Start Planning Your Carawood Lake Event!

  • FIND OTHER VENDORS

    While none are required, we have a list of fabulous local vendors, including caterers, photographers, DJs, florists, and more, who can help make your day extra special.

    All of our vendors have a variety of packages (with publicly posted pricing!), like we do, designed to fit a variety of budgets.

    This list is a great place to start if you aren’t sure where to go next.

  • EXPLORE LAYOUTS

    Check out all the different ways you can arrange our space!

    (We have a layout tool in development that will help you play around with your layouts using drag & drop tables.)

  • Chose your Decor

    CONSIDER DECOR

    Schedule a planning visit to checkout all the decor items we have in our Something Borrowed Closet. If you purchased a Classic Wedding package or Decorated Table add-ons, you can use any of our items in your decorations!

Host Liability Insurance

In the event that a guest at your event causes significant injury to another person or damage to property, you could be held liable for some pretty big sums of money. In these circumstances, Host Liability insurance is what covers you. We require it for events serving alcohol, but it’s a good idea for all events, even if your event is alcohol-free.

This insurance can be purchased through any vendor you chose (and can often be added to a Home Owner’s insurance policy for a small fee), but common choices include:

Depending on the type of insurance you select and the size of your party, the cost typically ranges from $75-$150.

We will need a copy of your Certificate of Insurance, listing Carawood Lake as an additional insured, at least 2 weeks prior to your event.

How to Plan a Wedding

(Or other major event)

Without going crazy or
breaking your bank

1. Make a budget you can live with

Everything starts with your budget, so be sure you know how much you can spend before you get too deep into planning. Start by identifying your overall budget, then break it down by category, based on what’s important to you (and what you think you have the ability and physical/mental capacity to DIY).

Experts recommend considering the following categories when planning your wedding:

  • Venue (15-25% of budget)

    • Ceremony

    • Reception

    • Chairs & tables (included at Carawood Lake)

  • Food & Beverages: (15-25% of budget)

    • Appetizers

    • Main course

    • Dessert

    • Drinks

  • Memories: (10-15% of budget)

    • Photography

    • Videography

    • Content creators

  • Entertainment: (5-15% of budget)

    • DJ

    • Band

    • Games or activities

  • Decorations: (5-15% of budget)

    • Flowers

    • Tablescapes

    • Signage

  • Your look: (5-15% of budget)

    • Attire & accessories

    • Hair & make-up

  • Others: (5-10% of budget)

    • Officiant & marriage license

    • Day-of-Coordinator

    • Invitations

    • Transportation

    • Favors and gifts

    • Tips and fees

    • Miscellaneous

Notice… if you are at the upper limit of each category, you’ll go over 100%, so it’s important to prioritize.

2. Estimate your guest count

This determines the size of venue you need, what layouts will work in your venue, and is the key driver for the cost of your food, beverages, and decorations.

The size of your bridal party can also contributes to overall cost (e.g., flowers for bouquets/boutonnieres, transportation, gifts, hair/make-up, etc.).

3. Book your venue

Typically your venue should be about 15-25% of your total budget. At Carawood Lake, we have a variety of different packages intentionally designed to fit into any budget from $5K to $30K+. Plus, all of our reservations come with indoor chairs and tables.

4. Put together the rest of your vendor team

Look at your budget and determine where you want to spend your money.

At Carawood Lake, you are allowed to DIY everything! This can be great on a budget, but it also requires a lot of advanced preparation, and can get REALLY stressful as the wedding approaches if you end up biting off more than you can chew. It’s important to be realistic about what you can really achieve and how much you are asking of others.

For this reason, we’ve assembled a list of great local professional vendors, with reasonable packages that can help make your day feel extra special, take some of that pressure off you, and help the energy of your day flow more smoothly if it’s in your budget.

5. Pick your personal “event helpers”

Have specific people assigned to help you out on your big day. If you have a Day-Of-Event Coordinator, this role falls to them. If you don’t, you’ll need someone other than you to be in charge of the following things:

  • Receiving your other vendors (food, flowers, etc.) when they arrive at the venue and telling them what they need to do.

  • Setting up your decorations

  • Running the music and manning the microphone (e.g., telling your guests where to go and when to go there, introducing speech-givers, etc.)

  • Getting the wedding party into position to start the ceremony & cue the DJ (or whoever is running the music)

  • Be in charge of food: Putting out buffet-style food and appetizers, replacing empty pans, and cleaning up the buffet food at the end. (This is a big job and a key reason to consider getting a “staffed” catering package if it’s in your budget.) Pro tip: Figure out ahead of time who is taking home any leftovers!

  • Taking the signed marriage license, cards/gifts, and guest book at the end of the night

  • Cleaning up after your event