The Complete Guide to Airbnb Micro Weddings

Benefits of Having Your Wedding at a Private Residence

• Privacy——renting an Airbnb means you’ll have the space all to yourself
• Personalization—you can find private homes in almost any aesthetic to match your desired theme
• Potential Cost Savings—a lot of times, you can rent a private home for much less than a traditional wedding venue
• You can find them almost anywhere—Airbnbs are literally everywhere
• Doubles as lodging, rehearsal dinner space, and ceremony and reception space
• Can provide a great place to gather for a multi-day wedding

Choosing the Perfect Airbnb Venue

Airbnb vs VRBO and other sites

First, we’d like to clear up the confusion that often comes up around renting an Airbnb for your wedding. A lot of people wonder if they can rent an Airbnb for their wedding and the answer is, it depends.

Years ago, Airbnb put restrictions on events at their properties which made it more difficult for hosts to approve parties that exceed the home’s capacity. However, you can still find Airbnbs that are big enough to rent for your event, as long as the host allows it. The smaller your wedding, the easier it will be for you to find something on Airbnb.

The good news is that VRBO and other private home rental sites are a little more liberal in their event and party policies so I recommend looking there first. Throughout the blog, you’ll see us referring to private home rentals as ‘Airbnb’ just because that is the commonly used term these days. Just know that can mean any number of private home rental sites.

Find the Perfect Airbnb for Your Micro Wedding

We go in depth on this topic in our blog, How to Find Private Home Wedding Venues, but here are the highlights:

• Check all private residence rental site
  • Airbnb
  • VRBO
  • Vacasa
• Use filters to find locations that allow events, have capacity for your guests, or other amenities such as mountain views or a hot tub
• Use Google to uncover other private home rental sites

Use this checklist to be sure you’ve covered all your bases when interviewing hosts about their location.

‍

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Venue

Consider Location and Style

Choosing a location might be one of the toughest decisions. With so many incredible options across the country, it can feel overwhelming to decide! If you haven’t chosen a theme yet, we recommend starting with our guide to establish your micro wedding vision before starting your venue search. It will also help you zero in on your location, making the venue search a little easier.

Once you have your theme nailed down, you can use the filters or search functionality in the private home rental sites to find a great fit.

Look at Capacity and Amenities

Airbnbs are perfect for weddings that are smaller in size which is why you see us talking about them a lot here at microWED. Capacity will vary depending on the size of the home, local ordinances, and available amenities. Be sure to consider things like the number of bathrooms, accessibility (especially if you have guests with mobility issues), parking, and nearby accommodations (if everyone is not staying at the property) when selecting your location.

Aesthetic and Theme Compatibility

Choosing a venue that aligns with your wedding theme can not only ensure a consistent look and feel, but it can also help cut down on decor costs as many private home rentals suitable for a wedding have their own personality and charm that will contribute nicely to your event.

Host Communication & Contracts

I cannot stress enough the importance of being upfront and honest with your host about your plans. There are plenty of properties all across the country (and the world!) that are more than happy to host your wedding day so don’t feel like you have to be secretive about it. In fact, most hosts that allow weddings are super accommodating. Ours offered to supplement some of the amenities and infrastructure to ensure our wedding went smoothly.

Additionally, you’ll want to be sure there’s a solid contract in place to protect you and the host, beyond what the rental site provides. The contract should outline additional terms and conditions that are relevant to hosting an event in the space.

Planning and Logistics

Budgeting

Choosing a private residence for your wedding venue will come with expenses that you may not have had to pay for had you chosen a more traditional space, but with some careful planning you can supplement any missing amenities to make it complete.

Here are some of the things you’ll want to be sure to include in your budget:

• Home rental fee
• Insurance, cleaning and rental fees: as you’re calculating the cost of the venue, be sure to check in on these commonly added fees
• Event Rentals for your micro wedding: tables, chairs, tents, and supplies for serving meals
• Amenities: you may need additional amenities such as bathrooms or audio equipment
• Transportation: if the property is not easily accessible or enough parking is not available on site, you’ll need to consider transportation for your guests

Neighbor Relations:

The contract should clearly state any noise or other ordinances you’ll need to follow. You’ll want to make sure the rules don’t conflict with your vision for the day (ie, all night party, live music, etc.)