What size tent do I need to rent for a outdoor wedding reception?

Thanks for visiting! Welcome to Ty's! You may be new or we might have sent this link to you. Either way we hope this is super helpful! We know how much research it takes to build a wedding day at the home property. Your time is short and we at Ty's want to give you the meat and potatoes to help you plan a great wedding day.

Another way to focus in is to find credible sources for your information. For example when reading an article on the "best wedding tips for an at home wedding" you have the option of reading multiple pages from past brides and grooms. A second option is to read posts from the professionals like us at Ty's. We serve many couples during our busy season May-October each year. We're on site the entire wedding day for almost all of them. That means when we write an article like this one we're pulling information from a vast amount of weddings over the years. We see first hand what works and what doesn't because we're hired to serve rather than attend.

That being said let's talk about our thoughts for you on what size tent would be best. This information works the same for backyard weddings, cabin wedding, home weddings, and farm weddings.

The tent is there to shelter you and your guests from the elements and to create a warm inviting atmosphere for all the activities. The hard part is when the venue is the home property most couples have big plans for the space outside of the tent. This is great and understandable but we at Ty's try to convey that they need a plan for the weather. All the great plans can come to a crashing halt if the phone weather app is not favorable. Then what happens? Without a plan the couple and family scrambles to figure out what to do. It's hard to see on our end being the wedding professional. Most people take our advise and some don't that's just how it goes. If you're reading this and processing all variables then you're ahead of the rest way to go!

In our experience making plans that reflect a perfect day weather wise is asking for stress. If your thinking about all variables then the stress level drops. Most at home couples want a relaxed, casual, comfortable and simple experience. That's a great goal but if you have over 75 guests no wedding is every simple, there is much to think about. It can be simple for the guests but they really don't have responsibility. It's practical to plan your tent space figuring that everything will have to be under it. This may be revelation of thinking! What are you saying Ty? Plan A is plan B. Then your plan B goes into effect if the weather looks great which is the most common in MN/WI.

We may over stress the fact that you should have multiple plans. You may wonder hey Ty's why can't you be a little more on the bright wedding side? We sure are, and in fact weather is one of the most stressed about items the week before the wedding. It actually take quite a bit of our time to help couples realize that planning this way is the best. Who want's to tell a bride that it may rain on your wedding day? No one, but we will because we have seen first hand what a poorly planned wedding day looks like. When considering services with us you get our experience and guidance built in to every service we offer.

This wedding was at a large open property and 200+guests enjoyed the 40'x120' tent. There is white drapery around the center poles, a stage for the wedding party, fans to keep guests cool, a dance floor, food line, gifts, and led edison lighting around the perimeter. See the sidewalls on half the tent in the background.

Now you're ready! Let's get down to the meat and potatoes of creating a space that is comfortable, and relaxed for you and the guests.

-What date is the wedding?

-How many guests are invited? How many do you expect to attend?

-Describe the property.

-Will there be any other buildings or shelters the guests will be using besides the tent?

-Describe the wedding day timeline and activities.

-What kind of catering are you considering?

-DJ, Band, DIY, or none?

-Dance floor?

-How many are in the wedding party and will they all be sitting together?

-Round tables or rectangle for the guests?

-Lounge area or games?

-Cake, gift, or display tables?

-Will there be a bar?

-Stage for the band or wedding party?

-Photo booth or vendor needing space under the tent?

-Large decor items?

This is right after the ceremony when guests start coming into the 40'x60' tent. The tables are decorated and set for dinner and soon the wedding party will be announced! See how one side of the tent is open and the rest have sidewalls. You can see the wedding party table in the background.

Once all those questions are answered we have a good idea of what to expect and can help recommend the best tent option because of our experience. Weddings are one of the best day's of two peoples lives! No one want's to wing it for this occasion because all of the most important people are on the invite list. They're witnessing and celebrating two people becoming one for life!

Finally let's go over tent sizes and guest counts. We're not going into much detail here but the recommendations are for locations that only have the tent as usable space. We assume the tent will be used for more than dinner as well. Again, our goal is to size a tent that is comfortable for all guests and helps them want to say longer and enjoy the celebration. The sizes below are the average for that specific guest count.

40'x40'

120 guests max

40'x60'

150 guests max

40'x80'

220 guests max

40'x100'

400 guests max

This is a 16'x24' dance floor just after it was setup. See one of the center poles close to it? From there to the edge of the tent is 20'. The grass space on the right is where the DJ would be setting up and on the far left part of the bar was in that area.

Our goal is always to help couples have a huge successful wedding day. It all starts with the proposal then planning out the property and shelter. (Some of you have it all figured out before the proposal) After that's set all the little details fall into place. We enjoy what we do because our team gets invited to serve at many weddings all season long! Our services don't end at the tent, they include almost everything you need under the tent and professional staff for things you may not have thought about.

Wonderful evening in early May. This is a late night shot just before closing time. Wow look at the extra green grass inside the tent. It was full of guests during and after dinner. The dance floor is way on the other end and the wedding party table was in the center on the left side. Looks like the moon is out? It was but there was also a 40' tower light we provided for late night games. It rained during dinner but stopped soon after. The sidewalls kept everyone warm and dry in the evening as the temps fell and the dew came out.

Have a great day!