The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Backyard Wedding

A backyard wedding is ideal for couples who need a uniquely sentimental feel, like to be outdoors, or want their dream wedding on a budget. There are such a lot of advantages to a backyard wedding–including cost and convenience–but with those advantages come just a few extra details you have to take into accout and situations you have to plan for.

To maintain you on the right track, we’ve compiled this comprehensive guide with every little thing you have to find out about planning a backyard wedding, from logistics to design.

Advantages of a Backyard Wedding

Furry Friends Are Invited

A backyard wedding gives you the proper excuse to incorporate your pets in your big day! You don’t have to clear it with a venue or pay a deposit, your furry friend doesn’t need to emphasize over travel, they usually can head back inside after they’re finished partying together with your guests.

Image by Map + Compass Photography

Money Can Be Saved

While you resolve to have a backyard wedding at a member of the family’s or friend’s home, you robotically slash your wedding budget dramatically since you aren’t paying for a venue, security deposits, per-person fees, and all the opposite hidden charges that associate with it. You too can get monetary savings on decor because you’ll have the natural elements so as to add visual interest. Yes, you’ll likely have to rent almost every little thing else, but those rentals is not going to outweigh the price of a venue.

Dates Are Flexible

This might seem to be a small thing but having complete freedom to decide on a date that works best for you and your fiance is definitely an enormous good thing about a backyard wedding. It’s especially helpful if you desire to get married during peak wedding season when venues book up not less than a 12 months prematurely.

You Can Have An Intimate Guests List

Because a backyard wedding tends to be naturally more intimate than a wedding at a standard venue, that is the proper reason to maintain your guest list small. Should you’re nervous about how your families will react to a small guest list, remind them that space is the major limiting consider your decision. Unless you’re getting married within the backyard of a multi-acre mansion, there simply won’t be enough space to accommodate an enormous guest list. (But, really, you don’t have to feel guilty about your wedding guest list, irrespective of where you select to tie the knot.)

Really helpful reading: The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Micro Wedding

Sentimental Aspects

There may be nothing like saying “I do” within the backyard where you played as a toddler or preparing within the room where you grew up. The sentimental factor of a backyard wedding can’t be recreated at another venue and shouldn’t be underestimated. You and your guests will feel more comfortable in an area that seems like home and it’s going to be a special memory your loved ones and friends will cherish ceaselessly.

Image by Carmelisse Photography

Logistics of Backyard Weddings

Power And Electrical

Between the additional lighting, the sound system, and the food prep equipment, you’re going to be using lots more power than most homes can handle. To make sure you don’t blow a fuse or put the complete neighborhood susceptible to an outage, rent generators to accommodate the additional power you’ll need.

After you check together with your caterer to search out out what equipment they’ll be using and your DJ to learn the way much power their setup needs, ask your wedding planner and the generator rental company for assist in selecting the facility sources that may suit your needs.

Restrooms

In case your guest list is larger than 20 people, you have to to offer additional toilet facilities. There are such a lot of options for upscale portable toilet trailers that provide a snug experience, including lighting, mirrors, sinks, and–most significantly– more room than traditional port-o-potties. You’ll be able to even add a private touch by adding a small amenities kit to every bathroom with breath fresheners, Band-Aids, hand sanitizer, cotton balls, and safety pins.

Trust us, this may save loads of headaches since you won’t have everyone walking through the home and also you won’t need to fix an over-used bathroom system.

Yard Maintenance And Setup

You’ll wish to plan yard maintenance prematurely to offer plants time to fill out, flowers to bloom, and space to be cleared, if obligatory. You would possibly even consider hiring a landscaper to deal with all of the design and maintenance so it’s one less thing in your to-do list. On the very least, you’ll have to cut the grass just a few days before the marriage.

One thing you absolutely can’t forget to examine is that the bottom is level enough for chairs, tables, and a dance floor. Should you’re renting a tent, their skilled team will have the ability to examine and let you understand in the event that they have to lay a foundation so the dance floor is level. Should you’re not renting a tent, a landscaper should have the ability to examine.

Insurance

As much as you don’t wish to take into consideration anything bad happening in your big day, it’s higher to be secure than sorry if an accident does occur. Contact your homeowner’s insurance to see what is roofed, comparable to property damage inside or outside the home. Then contact your vendors to search out out what insurance they carry. You might have to buy supplemental insurance, but your vendors’ insurance may also provide enough coverage for certain areas–comparable to bartenders.

Really helpful reading: Every part You Have to Know About Wedding Insurance

Permits

Before you get too far into booking vendors, you will need to check together with your city officials to search out out should you need permits to host a big party at your private home. There could be noise ordinances, fire codes, health department regulations, and zoning issues that you just don’t wish to violate.

In some cases, your vendors might have to file additional paperwork, so be sure you include your wedding planner in any meetings with or emails from the town clerk’s office. Your planner should either have the ability to coordinate with the vendors to file the paperwork themselves (normally for an extra fee) or file the paperwork for you.

Image by Josh Olson Weddings

Neighbors

A month or two before your wedding, notify your neighbors of your wedding plans. It will give them loads of time to plan ahead, rearrange any plans, or plan an evening away. Give them as many details as possible, comparable to the precise time of your ceremony–in order that they know once you’ll need some extra quiet time–and allow them to know where your guests plan to park in case they’ve concerns about street parking.

Should you’re going to inform your neighbors in person, we recommend also giving them a written schedule in order that they have all the main points for the day of. You possibly can even include a small gift, comparable to a pair of earplugs, as a token of appreciation for his or her patience. Slightly consideration will go a great distance in keeping everyone completely happy.

Parking

While you’re checking on permits, also check the principles for street parking in your neighborhood. Some communities have certain times that street parking is just not allowed and even prohibit overnight parking. If that’s the case–otherwise you don’t have enough street parking–consider hiring a valet service to park the cars at a close-by open lot. Just be sure you tell guests ahead of time in order that they don’t leave valuables of their cars that you could possibly be held responsible for.

Clean-Up

That is one of the essential details to take into accout when planning your space and your rentals. A bunch of 20+ people will produce loads of trash over a complete day, so that you’ll have to rent loads of trash and recycling bins to gather all of it. Your caterer might even deal with emptying the bins throughout the day, so ask if that’s a service they provide. If not, it is advisable to designate or hire someone to watch the bins in order that they don’t get too full and cause an unpleasant sight or smell.

Available Space

Couples often think that hosting in a backyard will change their guest list dramatically. That’s not at all times the case. Whether you’re seeking to increase your guest count or just remove the restrictions that physical guests can provide, virtual weddings are solution. Our friends at Lovecast App have made it seriously easy.

Really helpful reading: How To Host An Outstanding Virtual Wedding

Plan B

Weather happens, so it’s best to have a plan B in case it rains or is unseasonably hot or cold. With enough planning, your plan B will be just as incredible as plan A. If your home is large enough, plan to maneuver the party inside.

Should you’d reasonably stay outdoors, put a hold on a tent early in order that it’s able to be picked up in case you would like it. When using the tent, be certain that the edges are completely covered to guard against the rain, herald small fans to beat the warmth, or rent propane heaters to maintain your guests warm. The hope is that you just don’t need to go to plan B, however it’s best to have a plan in place ahead of time so that you’re not scrambling on the last minute.

Backyard Wedding Timeline Suggestions

There are just a few things to take into accout when planning a timeline for a backyard wedding. First, and most significantly, you desire to work around the sunshine. Attempt to avoid having your ceremony through the harshest light to make sure you get beautiful photos.

Second, because guests won’t be traveling between events, you desire to ensure there isn’t any downtime. You would possibly consider doing all of your photos before the ceremony so you possibly can go straight to cocktails with everyone else. But, should you’d reasonably wait, you can too plan an activity or set out yard games during cocktail hour to maintain them occupied until you wind up.

Lastly, you desire to be considerate of your neighbors. You would possibly have to cut your party short–or ask everyone to move out to an after-party at a bar–so that you’re not keeping your neighbors awake until the early morning hours.

Really helpful Reading: 10 Creative After Party Ideas

Image by Rosalinda Olivares

Backyard Wedding Space Planning Suggestions

Ceremony

Whether your backyard is small or sprawling, you’ll wish to pay particular attention to where you arrange your ceremony. Large trees make for the proper backdrop and supply shade from harsh sunlight. If you desire to make the home a focus, you could possibly arrange your ceremony so that you, your fiancé, and the officiant are standing on the back porch with all of your guests on the lawn, facing you.

Consider that, should you’re getting married in warm months, you’ll wish to keep your guests’ chairs out of direct sunlight before the ceremony or, ideally, select a shaded spot to establish chairs. Should you’re getting married in cooler months, you may consider establishing your ceremony in a non-shaded spot so that you and your guests can enjoy some natural warmth.

Reception

Tents are perfect for designating a reception space in a backyard and make space planning a breeze. Before you rent a tent, work together with your wedding planner to choose what number of tables and food/drink serving stations you would like and the way large your dance floor ought to be. You don’t wish to overcrowd the space and you desire to ensure your guests have loads of space to bounce–even when which means you’ll have to move tables/chairs at certain points of the day.

Because your reception may even include food and drinks, your caterer and bartender should visit the space in order that they can let you understand what extra equipment they’ll be bringing and the way much space they’ll need. In case your kitchen isn’t large enough, you may need to establish one other food prep area, which is something you’ll have to account for when planning your space.

Image by Victoria Carlson Photography

Backyard Wedding Decor And Design Inspiration

Selecting Your Colours

Top-of-the-line parts of getting an outside wedding is that you may have the liberty to decide on any color palette you want. You aren’t restricted by a venue’s decor, colours, or style. Should you love the earthy feel, draw colours from the flowerbeds, grass, and trees in your backyard. You too can go for a bolder look by adding vibrant pops of color in florals, linens, bridesmaid’s dresses, or accent decor.

In case your backyard has distinct architectural elements, select colours that complement and highlight those unique facets of the space. Should you still need somewhat help, we highly recommend creating a marriage mood board to make it easier to get a way of the colours and decor that you just are inclined to lean towards.

Setting the Scene for Your “I Dos”

Your ceremony will likely be the highlight of your day. After you’ve chosen the proper location with either a natural or architectural backdrop, you’ll need to choose whether you desire to frame the space with an arch or artsy backdrop. We recommend ceremony arches and backdrops for each wedding style since it adds dimension and creates an outlined focus, ideal for wedding photos. We can also’t say enough about aisle markers for adding visual interest without an excessive amount of fuss.

Image by  Shari and Mike

Styling Your Reception

We’ve already mentioned that a tent is an ideal solution to designate a reception space. It gives you a solution to hang lights or larger-than-life floral installations, plus it adds texture and depth while providing set boundaries to your tables, dance floor, and serving stations. But, a tent isn’t the one solution to go. There’s something uniquely romantic about dining under the celebs.

Should you’d reasonably keep your backyard wedding reception uncovered, it is advisable to use tall centerpieces that may take up vertical space and hanging decor within the trees to fill out the design. The good thing about an open reception is that you may have more room to unfolded tables and serving stations.

Really helpful reading: The Ultimate Guide to Your Wedding Reception Bar

Planning the Perfect Cocktail Hour

You could be wondering whether it is best to plan a cocktail hour since your guests won’t be leaving your backyard between events, and the reply is yes. The cocktail hour is the proper time to your guests to mingle in a more casual way and allows everyone–including you–to transition from ceremony mode to party mode. Should you plan to take couple portraits and wedding party photos after the ceremony, this can also be an awesome solution to keep your guests entertained whilst you’re away.

Lighting Up the Night

Lighting is certainly one of the simplest and most dramatic ways to create a certain mood to your wedding, especially for a backyard wedding where there may be little to no built-in lighting sources. Twinkle lights or strings of cafe lights within the trees, lanterns with candles, marquee signs, chandeliers, and clusters of votives are all great ways so as to add some romance to your look while providing enough light for you and your guests to party safely. Should you’re interested in how your photos will look in numerous lighting, get inspired by the gorgeous ambient light in these wedding photos.

Preparing for Nature And Weather

While you possibly can’t control nature or the weather, you possibly can prepare to maintain your guests comfortable in all scenarios. Provide insect repellent and sunscreen to your guests to use—and re-apply—as needed. Incorporate citronella candles into your decor to maintain bugs at bay. Set out blankets if it’s going to be chilly or provide hand-held fans to assist guests beat the warmth.

In case your guests will likely be sitting within the sun, consider providing sunglasses in case they forget their very own. If there may be even a slight likelihood of rain, be sure to have loads of umbrellas readily available, as well. The bonus is that, should you’re purchasing items that guests will wish to keep, they’ll double as wedding favors.

Image by Christy Hosking Photography

Rentals Checklist

As with every outdoor event, you’re going to wish to rent loads of items to your backyard wedding. You would possibly find yourself not renting every little thing on this list should you resolve to make use of DIY or repurposed decor and furniture, however it’s an awesome checklist to have handy when you have to double-check that you may have every little thing you would like.

Listed below are the rentals you’ll need for a backyard wedding:

• Ceremony Chairs
• Ceremony Decor
• Tent
• Reception Chairs
• Dinner Tables
• Cocktail Tables
• Ceremony Backdrop
• Serving Tables
• Gifts Table
• Guest Book Table
• Dessert Table
• Bar
• Place Settings
• Linens
• Centerpiece Vases
• Table Decor
• Dance Floor
• Lighting
• Overhead Decor
• Photo Booth
• Food Prep/Storage Equipment
• Generators
• Portable Restrooms
• Trash and recycling bins

And that’s it! Now you might be able to plan the backyard wedding of your dreams. Need to make your backyard wedding special to who you might be as a pair? Try our guide on how one can host a novel wedding!

Image by Georgia Rachael Photography