Reception in a Tent

We are so excited to get married outside in Montana this August. Going to Montana during the summer is vacation time. It's warm (if not hot), dry (this is a good thing from a Seattleite's perspective), sunny and just laid-back and relaxing. Our wedding will be particularly special, since it will be right at home in the backyard.

With that comes a lot of good things... but there are also many added challenges. For example...

• Every. Single. Thing. Has to be rented/built/borrowed/etc. We are talking the basics, like tables and chairs and stuff like that--the obvious stuff. But then add plates, glasses, and silverware. And salt and pepper shakers and water carafes. And like 100 more items that would typically be provided by a traditional venue.
• You have to provide super basic facilities that you normally wouldn't have to think about, like electricity and lights, and whether there are enough bathrooms. And where does the bartender keep the ice? And where does the caterer wash the dishes and get water?
• You need to have a grassy area big enough to accommodate a HUGE tent. That's hard to come by. Sometimes you have to just grow more grass.
• The weather cannot be controlled. So, while I really want to put drape tulle from the perimeter of the tent down to the ground (think curtains), we might have to consider putting up sidewalls if it gets windy in order to keep all the candles from blowing out.
• It's expensive.
• It's literally a blank, white shell. There isn't any ambiance to work with. You have to add everything to it.

On the other hand...

• It's a blank, white shell. You can do whatever you want with a tent.
• You can start decorating as soon as it's assembled; you don't have to wait until 12:00 pm on the day of the wedding, or adhere to other venue-imposed restrictions.
• There is nothing better than being outdoor for an evening celebration, with twinkling lights, crisp night-time air and the beautiful outdoors as the background.
• You can put it wherever you want to. Well, wherever you want to where it will fit.
• Tents can be so gorgeous... check these out:

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My favorite style is like this one, a Sperry tent. It's made out of sail cloth.

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Is a tent worth all of the hassle? Or do you think hotels sound like a pretty good deal--with their in-house coordinator, catering, bar, dance floor, flatware, china, glassware, etc.?