeline hotel in Estes Park, which I’ve never been to so we’ll see come October! My FH suggested the Stanley when we got engaged and I just laughed and laughed because I knew without looking it costs a fortune!

10k with about 200 guests breaks down to $50/per person, which will probably be pretty tough depending on how hands on you want to be with things. Even with a free venue, rentals add up quick in finding! The number one piece of advice you’ll get for having a wedding on a smaller budget is to shorten the guest list. Food and drinks alone for 200 can easily cost you much more than $10k, so if you can’t cut the guest list, doing the reception between meals and having a cake & punch reception would be more budget friendly. You can also look at restaurants that cater, FH decided he wants Qdoba which will be around $1200 for 70 people as opposed to some of the quotes I got for $4000+ just for food. BBQ, Mexican, and pasta seem to be the cheapest catering options. All of the mountain venue options I have saved are a max capacity of 125 or less, so I don’t think that will help much, sorry!

If you put your budget into the WW planning tools it should generate a breakdown to give you an idea and then you can tweak from there where to prioritize spending.

Our goal budget is $5k for approximately 65 guests. Here are some ways we are saving money: My MOHs and I are making custom centerpieces and thrifting (MOH #2 makes custom furniture so we designed a cute mountain centerpiece), arranging the flowers (Sams or Costco probably and I worked in a flower shop for a year), and making the cake (MOH #1 and I do custom cakes). I bought a sample dress off the rack ($200+ alterations). Since you can solemnize your own marriage in CO without an officiant we are having a friend officiate for formality only and will give him a gift as thanks (a couple officiants I contacted wanted $350+!). I had a dream photographer who was WAY out of budget so I talked to him about what we could afford and he customized a package for us- sometimes just asking will get you deals! We won a free DJ at a bridal show (our plan was to have my mom’s step son DJ with his dad’s equipment, but I’ll definitely take a free professional!). We are having a small wedding party, I have two MOHs and FH has a BM and maybe a GM if he can afford to fly back from South Korea.

I’ve found I have to balance what we want and what we can afford and the guest experience because we want everyone to have a great time including us! So far I’m finding it fun, but FH thinks it’s super stressful figuring out cost effective alternatives and solutions. Good luck!

It’s up to you but honestly I think it’ll cost way too much to rent/decorate and it won’t come close to your vision. What about a small wedding (fewer than 20 guests) so you can have your dream mountain wedding? Many venues offer small packages for a Sun-Thur wedding. You can treat your guests a lunch or dinner after. With a “micro wedding” you can get your dream venue on a budget!

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much everyone for your replies! After talking to my FH & family here’s what we figured out:

the MOST IMPORTANT thing to us is to have all of our friends and family present, fed, and have a good time. We just want to party with all our loved ones.
Catering is done by my neighbor and her family and they have the BEST food ever: $2000
Alcohol (FH old wrestling coach owns liquor store and will be giving us a “wedding gift discount” on top of wholesale prices: $1500

We can’t find a venue that accommodates 150-200 people and we can bring in our own food and alcohol. That being said, the shop seems to be the best choice. Future SIL also wants her wedding here, so we will split the cost of fixing it up and mood lighting.

Rentals are expensive and the cost would the the same as the cheapest venue we found that meets our requirements but only holds 120 guests. To me it’s worth the work and effort for those extra 80 people.

At the end of the day, we want to eat, drink, be married and dance until we can’t anymore. All decor and insta worthy venues doesn’t matter when everyone you love is surrounding you. Thank you so much everyone!

View Quoted Comment I have every faith you can make it an “insta worth” venue with some effort 😉 and it’s awesome you have someone to split some costs with! It’s always helpful to have friends and family that can help you out! At the end of it, you’ll be married, and hopefully you and all your guests will have a blast! Best wishes!