We are big fans of wedding day celebrations of literally any kind. Whether you are pulling out all the stops and doing a big cathedral wedding, or going simple by saying vows at the courthouse, we want to cover it all so we can help future brides plan their dream day.
A popular wedding trend that ignited after the start of COVID, which we plan on seeing well into the future, is eloping at an Airbnb or rental house. Hosting a ‘wedding getaway’ has become all of the rage for couples that prefer an intimate celebration over a large party. The bride and groom typically get ready, elope somewhere magical, and have just a few vendors there helping them make it happen.
Why Use An Airbnb As Your Venue?
There are many advantages to using a rental home as your wedding venue. The first of which is that you can literally stay with your family and bridal party at the same house if you want to.
- Lots Of Space
If you rent a large enough house, you will have separate rooms to get ready without seeing each other. If spending quality time with your loved ones is important to you it could be a good idea to rent a large space and have others chip in so you can all stay together like a ‘wedding getaway’.
- More Intimate
You can go the other direction and rent a smaller home to make the event more intimate and special. Either way, hosting an elopement as opposed to throwing a huge wedding is more intimate.
- Doubles As A Honeymoon
If you are doing a destination elopement, securing a rental home nearby can double as your honeymoon getaway. We have seen couples hike up beautiful scenery for their elopement, then return to an Airbnb after pictures to eat cake and celebrate with their close friends.
How To Pull Off The Perfect Airbnb Elopement
Because this is new territory for many couples, we wanted to give some advice for planning your dream elopement at an Airbnb. There are things that you can do to make this event totally magical, and also stress-free.
Hire A Private Chef
The last thing you want to worry about is cooking a meal or feeding any guests that join you on your elopement. Especially for intimate affairs, you certainly do not need to hire a caterer, but maybe a private chef might be the move instead. They will be able to cook a lovely wedding meal for you and your close friends, and it will make the experience feel very elevated.
Choose Your Photo Locations Prior
Do your research when you’re finding the right elopement spot. You’ll want to have some scenery or backdrops in mind near the location of your rental home that you can get wedding photos in front of. Consider searching for the perfect elopement spot first before looking for rental homes nearby.
Choose A Home With Minimal Decor & Natural Lighting
In order for you to get those aesthetic behind-the-scenes shots of getting ready and first looks, you’ll want to find a home with good-looking or minimal decor. This will give you a chance to add any decorations and flowers when you get there. Try and find a home that gets good lighting for ultimate photo quality.
Do Your Research
We cannot stress this enough. Do your research on the property you are renting so there will be no surprises when you get there. Look through all of the photos both indoor and outdoor so you can determine if there are neighboring houses, available parking, etc. Read the listing carefully to ensure there aren’t any noise restrictions or rules against eloping on the property.
Arrive Early
You will want to arrive at your rental house at least a day early to scope the place out and get to know the property. This will help you instruct any friends, family, or vendors on how to get there if they do need help.
Consider Hiring A Coordinator
Wedding coordinators come in handy, even when the wedding is a smaller affair. The benefit of using a coordinator is that they will plan, set up, decorate, communicate, and take everything down once the wedding is over. Even when you are doing a smaller event, it can be very beneficial to have someone who is well-versed in weddings to do the decorating and arranging of all the little details. You still want your day to feel special just because there isn’t a giant guest list. If you want to adventure with your fiancè on your elopement, then return to the rental home for a well-styled, mini reception, then we highly suggest a coordinator.
Do keep in mind that there are many rental home options outside of Airbnb, and some allow events to occur on the property (Vrbo for example). Airbnb will specify whether or not you are allowed to host an event on their property so be sure to filter that through your search.
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