The hardest part of wedding planning is finding a budget-friendly wedding venue. But with the booming wedding industry in Utah, that can seem like a daunting and expensive feat. You’ll find hundreds of venues with varying services and prices. Today we’ll look at the best budget-friendly wedding venues in the Salt Lake Valley you can explore for your big day.
Sometimes the included services justify the higher cost. So let’s explore.
Best Almost-Free Budget Wedding Venues in Salt Lake
If you have a very tight budget and don’t mind DIYing your wedding, here are some of the best venues to consider. Some of these may mean you can only have a ceremony, a micro wedding, or have limited capabilities. We’ll explore some pros and cons of each.
LDS Chapel Gym
One of the best budget-friendly wedding venues in Salt Lake is any of the hundreds of church meetinghouses across the valley. If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you know very well what a church gym looks like.
You can ask your bishop if you can use the gym or cultural hall for your wedding reception. You can use this space for free as long as your group takes care of the building, does the setup and cleanup afterward, and follows a few additional guidelines.
A few pros are that you get tables, chairs, a kitchen, and a sound setup. We used our church gym for our open house. I connected to the speaker system with an aux cord and played music from our laptop.
We also had access to the brooms, vacuums, and mops. And the kitchen had a fridge, oven, and sink for setting up and preparing the food.
The cons are that gyms are not very pretty. It takes a lot of work and setup to make them look good. However, I have seen some beautiful setups in an LDS cultural hall.
You also can only fit a certain number of people depending on how big your church gym is.
Additionally, you have to do everything yourself which can add a lot of time and stress.
Backyard
Having your wedding in your backyard, or a friend’s backyard, can save you lots of money. But this option might end up costing you more in the long run.
To have a backyard wedding you would need to rent chairs, tables, a dance floor, lighting, and more. You would also need speakers or a way to play music.
Depending on the season, you should consider the weather. It could be windy, rainy, or cold.
However, backyard wedding venues can be beautiful, intimate locations that have meaning to you. It could be your grandpa’s backyard where you used to play as a child.
Getting married there could feel sentimental. It also may give you a beautiful garden and nice photos.
Park Pavilion
Some parks allow you to rent their large pavilion. You may need a special use permit to host your wedding there, but it would likely cost less than $60 depending on the park.
And many parks have beautiful trees and rivers running through them making a lovely setting for a wedding. They often have bathrooms nearby and parking.
You could use the picnic tables in the pavilion for food. You would likely need to bring in your own sound system for music.
Additionally, some might face noise and guest restrictions. A park wedding venue would work best for small ceremonies and elopements.
National Park
Utah has famous national parks. Great news for us, you can get married in one. To use a national park as a wedding venue, you need a special use permit. This ranges from $50 to $500 depending on the national park, the amount of guests, and other factors.
So while this is not free, it is a lot cheaper than other wedding venues. Some parks have designated ceremony spots, while others allow you to choose where you go.
Additionally, the guest capacity is quite small, usually around 25 people. You also have many other restrictions on noise levels, flowers, drones, food, and more.
For more information visit the National Park Service website. This venue works best for micro weddings, small ceremonies, and elopements. It likely won’t work for traditional receptions and parties.
Best Budget-Friendly Wedding Venues in Salt Lake Valley
If you want a traditional wedding, we have listed some budget-friendly venues. These have varying services and amenities such as tables and chairs, linens and decor, and preparation spaces.
The pricing varies based on the day of the week, time of day, season, and many other factors. All prices listed below are estimated ranges.
Riverton Old Dome Meeting Hall
The Riverton Old Dome Meeting Hall is a beautiful small venue in Riverton City Park. It has columns, beautiful tile floors, and a grand staircase.
It also features a conference room you can use for a buffet. You also get a small outdoor patio, perfect for a ceremony. Riverton residents can rent the space Thursday through Saturday for $600. Non-residents pay $1,200.
My sister and a few friends used this space and it worked perfectly. It was a beautiful venue with many offerings that made the day go smoothly. And we used the outdoor patio for the ceremony which was a perfect size.
However, we did have to clean up and be out of the venue at 10 p.m. — a little too early for my taste.
Price: $600 – $1,200
Includes:
- Audio/speaker system you can connect to.
- Four 8-foot banquet tables.
- 125 black sleigh-based chairs.
- Conference room with a 75-inch TV.
- 15 small 5-foot by 2-foot conference tables.
- Food prep kitchen.
- Parking.
- Plaza/Patio.
- Restrooms.
- Ten 60-inch round tables.
Hidden Garden Weddings and Events
This beautiful venue has lots of plants, string lights, nice natural lighting, and a romantic atmosphere.
The basic venue rental comes with so many benefits such as an event planner, two hosts, and a parking attendant. The venue offers a bride’s and groom’s dressing room or children’s room.
Additionally, you can also book it for a ceremony for $495 and they’ll include a rehearsal time. Another plus is you can have any catering you wish, including self-catering.
Many venues limit or restrict this service. So if you want to save money by doing the food yourself you can. However, they do offer a recommended catering and cake service.
Price: $1,495 – $2,495
Includes:
- Venue preparation, setup, and cleanup.
- 20 long sparklers for a send-off.
- Nine round guest tables with nine chairs per table.
- Three different style choices for linens in over 50 colors.
- Table centerpieces such as various wreaths and candles.
- Furnishings and decor with chandelier lighting, festival lights, miniature plant lights, and furniture.
- TV, sound system, and DVD player.
Crescent Hall
Crescent Hall is a gorgeous venue with brick walls, arched windows, and modern chandeliers. This rustic-industrial event space adds charm and romance to your special day.
It transitions well from the ceremony to the reception. The space comfortably seats 150 people but has a maximum capacity of 200.
One of the best features is that the venue will do the setup and take down. This also takes a lot of stress off of your bridal party or family to organize.
Of course, you’ll need to take care of any decor you bring in yourself. But it is wonderful to have others take it down at the end of the night when everyone is tired.
Price: $1,100 – $4,450
Includes:
- Two dressing rooms.
- 10 farmhouse tables.
- 20 round tables.
- 200 chairs.
- Additional tables for gifts, cake, sign-in, and more.
- Linen Rental (up to 12 tablecloths, more available for an additional fee).
- Choice of onsite backdrop/arch.
- Pre-hung lighting and a variety of plants throughout.
- Use of a backdrop/arch.
- Sound system.
- Prep kitchen.
- Set up and tear down.
Factors to Consider Before Booking a Wedding Venue
Before deciding on a venue, consider what type of wedding you want. I’ve listed a few questions to explore before you make a decision. Talk with your fiancee, parents, and wedding party for more ideas or considerations as well.
- How many people will attend?
- What style or mood do you want to experience?
- Do you want an indoor or outdoor space?
- Will the location photograph well?
- Is it accessible to your guests? For example, does it have ramps or elevators for grandparents and friends?
- Does it need a lot of decorating to look beautiful?
- What restrictions does it have?
- What vendors does it allow?
- Do you need a separate space for your ceremony?
- Does it have room for a dance floor?
If you have answered all these questions, you can start talking with a few venues. Schedule a time to tour the venue and have a consultation.
Then talk to them about what they include, extra services, restrictions, and more. Some venues may prohibit confetti, rice, lit candles, or catering outside their vendor list.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to ask questions, dig deeper, and explore all your options. Planning well enough in advance will help ensure the spot you want isn’t taken while you decide.
But once you settle on a venue, date, time, and price, the fun part of wedding planning can begin. You can find lots of budget wedding venues in Salt Lake with the things that you want. Happy planning!
For more planning tips, check out our latest article on why you should skip a reception line and what you can do instead.
Love, Laurel
