The Value of a Wedding Venue
Backyard Wedding vs Wedding Venue
Photographer: Imajenation Photography & Video
Weddings are intricate events. It’s important to consider many angles when planning your big day. A DIY space or backyard wedding can be a great option if you’re up to the task(s). When deciding between the two, it is important to note that wedding venues typically offer far more than just a simple space to celebrate. Offerings from one wedding venue to the next truly run the gamut, and it’s easy to overlook inclusions without investigating or understanding the true value being provided for the cost.
Years of facilitating successful wedding ceremonies and receptions (specifically within their spaces,) give venue staff and owners an in-depth understanding of what items and services are needed to create a seamless and successful wedding day. While some wedding venues lean more towards DIY to keep things “low-cost”, others focus on creating value and affordability by absorbing common costs for their clients and offering a wide range of inclusions built right in.
While a DIY space or backyard wedding can be a lot of fun to design and execute for the right person/couple, deciding if it’s right for you will boil down to several important factors.
Budget
While DIY often seems like the more budget-friendly option, this isn’t always the case. Having to rent or purchase every wedding-related item for your event often amounts to higher costs (and stress) than anticipated. Costs and needs can vary drastically depending on the event and the space. It is helpful to research rental pricing and offerings in your specific area to get the most accurate comparisons.
Some common items you’ll want to consider bringing in are listed below alongside their average costs. Please note - Average costs have been researched and calculated based on current (2025) pricing for a 100-person wedding in our general area of Lakes Region, NH across several local rental companies with varying pricing/offerings. These prices do not include delivery fees.
Tent – $2,500 – $8,000+ Pricing is dependent on type of tent (pole vs frame, clear vs white), size, and location. These quotes were based on the request for a 60x40 tent. (Note that a flat space of this size is required to place the tent.)
Tent Lighting - $300 - $1000+ This price range is for string lights in various configurations under your tent. Additional lighting fixtures (chandeliers or onion lamps) run between $100-$500+ each.
Tent Heaters/AC units – $200 - $400 per unit (You are likely to need multiple for a large tent if the weather is not ideal.)
Dance Floor - $700 - $2000+ There are many types of floors available, and this cost depends heavily on the look and size of the one you choose. (Note that a flat space is required.)
Tables - $12 - $20 per table for rounds, $12-$25 per table for rectangles, $12-$25 per table for squares, $90 - $130 each for farm tables, ~$15 per table for cocktail tables - You are likely to need 10-15 dinner tables for 100 guests depending on how many each one seats.
Linens – Round - $14 - $30, Rectangle - $14 - $30, Square - $9 - $20, Runners - $8 - $15, Skirting - $18 - $30, Cloth Napkins - $1- $3 each.
Bar - $100 - $500+ depending on your rental. This pricing is based on stationary bar tops. Mobile bar trailer bar rentals are typically $1700+/-
Chairs - $6 - $14 per chair depending on style. You’ll need 100+
Benches - $40 - $80 each depending on size/style. Priced options seat 4-6. Couples often use benches for ceremony seating, but you can also rent double the chairs for this purpose.
Bathrooms - $250-$350 (per port-o-potty) - $3500 (luxury bathroom trailer)
China - $2 - $6 per person
Flatware - $3 - $8 per person
Glassware – $2 - $10+ per person depending on what you’d like to use glass for. (Just water on tables vs the bar serving in glass all night, etc.)
*Renting China, flatware, and glassware - Rental companies typically require these items to be rinsed and put away in crates before picking up. This requirement adds to the caterer’s job duties and often results in an additional charge from them.
Other items to consider include food service equipment, catering equipment, sound equipment, décor items, faux florals, photo booth, arbor, etc.
Photography by Becca Rose, Florals by Springlook Farm
While wedding venues may not provide it all, they do often provide the basics – tables, chairs, ceremony seating, bathrooms, etc. At Cold Spring Farm, your venue fee covers the use and placement of all furniture – farm tables, round tables, cocktail tables, buffet tables, including all required linens, chairs, ceremony benches, an arbor for both indoor and outdoor ceremonies, your pick of décor from our extensive collection, outdoor seating (benches, Adirondak chairs, and pub tables), trash/recycling receptacles, two functional bar spaces, an oversized dance floor (36’x24’), outdoor games, an additional patio space with seating, live-edge barrel tables, recessed fire pit with wood, and outdoor heaters as needed. We also provide some unique, handmade items you won’t find anywhere else like our vendor cart and champagne wall. Additionally, we provide some service items like our handmade dessert stands, cake stands, self-serve water stations (we set up and maintain one on each floor,) and bussing tray stations when necessary. For your use, we also provide a commercial-sized refrigerator to keep all beverages, desserts, leftovers, and even flowers safely stored. In addition to all these items, we provide the service to set it up, move it, maintain it, and break it down as needed.
Our newest addition to add value for our clients in 2025 is our in-house speaker system. This will not eliminate your need for a DJ, but it will reduce the need to rent multiple additional systems for sound in each of our wonderful wedding spaces. Keep an eye on our social media for more information on this addition!
Effort
Pictured: Some of our dedicated Cold Spring Farm Staff
Wedding venues often mitigate the effort required by you/those closest to you on the day of your event, while DIY tends to amplify it. At a wedding venue, you may not ever notice how much is going on behind the scenes vs a DIY event where the responsibility falls completely on the couple/family to get things done unless additional staff is hired. Servers and general event staff can be hired for DIY weddings at an average rate of $30-$60/hr. with varying minimum service times and event fees.
At Cold Spring Farm, a dedicated staff is included in your venue fee. We see it as our job to do everything in our power to ensure you’re enjoying your wedding (not working at it.) We see you. We are the people who would work at our own weddings. For this reason, we include event staffing and event management services, so you don’t have to think about anything except enjoying the moment.
Our staff for each event day includes 1-2 employees to keep things neat and assist the Event Manager. Additionally, we staff two parking attendants for each event to direct your guests as they arrive. Our owner is also always onsite and enjoys the opportunity to greet guests as she drives the golf cart from the parking lot to the ceremony area with those who would prefer not to walk. You have the option to add our knowledgable bartender to your vendor lineup as well at a competative rate - however, we leave this up to you. We don’t want to require you to pay for service you don’t want/need.
Pictured: Diane & Sarah, Owner & Event Manager
LPH Photography
Previously referred to as “day-of-coordination,” we renamed this service to encompass all that’s truly being provided. We spend months communicating with you to get an in-depth understanding of your wishes for the day. We create your unique wedding day timeline, floor plan, and communicate with all hired vendors offering site visits as needed, ensuring needs are met and all involved parties are aligned on their expectations. Our Event Manager is with you onsite throughout your entire wedding weekend offering support during set up, rehearsal, event execution, and breakdown. Click here to see a more detailed description of what to expect from our included Event Management services. Comparable packages from outside vendors that include all the above services typically range between $2,000-$5,000 and often do not cover presence onsite over a multiple day span.
Flexibility
In your own backyard, you don’t have to stick to a contract or choose from a list of available dates. You can throw confetti, dance until sunrise, have open flame candles, invite 300 guests, and rent a bounce house if you truly want to. You will have your choice of exactly how things go, but you’ll also carry all the responsibility, planning, and execution that comes along with it.
Wedding venues have rules they abide by for both legal and logical reasons. Some venues may limit your guest count, vendor selection, access times, décor possibilities, drink selection, etc., but this is typically for your benefit just as much as theirs. They have years of experience putting together timelines, vendor lists, resources, bar offerings, and helpful boundaries to keep your wedding day easy, enjoyable, and safe.
Pictured: A private yoga class with a view for the bridesmaids led by Erika of Joy Yoga to unwind the morning after wedding day.
We believe that in between the sometimes-rigid rules of corporate-owned venues and the seemingly limitless freedom of the backyard wedding is where the locally owned wedding venue shines. Often executing fewer overall weddings, locally owned wedding venues can be more flexible with their offerings. If you need that extra hour, a locally owned wedding venue is far more likely to be willing and able to give it to you (whereas a corporate owned venue may have another event coming in right after you.) Locally owned wedding venues shake the “wedding factory” vibe in favor of spending more time and attention on the clients they service.
At Cold Spring Farm, we strive to offer a balance of sensible boundaries and flexibility. The boundaries we have in place are there either due to legal obligations, or because we want to avoid any preventable mishaps. We view wedding days as sacred and are always willing to work with you to execute the day/weekend of your dreams to the best of our ability.
While we offer our clients a great resource in our ‘Vendors We Love’ list, we do not require you to choose from there. We enjoy meeting new vendors and are excited to work with whoever may be on your dream team as long as they meet our insurance requirements.
Destinee LeBlanc Photography
Wedding Spaces
Backyard spaces can be some of the most beautiful, and we can relate to the sentimental value of wanting to be right at home for such an important moment. However, it may be important to note that weddings benefit from having several spaces to flow from one event to the next. You’ll need to consider space for parking, getting ready, setting up the ceremony, placing dinner tables, and placing a dance floor/DJ.
The benefit of an established venue is that they have spent time, money, and effort establishing and maintaining these spaces to ensure they are functional and photogenic. No additional effort or rentals required; these spaces have been built, landscaped, and curated to fit the vibe and provide a clean, beautiful backdrop for your important moments.
As a New Hampshire wedding venue that sits on ~280 private acres, there are many wedding spaces available to you during your time at Cold Spring Farm. Picture entering our pristine Loft with your crew to be pampered, complete with makeup mirrors, great photo lighting, and all the amenities – private bathroom, private deck, Wifi, and multiple photo-ready spots. Once you are dressed and ready, you will find your way from ‘The Loft’ to our ‘Bridal Cottage’ to stay out of sight while your guests arrive. This storybook cottage is located just beyond the end of the aisle, perfectly placed for you to emerge from at the right moment during your ceremony processional.
As your guests arrive, they will be greeted by our parking attendants and directed to find their seats at our established ceremony space. Overlooking our horse pastures and mountains, our ceremony space includes a handmade cedar arbor, benches, and thoughtful landscaping throughout. Once your ceremony concludes, your guests will make their way to the barn for cocktail hour. The first floor of the barn features a built-in bar, a large, attached patio (24’x60’) with plenty of seating, beautiful bathrooms, an oversized dance floor (36’x24’), and climate control. Many couples also choose to make use of the adjacent large yard for yard games. Once cocktail hour concludes, guests are moved upstairs for dinner. This layout allows for dinner set up (and breakdown) to happen almost unbeknownst to the guests. The second floor of the barn features seating for up to 100, a second built-in bar, and two staircases for access. During dinner, our venue staff will get the fire pit patio ready, lighting the fire, turning on the café lighting, and often placing s’mores ingredients for your guests to enjoy after dinner. Post-dinner, you’ll head back downstairs to find a refreshed and even sometimes re-arranged room ready for dancing, desserts, and coffee and thoughtfully lit outdoor spaces to enjoy after-dark. When your event has come to an end, your guests will follow our whimsical well-lit path back to their cars to depart. If you have added our brand-new cabin to your rental agreement – you can head across the property to your secluded overnight accommodations. (Keep an eye on our social media for more about our cabin as we finish the last few details!)
We know how overwhelming it can be to plan your New Hampshire wedding. We strive to provide the resources and atmosphere to help make that process easier and more affordable for our clients. At Cold Spring Farm, our goal is to provide as much value as possible, while remaining flexible enough to allow for your unique ideas to shine through. If you are interested in finding out more about how to start planning with us, feel free to reach out or schedule a tour today.
Thanks for stopping by our blog! We hope this topic was helpful for you! We use this platform as a space to share resources for planning your New Hampshire wedding, information about how we operate, daily life on the farm, and to support other local small businesses like us. We believe whole-heartedly in the importance of small businesses lifting each other up, and as a means of doing so – we always include a few shoutouts to other amazing locally owned wedding venues and vendors who are doing the same.
