Trying this again cause I want creative ideas or guidance from folks with experience having a cool multi-day love festival instead of a traditional stuffy wedding. Here’s the deets:
—we would rent a villa somewhere cool (guests can pay $100/200 a night for a couple nights to stay)
*even when I was my best friends MOH I had to pay for my room at the resort on my own and did not mind, so I’m not interested in feedback on this choice, it is context for what my budget is going towards
\Villa is for the ceremony and party with 15 of our closest guests staying overnight, the remaining 40 or so guests can coordinate on their own to stay nearby so we will not be housing every single guest*
—hire local caterers to do one wedding dinner and perhaps a lunch or breakfast buffet, all other meals people can cook for themselves in the large kitchen
—yes I would budget for a decent photographer but not for multiple days of coverage, that’s crazy!
—want to do a standing ceremony with no officiant just us in the middle, friends circled around, say nice things to each other (paperwork handled separately for a legal marriage)
—we will focus on an amazing venue that doesn’t need extra decor and flowers to be cool, good photos, and one or two good group meals
—we will de-center small extras that add a lot to the cost but not a lot to the experience (paper invites, custom signage, menus, seating charts, favors, temporary decor, chair rentals, things that are used once and thrown away)
—I’m going to buy a cute dress for less than 1k that I will actually wear again versus a traditional expensive wedding gown that will then sit in my closet
—our friends are world class DJs and will bring equipment and play for the night
—we are a creative and talented crew that is used to throwing multi day parties so people will surely be happy to bring their own ideas and offerings to the experience
I would love to hear from folks who like this vision, have fun ideas, or wisdom from doing this themselves!!
I’m not interested in hearing from people who don’t understand the vision or have nitpicky reasons why they think it won’t work out. Thank you 🙏🏼