Why a tented wedding is the safest option for your upcoming wedding

In Maryland, there’s no shortage of venues who can accommodate a tented wedding. While trying to stay safe throughout the pandemic while still achieving your dream wedding, you may want to shift focus towards planning out a tent wedding. From safety tips, to decorating a tent wedding based on your style, to finding a caterer in Maryland that’s cooperative with safety, here are our tips for planning out your dream tented wedding. 

Shifting gears to a tented wedding

Outdoor Wedding Safety Tips From A Caterer In Maryland

While your wedding may not look entirely the way you thought it would this year, there are still ways to have a gorgeous wedding while ensuring your guests are safe. As a caterer in Maryland, we recommend tented weddings as the safest option to plan out during the pandemic. The CDC has laid out guidelines to keep everyone safe and healthy while trying to maintain normal life. Here’s why a tent wedding may be your best option:

• Tented weddings provide enough room for social distancing. The CDC recommends you maintain at least six feet away from people who do not live in the same household as you. Tented weddings give the option for more tables and more space between tables to ensure everyone is spaced out enough for safety. 
• Hosting outside events is more recommended than hosting events inside. Indoor events are not recommended under the current CDC guidelines. When possible, it’s a safer option to have your event outside. A tented wedding can help keep your event outside while also sheltering your guests for their comfort. 
• You can set up sanitation stations throughout your venue. To help your guests sanitize their hands throughout your wedding, you can set up sanitizer stations throughout your tent venue as well as provide sanitizer at each table. 
• Limit the number of people handling food. While it’s advisable to avoid a buffet, self-serve style for food, you can devote a couple people to serve the food in a spaced out buffet style. 

Best Tented Wedding Venues in Maryland

There are plenty of venues in Maryland that can accommodate a tent wedding. Now that it may be the safest option to have your wedding, here are some of our favorite tented wedding venues in Maryland. 

Matapeake Beach

On the Chesapeake Bay on Kent Island is Matapeake Beach & Clubhouse. This venue gives you access to a beautiful, private beach and a sizable yard, which either can be used for your ceremony or reception. Beautifully restored, the terminal ferry house that was previously used from 1936 to 1956 is available to couples to use for all of their wedding day planning needs. The specialized bridal room and bourbon room both lend themselves to allow for couples to get ready for their big day. Plus, couples can use the venue for their rehearsal dinner the night before. This venue completely encompasses the beauty Maryland has to offer. 

Kent Island Yacht Club

The Kent Island Yacht Club is the bay’s premier social club. Located on Kent Narrows, the Kent Island Yacht Club lends itself well for outdoor weddings. With a large yard, there’s more than enough room at this venue to accommodate for the size tent you need to comfortably host your guests on your wedding day. The venue is known for its exceptional service and gorgeous views of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Wye island NRMA

Wye Island NRMA manages 2,450 acres of the 2,800 acres of Wye Island. The lodge and grounds are available to rent for weddings. The venue can accommodate between 50 and 200 people, making it the perfect place for any size wedding you’re planning to have. Beyond that, you guests will have access to the shorelines available at Wye Island and the many beautiful views the venue has to offer. 

Decorate Your Venue To Match Your Style

A tented wedding is like a blank canvas that you can decorate to match whatever style you’re aiming for on your big day. There are so many stylistic choices you can make to ensure your venue suits your needs and your style. See our tips on how to decorate your venue based on your style:

Boho Style Tent Wedding Decor

The basis of bohemian style is free-spirited and natural. Generally speaking, boho style is typically eclectic. While there are no rules when it comes to boho style, here are some tips to get you started when planning out your boho wedding:

• Macrame decor.  Macrame is a form of knotting textiles, typically cotton, twine, or yard, into any form of design. From your ceremony arch to your table cloths, macrame decor is sure to give off a boho feeling for your wedding decor. You can incorporate macrame wreaths, chair covers, or even table charts into your big day. 
• Rattan decor. Boho style and rattan go hand-in-hand. Rattan decor lends itself well to boho weddings because it’s so simple yet gorgeous. Use large rattan chairs for you and your partner to sit during your reception, or string rattan chandeliers throughout your tent. 
• Neutral colors. Going with a mainly neutral color scheme for a boho wedding allows you to pick one or two colors to really pop throughout your venue. To pair with your neutral colors, consider colors such as rust orange or dusty purple to keep your boho theme strong throughout. 

Rustic Style Tent Wedding Decor

When you think of a rustic wedding, typically you think of a barn wedding. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your wedding in a tent and still give off your rustic feel. Here are our tips on how to decorate your tented wedding to ensure there’s a rustic feel throughout:  

• Natural wood. Natural wood throughout your venue will be sure to go with your rustic style. Consider using wood tables, adding wooden signs, or use natural wood for your seating chart. 
• Lanterns. Whether you hang lanterns or light the path to your venue for your guests, there are plenty of ways to use lanterns on your wedding day. Choose lanterns that are simple to keep that rustic feel. 
• Simple flower arrangements. One of the best things about rustic weddings is that simplicity is often best. With a simple flower arrangement like baby's breath or simple, white roses, you can stretch your flower budget further to make more arrangements throughout. 

Modern Style Tented Wedding Decor

While fairly minimalistic, you can still have fun with your wedding when decorating in a modern style. Here’s how you can make your wedding feel modern:

• Bold colors. While your main colors may be neutral, that neutrality opens itself up to utilizing pops colors. Contrast your neutral colors with bold colors through table settings, signs, and hanging decorations throughout. 
• Geometric shapes. Clean lines are typical throughout modern style and often paired with geometric shapes. Incorporate these geometric shapes and clean lines in your centerpieces or in different decor elements throughout.  

Romantic Style Tented Wedding Decor

Romantic weddings are some of the most gorgeous weddings. The ambiance of decor sets the tone for a fully romantic night. Here are our tips to styling your romantic tent wedding: 

• Hanging lights. Warm, hanging lights are sure to make any venue feel a bit more romantic. Hang chandeliers or drape string lights throughout your venue to add to the romantic feel of your wedding day. 
• Deep florals. From a burgundy flower to deep greens, be sure to keep deep colors in your floral arrangements.  
• Beautiful calligraphy. The small detail of calligraphy on your wedding day, and even before, will set in stone your romantic feel. From wedding invitations, signage, and place settings, calligraphy will set the tone of your romantic wedding. 

Catering Options For Any Wedding Style

Safety and Food Options From A Caterer In Maryland

When it comes time to choose a caterer, there are so many things to consider. But, most importantly, you’ll want to make sure that your caterer is following the proper safety precautions and offers the type of meal you’d like to have on your big day. 

At The Smokehouse Grill, we’re taking extra steps to make sure that not only our employees stay safe and healthy but also our customers. Beyond daily temperature checks of our employees, we’re offering our customers the option for staff-served food stations or the option for drop-off catering. We want to ensure that you feel safe with either option we offer, and our staff will always wear masks and gloves either way. 

When it comes to food, we have something for everyone. We have a multitude of pre-set wedding packages with options such as mouth-watering chicken, delicious smokehouse prime rib, or flavorsome crab cake. We also offer on-site barbeque catering with plenty of different packages to suit your needs. 

Staying safe and healthy during the pandemic is the top priority, but there are still ways to have your dream wedding while still staying safe. From safe catering options from a caterer in Maryland, to recommended venue types, there are many options available to you to have a safe wedding. Interested in planning out your 2021 wedding? Contact The Smokehouse Grill to hear more about our safe catering options.