Pros And Cons Of Hosting An Event On Your Own Property

Hosting an event on your own property can be amazing, though it has some drawbacks. Here are some pros and cons of hosting an event on your own property.

A major part of any event is the venue. Different spaces and environments can affect the tone of an event. It can be daunting to decide where you want to hold your event. However, sometimes the perfect location is already yours – I got married at the house of my in-laws.

Photo by Jonathan Borba

Pros Of Hosting An Event On Your Own Property

Known location

You know your home. You understand the space. You may have a dining room that fits a dozen people and is perfect for a dinner party. Or a fantastic yard where you can pitch a few tents and host a wedding for 200 people. The flow of your house may be perfect for a post -Bar Mitzvah brunch open house.

No cost to rent location

Some event spaces have really high fees. This amazing space in Chicago can cost over $10,000! Yes, there are many locations with more moderate prices, but even a local park can cost hundreds of dollars. You can save this rental fee by being the venue for your event.

Available for setup

You won’t need to be at the whim of the venue to set up. If you are doing the decorations on your own, you can start the setup much earlier than you probably could at a venue that you rent. For my wedding, we set up tents, tables, and a dance floor the day before. And even had time to do a rehearsal there. Also, since the party lasted well into the night (much later than we expected), it was easy to schedule the takedown for the next day. 

Having no end time

Sometimes parties don’t want to end, but venues are rented by the hour. Some venues have multiple events each day, so your event is expected to end at its set time. Hosting an event at your own property means that the party can continue as long as you want.

So if yourย event timelineย isn’t accurate, there’s no venue to charge overages.

Related: Planning Your Gatherings at Home With Every Detail to Prevent Covid Spread

Cons Of Hosting An Event On Your Own Property

Permits

Depending on where you live, you may need a permit to host an event on your own property. Yes, even if it is your private property, there may be limits of noise or the number of people you can host. Make sure to check with your local municipality about these restrictions. 

Pro tip: work with an event planner who has experience in these type of events, as seen in A Spotlight on the Magic of Backyard Weddings

Toilets

This is important!!! When hosting an event on your own property, you need to make sure that there are enough sanitary facilities. While you are inquiring about permitting, you ask if your municipality has any requirements or guidelines regarding how many toilets are necessary. 

If not, a good rule of thumb is what is required by OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration, a part of the United States Department of Labor) for workspaces:

  • One toilet for less than 15 employees
  • Two toilets for 16 to 35 employees
  • Three toilets for 36 to 55 employees
  • Four toilets for 56 to 80 employees
  • Five toilets for 81 to 110 employees
  • Six toilets for 111 to 150 employees
  • One additional toilet for every 40 employees over 150

 Using these guidelines, a workspace with 200 employees would need eight toilets. Thus an event with 200 guests should have the same.

Sanitation

Besides having enough toilets, you will also need enough sinks. Not just to wash your hands after using the bathroom, but for food prep as well. Plus, people are washing their hands more frequently due to this pandemic. 

You may also need some additional refrigeration to ensure that the food you are serving has been properly handled. Or extra ovens to keep food hot.

Parking

Depending on where your property is located, you may not have sufficient space for your guests to park. Finding space for a dozen cars for your book club may be fine, but having 100 vehicles parked on your suburban street may draw some ire from your neighbors.

No more food/space for extra guests

No matter how much you plan your event, you will never get the final number of guests precisely right. Usually, there is extra food and drink available, but not always.

Extra guests may show up. If this happens, venues usually have stock, houses do not. This happened at my wedding. Even with all the RSVPs plus the extra dishes ordered, we still had guests show up hours late with uninvited plus 1’s and had to scramble for not just food but a table and chairs. In the end, we were able to serve them the food was set aside for the band and find the musicians an alternative meal. I was having too much fun to notice the impending disaster and am glad that I wasn’t told about it until the next day.

Options Are Great

In the end, don’t discount a place that is yours for hosting your event. If you have a space you can host an event on your own property. At the very least, you have options.