Backyard ceremony

Hello Pang - My husband and I did something similar, but I would still call my wedding fairly traditional. We decreased the guest list from 250 to 20, but we still had some traditional elements (wedding gown, bouquet, father walking me down the aisle, dinner reception, first dance, wedding cake and cake cutting). It was a blast and we're glad I went this route. We cut out our wedding party (since the guest list was so small and only included family) and the DJ, but we had everything else I wanted. If you want to have a smaller wedding go for it, but don't cheat yourself from having the wedding experience you want (even with a smaller guest list).

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I guess you're right about the wedding experience. I think that's my biggest concern. I didn't want to cheat myself but at the same time I feel it's a bit silly to be spending all that $$. But since I already have my gown, I'll definitely will be wearing that. My parent's will not attend due to COVID and being high risk. I'm still debating if I want to do the whole walking the aisle thing or not. Which I'm sure my brother wouldn't hesitate walking me down. I think I may cut out my wedding party as well. I just feel guilty that all of them have already bought the dresses. We will have cake, drinks, and small finger foods. I'm not sure how we'll work out the first dance. Whether we do it after the ceremony or at the restaurant. There's so many elements that needs to be worked out. Music. Chairs. Tables. Tent? This stresses me out. haha

View Quoted Comment I will say, I probably spent more money than the average 20 person wedding, but I was willing to do it because (1) it was the cost of what I wanted and (2) it was still much less expensive than my original 250 person wedding. Just figure out what you want to do (and won’t look back with regrets) and go from there. We knew we were not willing to do a small wedding and bigger one later, so we went all in on the small one — and I have no regrets.


I’m sorry your parents won’t be able to make it, but I definitely understand. Consider checking out a livestream option if you haven’t already.
Now, we made the call to change our wedding before the wedding party bought their outfits so I may have included them under those circumstances (you may want to consider this unless you are going to reimburse them for their expenses). As for music, create Spotify playlists on their premium option and get a bluetooth speaker. For the first dance, see if the restaurant has a private room and you can do a “grand” entrance that flows into the first dance and then dinner. As for chairs, tables and tents, figure out the look you’re going for and start reaching out to party rental businesses for quotes. You got this — one step and task at a time.

Hi Pang! I think your plans sound wonderful!!

For your first dance I'd see what your restaurant space looks like first! If there's somewhere you're able to rent a private room, then doing your first dance there would be lovely!

Or you can do it after the ceremony in your backyard! I'd finish the ceremony, do a group toast, and then your 1st dance!

Here are a few helpful discussions I found from other couples planning a backyard ceremony:

Minimony ideas

Backyard Ceremony & Reception timeline

Cancelling wedding and getting married in the backyard?