(1k) My wedding venue burned down to the ground
I have a shoestring budget and planned accordingly. We planned for a small BBQ reception at a local park with 60 of our family and friends.
I knew the shelter we were renting was popular due to how pretty it is. So I booked my shelter reservation in December last year as soon as reservations opened.
I was able to book a Saturday in June at the shelter, which includes 15 picnic benches, for only $180 for the entire day.
Since I'm DIYing a lot of my decor, I've been thrifting materials for months now and slowly chipping away at my $1,000 budget for the event.
I've kept several spreadsheets of all my expenses, managed to borrow yard games and serving utensils, asked my grandmother to grow our florals in her garden etc.
We were completely on track for our budget and we were even coming under budget. Until last week when, at 1 am, the shelter mysteriously caught on fire and burned to the ground.
Every person who had an event planned there obviously had their reservation cancelled and their money refunded. This includes other weddings, as this shelter is incredibly popular for these kinds of events.
I took two hours off work and started calling around to all other parks or rentable venues in my area. Since it's already May, everything is completely booked out for weekends in June. I can't move the date since many out of town guests have already bought plane tickets and hotels inorder to attend. Addition to this, many family members are just flying up for the day.
After hours of calling and searching, I found a small summer camp that had availability on the day of my wedding reception. The owners are very sweet and accommodating, but the price for renting the venue is $425.
I'm aware that this is still a good price for a venue. But it is still more than the $180 I originally had budgeted for and swallows almost half my budget.
I'm grateful to have found anything at all since it's possible other brides were not so lucky. I'm just frustrated to have worked so hard to stay on budget, only for everything to still spiral out of control.
Update 5/20:
I decided to go with the $425 venue. With the new venue, we need liability insurance which also added to the cost.
Both our parents were very kind and offered to help cover the cost. I was a little reluctant and embarrassed to accept money from them. But they explained that this isn't our fault and they are happy to help.
I'll be in a large tent instead of a shelter at the new venue. It's also a timed booking for 7 hours, instead of all day. Many of my friends and family offered to help pitch in during the limited set up time.
I'm truly grateful to have such supportive friends and family. Even though the day won't be exactly how I imagined, the important thing is that we have a space to come together and celebrate.