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Think a wedding under a tent in your parents' backyard will save you money? Take a closer look. What you find might surprise you.

“You could easily double the cost of your affair if you have it at home,” warns Carolyn Mason, owner of Grand Affair, an event design and planning firm in Los Angeles, California. That’s because you’d need to rent almost everything that would normally be covered in the cost of booking your affair at a banquet hall or hotel—from tables and chairs to electric generators to trash cans. Of course, a wedding in a private home is lovely and very personal, so if you’re set on doing it, at least know up front what it’s going to cost.

Here are just some of the things you’ll have to bring in—and the average rental fees, based on a 100-guest affair, according to Mason:

• tent: $3,000
• dance floor: $300 to $700
• tables: $120
• chairs: $200 for basic folding chairs; $1,000 for fancier versions
• tableware (plates, flatware, stemware): $1,100
• catering service: $3,000 to $10,000
• cookstove: $200
• chafing dishes: $35 to $75 each
• wait staff of 10: $120 to $250/hour
• power generator to fuel cookstove, coffeemaker, lighting and so on: $2,500
• portable toilets: $100 each for basic units; $3,200 for a four-person luxury trailer.