If you or a relative of yours has a dilapidated barn that you want to renovate and use as a venue for your wedding, you should take a peek at the tips below.
Make sure the barn's roof trusses are in immaculate condition
If the barn you're renovating has not undergone even the most basic forms of maintenance over the years, then its roof trusses are probably not in good condition due to a combination of several unresolved issues, like wet rot and temperature fluctuations (which can cause wood to split). If this is the case, then you must take care of these problems and make sure that the trusses are in perfect condition before you set up the barn for the wedding.
First and foremost, you must ensure that the barn is safe for your wedding guests to spend time in. Given that the state of this structure's roof trusses will affect how stable the barn is (as these components help to hold up the roof), you must make sure that any trusses which have deep cracks running through them or that have lost their structural strength after being attacked by wet rot are replaced.
In addition to stabilising the barn's roof, doing this will also ensure that any heavy wedding decor that you choose to hang from the trusses (such as a rustic, wrought iron chandelier or a large set of canopy lights) don't over strain the trusses and cause them to fall onto the dining tables during the wedding celebrations.
If there are trusses that are in good structural condition but that are rough-edged and feature some splintered wood, you should consider sanding and varnishing them. Aside from improving their appearance, doing this will ensure that any helium balloons that you use to decorate the barn will not get popped by these sharp patches when they float up to the trusses and bump into them. You can contact a contractor for helping repairing your roof trusses.
Consider installing some windows (or enlarging the existing ones)
Whilst the spacious and rustic appearance of a typical barn can make it a beautiful setting for a wedding, a barn can often have other features that are not quite as appealing. For example, a lot of barns have either no windows or only have one or two small ones.
If this is the case in your barn, and some of the wedding celebrations will occur during the day, you might want to install a couple of large windows or ask the renovation contractor to enlarge the existing ones. Without any big windows, the barn may, during the day, have a bit of a gloomy atmosphere (even when you have all the artificial lights switched on) and could feel a bit too stuffy if there are not enough windows to ventilate it.
Last but not least, if you're lucky enough to be using a barn that is sitting in the centre of a very scenic farm or garden, then the absence of any large windows could result in your guests not being able to fully enjoy dining and celebrating in this very beautiful setting.
Adding new or larger windows when renovating the barn will not only give this venue a brighter, more beautiful appearance that will make the celebrations held here more enjoyable but will also make the barn useful for other activities after the wedding. For example, the extra light and ventilation that the new or altered windows provide could make this space suitable for use as an office, an exercise space or a craft room.