Planning your Wedding & Finding your Venue with Airbnb

Airbnb has over 150 million users and some 7 million properties to choose from, it’s easy to see why Airbnb has become such a hit in recent years. In just a few clicks, a world of opportunities await, including an explosion of rare and unique venues that you can’t find anywhere else.

As such, it has grown in popularity for event planning, including weddings.

Planning an Airbnb Wedding

Airbnb can be of great help when it comes to planning your wedding, from finding a place for you to stay on your wedding night, finding a house to share with your closest friends and family, finding local accommodation for guests and even to find somewhere to get married.

If you’re are thinking of finding a wedding venue on Airbnb then do keep in mind that venues aren’t always geared towards weddings, so you’ll need to think ahead and pre-empt the experience for guests, and of course put in more work yourself than hiring a traditional wedding venue. Although it’s entirely do-able, here’s what you need to know.

What are you looking for?

First thing’s first, you’ll want to pull a list together of all your wedding day demands before you start searching. Prioritise these, so you can easily navigate the many properties on the website, and not get side-tracked. It maybe a venue abroad, a small elopement outside, how many would you want the venue to sleep? Do you wish to have a marquee? It is important to consider these things to help narrow your search and also to understand if the venue can accommodate these things.

Pull together a list of 3-5 must-haves and use this as the basis for your venue search. Similarly, agree on what you’re happy to give-up. This might be plus-one guests, a free bar, or maybe on-site accommodation. And finally, have a rough budget in mind, so you can better refine your search.

Things to consider

When looking at venues on Airbnb it is important to be  upfront about your intended use. Rightly so, some venues can be cautious about renting out to a wedding party and there may also be certain restrictions in place, such as live music and catering, so do be honest about your plans when you speak to venue holders.

Embrace the quirky! One of the reasons to use Airbnb is the opportunity to host an unforgettable wedding in an unusual or exciting venue. Therefore look at locations that are unique to the website, that will dazzle guests and make your big day extra special. Be it a treehouse in the woods, a glamping retreat, or a bijou luxury penthouse with views across the city skyline.

For all those memorable photos you’ll be taking, the backdrop plays an important role. When looking at venues, where are they located, what is the backdrop and are their grounds for you to use that will allow for beautiful photos.

The ceremony plays a central role in proceedings. Be sure, then, that your venue can accommodate it, come whatever weather on the day. You don’t want to rely on an outdoor venue if there’s no indoor option if the heavens open. If you’re looking to marry in a church, then look at transport options to and from the property, as well as parking, to ensure it’s feasible for guests.

Much like hiring a private venue, choosing an Airbnb property likely means that you will need to organise the catering yourselves. The host should already have some recommendations for local catering companies, but it could also be the case that you’ll need to do some extra research. This also means ensuring the venue can accommodate your catering requirements, and also allow external caterers to come in too.

Unlike hotels, most Airbnb’s invite you to stay longer than just a night. This might work out economically sound as well. Consider the option to extend your wedding to a long weekend, allowing guests to enjoy the settings and option to get away.

Airbnb Wedding Venues

Remembering that not all Airbnb venues are designed with weddings in mind, you may need to think ahead about the small touches for your big day. For instance, what sort of tableware do they have? What’s the lighting like? Are chairs suitable for wedding guests, and can you rearrange the room? These are just some of the questions worth considering and asking your host.

If you decide to begin searching on Airbnb for wedding venues, don’t forget there are houses and villas specifically designed to host weddings, here’s our shortlist of some incredible spaces fully equipped for you to say your vows;

Hire Dun Aluinn in the picturesque setting of Perthshire for your wedding allowing you and your close friends and family to stay over and make a week of it too. It has it’s own private grounds and this fantastic manor house can accommodate up to 18 guests in stylish en-suite bedrooms. It also comes with access to your own butler, housekeeper and concierge services.

Treseren is your ‘home-from-home’. This quaint and cosy country house is set within stunning grounds, handed over to you for the wedding of your dreams. There’s no shortage of space, allowing you to get back to nature and enjoy time out from the world. An ideal house and venue for small intimate ceremonies, with boutique accommodation available for up to 12 guests, you can take over the property for as long as you need.

Take over Aenaon Villas, this stunning venue provides the most breathtaking views to exchange your vows across the spectacular Aegean Sea and the volcano’s famous Caldera. With accommodation for you and your guests this venue is perfect for a stylish private wedding that will give you and your family and friends memories forever.

The Taj Villa is a beautiful luxury villa with accommodation that is exclusively yours for your perfect for wedding in Marrakech. Hiring this villa gives your exclusivity for a private wedding and getaway for you and your guests, this fabulous venue and house can sleep up to 52, unlike many venues on Airbnb this villa comes with a dedicated team of Wedding Planners that take care of the organisation and staging of different settings for your wedding.

Airbnb Wedding Advice

While Airbnb has lots of choice, the downside is many of these are not wedding venues and some may just allow them even if they are really just not set up for such an event. When searching do bear this in mind, hiring a wedding planner could be a great benefit as they can take care of things that a traditional wedding venue will already have sorted, for example you may need to look into:

• Mobile bar
• Catering
• Table and chair rentals
• Linen hire
• Extra facilities for your guests

Choosing your wedding venue is a lot like buying a house. So, while the pictures will sell the property to you, there’s no compensation for visiting it yourself. This is really the best way to get a feel for the property and envisage hosting your special day there.

Ask the venue if you’re able to recce the property. When visiting, look at how you can dress the property up, and make it bespoke to your big day. Think practically too – does it have plenty of bathroom facilities, large bedrooms and a room for reception? If not, are you able to supplement these?

If you are thinking about using Airbnb when planning your wedding, think about what you want and why you are looking on there, are you looking for unique wedding venues, larger venues with onsite accommodation, or a venue you can hire for the week.

There are lots of places that showcase venues that meet this criteria and are focused on weddings, by finding a hose and venue that specialise in weddings it will make your life a lot easier and will likely allow many more options when it comes to your planning and creation of your dream wedding.