Electricity
Often forgotten electricity is a huge source of last-minute panic. Most people think they’ll just plug everything into the outlets on the outside of the house. What they don’t know, is that they are often running off one circuit so you’ll blow the fuse within minutes of nightfall, when you turn on all of the lights and your dance floor opens. You should definitely hire an electrician to be sure the power is being evenly distributed, to know exactly what your house can handle, and if you should be running another panel from the home. I once had clients run sets of extension cords from different circuits in the house to power the various components because they didn’t want to rent a generator or hire an electrician. What they didn’t consider, is that they weren’t heavy-duty extension cords and that the more extension cords you extend together, the power will decrease by the time it reaches the intended destination. In another situation, my clients did rent a panel but they simply plugged it into the one circuit outside the house. This should have been properly installed by an electrician to ensure it was running from a higher voltage outlet (think the oven or dryer). Endless trips down to switch the breaker were made by the father of the groom, meaning he barely got to enjoy the party. The hundreds of feet of twinkle lights they had strung into the trees were never enjoyed by guests and there was constant monitoring of what power was being used inside the house by house guests! Please do yourself the favour and ask each of your vendors about their specific electrical requirements so you can gauge exactly what power constraints will be placed on your house. Vendors to think about include the tent company (ie.lighting for both main and catering tent, if required), caterer, DJ, washrooms, cooler, photobooth. This way, you can be properly prepared to ensure a smooth wedding reception where you get to enjoy rather than panic over the things that could have been avoided.
The Extras
Flooring If the tent is going to be placed on a grassy area, I highly suggest adding a floor to your tent even though it’s an added expense. Not only is it incredibly frustrating walking on grass in heels, but it’s also just as annoying to sit in a chair that never really sits level and sinks into the ground. Lastly, and most importantly, if it rains a raised floor will be much better than soggy wet grass. When you do add flooring, keep in mind that your lawn will basically be ‘finished’ for the rest of the summer and if heat builds up underneath it, the entire lawn may need to be resodded.
Lighting is not only a necessity, but it’s an easy way to add character to the tent so I’d suggest a bit of a splurge here. Also plan to have some sort of lighting leading guests from the tent to the washrooms or to parking so they don’t trip or get lost.
Cooling and Heating Weather is a hard one to anticipate especially if you’re getting married in the spring or fall. With today’s weather, things can go either way - chilly or crazy hot. Closing the tent walls can help significantly reduce the wind, chill and even bugs, but you’ll want to consider adding climate control to make sure your guests are comfortable for the entire evening. Draping Depending on the type of tent you rent, you may hate the appearance of the ceiling and walls from the inside. It’s not cheap to drape an entire tent, but it sure does add to the ambiance and aesthetic, making it feel more like ‘home’.
The Other Vendors
When planning a tent wedding, there are more than just a few vendors you'll need to make the event flow smoothly. Consider the following vendors to make your life easier!
Fogging Will it be in a heavily wooded area that could tend to be really buggy? You may want a fogging service to come by. They normally require no one to be on the property while they are spraying and will want to at least 24 hours after it has been sprayed for it to be effective. Typically lasts up to 4 days.
Cooler Rental You’ll want to rent a large cooler to keep beverages, ice, and food cold. You'll also require power to keep this running, so be sure to consider this when planning your electrical requirements.
Garbage Removal It can be quite surprising how much waste is created at the wedding just with food and beverage alone. Cities often have a limit of garbage bags per house on pick up day, so you may want to hire a service to remove the garbage after the wedding if the caterers aren’t taking the waste with them.
Restrooms Renting high-quality washrooms are imperative to the guest experience and luckily there are some beautiful options out there now! I recommended that you have at least 2 stalls per 50 guests of each gender, though I do recommend having more for your female guests as we all know well that there are always lines! The company will provide extra paper towels, soap, toilet paper, so there is no need to buy extra, though you may want to buy it. Will you have separate washrooms for the catering and wait staff or will they be using the same restrooms? If the latter, be sure to include them in your guest count when determining the size of the restroom trailer to rent. The big question during the event is to determine exactly who will be maintaining the washrooms throughout the evening? The catering staff? A member of your family?
Security If there’s one thing you must do aside from the legal components, it’s hiring a security service to monitor your home. While we trust our guests, there will be lots of strangers roaming the property the evening of the wedding (ie. caterer and service staff, tent company, and possibly some guests you don’t even know. Having a security service to monitor who is moving about the house is imperative to your home’s security and personal belongings.
Parking & Valet It’s normal to expect that approximately 50% of your guests will drive. Some towns have issues with parking for longer than 3 hours on streets and you’ll also want to be responsible if alcohol is being consumed, so consider the following things:
a shuttle service from the hotel;
consider renting out the parking lot of a local community centre or business that would be closed during the evening;
Have taxi numbers readily available, or someone assigned to call taxis on your guests’ behalf. You can also offer taxi chits for your guests at the end of the evening;
a valet service for your guests’ convenience.
