How to Plan a Glamping Wedding

Photo: Kay Kroshus

You want an elegant wedding, but your fiance wants a rustic wedding.

What’s a girl to do?

The answer is simple:

Glamping. 

The seamless fusion of getting off the grid and living in luxury. No longer does enjoying the outdoors mean roughing it.

It’s the best of both worlds.

Go ahead and get cozy with your hot tea and your wedding binder because you’re about to learn everything you need to know for a glamping wedding.

What Is Glamping Anyway?

Glamping is the combination of the words glamorous and camping.

It’s also sometimes called boutique camping or posh camping.

Basically, it’s a term to describe a luxurious camping experience. At its lowest tier, glamping means having a bed and a throw rug in your tent. But the limits only go as far as your imagination.

If you want to create Buckingham Palace in the woods, be our guest.

Anything from a tent with a wooden floor to a yurt fully equipped with AC and electricity is considered glamping. 

It’s a combination of the beauty of nature and the comforts of home.

Getting Ready for Your Glamping Wedding

Photo: Bella Birmingham / Rock Sandretto

Any wedding takes a lot of careful planning, and a glamping wedding is no different.

With some forethought and maybe a helping hand or two, everything will come together in the ultimate blend of camp and comfort. 

These are just a few things you need to pay some attention to.

Invitations

Your invitations and save-the-dates should prepare your guests for the wedding of their lives. You have to let them know what they can look forward to.

Theme and tone matter here.

Send a camping-themed invitation suite with some glitz. Calligraphy and a few metallic touches will elevate your invite and let your guests know this isn’t just any outdoor wedding.

Now’s the time to go into detail about what to expect.

Include a packing list with your invitations so your guests know what to bring along on the overnight or weekend getaway. Suggest that heels are swapped for flats or tennis shoes to avoid any accidents.

Don’t leave anyone guessing. 

Related: How to Address a Wedding Invitation

Wedding Planning

Putting together a glamping wedding takes a lot of planning.

You have to consider everything: the layout of your tents, where everyone is going to sleep, who is setting up and breaking down the food tables, etc.

A wedding planner can certainly help with all of that!

With so much to do, it’s a good idea to get some help pulling off the wedding of your dreams.

Glamping Wedding Venues

Photo: Bella Shreveport / Jennifer Bradford

Ah, the great outdoors.

The beauty of nature is a spectacular place to host a wedding. Whether you have your wedding at a local campground or in a national park, the natural world can add a magical element to your wedding ceremony.

When it comes to choosing a venue for your glamping wedding, it really just depends on how much work you want to do.

Ready-Made Venues

Believe it or not, there are venues that cater to this exact kind of wedding. They are set up for the ultimate glamping experience.

Under Canvas, for example, has campsites all over the country.

You can throw your wedding under the stars in the Great Smoky Mountains, at the Grand Canyon, or in Yellowstone National Park — just to name a few.

These sorts of venues make glamping easy.

You don’t have to worry about coordinating tents, setting things up, or breaking them down. Everything is already there waiting for you! 

Do-It-Yourself Venues

Don’t give up all control just yet!

Is there a campground that means a lot to you and your fiance? 

Are you a regular Martha Stewart who loves to DIY everything?

Doing it yourself is entirely possible!

Setting up a glamping wedding yourself is made easier by using a tent rental service like Life in Tents. They rent out both furnished and unfurnished bell tents! 

A matchy tent community is a fantastic aesthetic.

Related: How to Have a Wedding at Home

A Guide to Glamping Tents

There’s more than one way to throw a glamping wedding.

When you’re planning how you want your tent community to look, you have full control of where and how everyone sleeps. That includes the kind of tents you want to have.

Here are a few of the most popular choices:

Bell Tents

Bell tents are a boho wedding dream.

With only a single support pole in the center, they are incredibly spacious inside. The tent is held open by tension cables around the outside. Bell tents are made from thick canvas to protect anyone inside from the elements.

These are, by far, the easiest tents to transport.

Safari Tents

Safari tents are incredibly luxurious.

These house-shaped tents are supported by a myriad of support poles, which gives them their impressive stability. They can be separated into different rooms and usually have openable windows.

However, they are quite bulky and somewhat difficult to transport.

Tipis

A tipi is a traditional type of tent that looks chic in any photoshoot.

They’re held up by multiple support poles and are usually made of fabric. They are smaller on the inside than other tents, but they’re easy to transport because they’re so light.

Yurts

Yurts have been used for centuries and are extremely reliable.

They are round and have domed roofs. They’re generally easy to set up and break down, but they’re made of heavy wooden pieces, so they aren’t very portable.

The effort is worth it, though, because yurts make amazing wedding venues.

RVs

Not technically a tent, but a great option if you’re looking for something sturdy.

Figuring out how to get enough RVs for all your guests in and out of a campground can be tough. But a few RVs can keep the parents and grandparents happy and comfortable while everyone else uses tents.

When mom’s happy, everyone’s happy. 

Put the ‘Glam’ in Glamping

Photo: Michelle Beller 

Here’s where we get to the real nitty-gritty.

Incorporating luxury into your wedding is what makes it glamping. If you’re not at least a little bougie, you’re really just camping.

Decorations

Dressing up your campground is a must for this kind of wedding.

Strings of bunting meld perfectly with the outdoor environment and give you the chance to add something pretty to your surroundings. You can choose the colors and add glitter to really jazz it up.

Going for a strong camping theme?

Get yourself some lanterns and bling them up with some gold spray paint to seamlessly bring the two worlds together.

And just for some practicality, consider using stake lights to create a path through the campsite. That way, your guests can dance well into the night and make it back to their tents safe and sound.

You don’t want anyone getting lost in the woods.

Related: 9 Perfect Aisle and Pew Decorations for an Outdoor Weddings

Sleeping Arrangements

Beds are the epitome of the glamping experience.

No one goes glamping and expects to sleep on the ground. That defeats the purpose of attaching a luxury label to the whole thing.

You can easily create beds for your guests with elevated cots or wooden pallets topped with foldable foam mattresses. Add in some plush bedding and a few pillows, and you have the perfect place to crash.

You’ll need it after the big day.

Little Touches

It’s the little things that bring it all together.

An area rug in each tent elevates the luxury vibe and feels much better underfoot than grass. Also, a small table and some seating give your guests somewhere besides the ground to keep their things.

The key is to make it feel as much like home as possible.

Activities for Your Glamping Wedding

Photo: Kristyn Harder

Keep your guests entertained before and after the ceremony with some fun things to do. Activities are especially important if you’ll be staying for more than one day.

Photo Booth

Set up a nice place for everyone to take pictures and include some fun props.

A camper van makes a great backdrop, or you can use the natural beauty of your venue. Station your photobooth props in front of the trees or on a picturesque lakeside. 

Don’t forget to make a wedding hashtag so you don’t miss all those smiling faces!

S’mores Bar

Any kind of camping, even glamping, has to include s’mores.

Set up a table with everything you need to make s’mores so everyone can gather around the campfire with a treat at the end of the night.

No firepit? No problem!

Grab a pop-up firepit to bring to the wedding with you. Those marshmallows aren’t going to roast themselves.

Fun in the Water

For a weekend wedding, a dip in the lake isn’t such a bad idea.

You can enjoy the sun and the water with all your friends and family in style. Just make sure you let them know they need to bring their swimsuits.

A Few Extra Tips

To make sure your wedding day (or wedding weekend) goes as smoothly as possible, follow these tips:

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

When booking your event, take into account how long it will take to set up and break down everything.

Ask the owners of your venue if you can check out later than normal on the last day so you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to pack up.

Keep the Bugs Out

Pre-spray the ceremony and reception area with an outdoor fogger to repel any insects. You should also bring along plenty of bug spray and citronella candles, just in case.

Have a Charging Station

Keep phones and cameras charged by building an on-site charging station for your guests to use.

Alternatively, gift each guest with a portable phone charger or run a power strip to each tent.

Don’t Forget Bathrooms

Make sure your venue of choice has appropriate restrooms. If they don’t, consider hiring a service like Royal Restrooms that rent luxury toilets and shower trailers.

Also, have a stock of spare toiletries, toothbrushes, and soap on hand for anyone who forgets or loses anything.

Related: 5 Ideas for a Forest Wedding

Conclusion

There you have it — everything you need to know for a luxury glamping wedding.

So grab your hiking gear and your wine glasses and get going.

It’s time to go glamping!

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