Backyard wedding - need advice!

My sister-in-law had her ceremony and her reception in her backyard and from what she said it cost her the same if not more to use her own yard rather than a venue. She had roughly 50 people I believe. You also have to make sure your neighbors are okay with cars taking up a lot of room and the loud noise from a wedding reception.

View Quoted Comment Well it would only be about 30 people, assuming every single person shows up. And our neighbors are constantly blasting music so I don’t think they’d care 😂 I’ll make sure to let them know though. Plus we probably wouldn’t be playing it that loud as it’ll be more of a hang out, eat, drink, play games then actual dancing. Plus we have plenty of space in our front yard for parking 😊

You also have to rent tables, chairs, plates, linens, dance floor, server staff, sound equipment, etc. I second Veronica. Backyard weddings usually end up costing just as much as a venue or even more. Plus the stress of having to coordinate all of those rentals. I’d suggest finding an all inclusive venue. Ours came with tables, chairs, linens, silverware, dance floor, bathrooms, security, the drinks, wait staff, and because they owned a restaurant we got half off the venue fee for choosing to use their food.

It really depends on the event you are planning on having. If you are going to do a full on formal wedding with rented tables, linens, plates, glassware, cutlery, a dj,dance floor, tents ect a backyard wedding can quickly become expensive and a headache. It can also be alot of wear and tear on your backyard. However if you are going for a more casual laid back bbq type party with disposable plates , plasticware, a bluetooth speaker for music, and a hodge podge of folding chairs and card table it can be doable especially if you have under 30 people. Good luck to you!

I second what everyone else has said! Although I have been to 1 backyard wedding and enjoyed it, I have 3 friends who had them and every single one said the work + cost was not worth it. I know it doesn't seem like this should be the case only having 30 people max, but it really DOES add up. You could consider instead renting out a private room at a restaurant?

Backyard weddings are more expensive than a parks department owned venue if you have more than 5-10 guests. You have to bring in tables, chairs, portable restrooms, plus other rentals. Not everyone has flat property. Unless there are no neighbors, you will have to warn them that they are hosting a party and will have music playing and need their parking areas.

View Quoted Comment My neighbors blast music every other weekend, and we don’t plan on being that loud so they’ll be okay. And yes I know I’ll have to rent tables/chairs and all the rest.

View Quoted Comment We’re not doing a formal event. We aren’t formal people so this feels perfect for us and our families. We also don’t have any dancers in the family, it’ll mostly be people hanging out, eating, drinking, and playing games. We aren’t dancers and neither is the fam. We also plan on having a DOC to help everything go by smoothly.

Congrats! Only you can answer your own question 😉 I’ve been to a few backyard weddings… 1 had the formality of a full blown cookie cutter reception… the family spent more than they would have with a traditional setting but they did exactly what they wanted. A couple of others I went to were closer to a traditional backyard bbq / pool party / family get together / graduation party / reunion / block party vibe. And they were equally as awesome and significantly cheaper and what the couples wanted. People freak out when someone suggests a backyard reception - I continue to not understand the immediate negativity…. You know the setting… you know the resources you would have available…. You know your vision…. I’m sure you know how to price any rentals etc… you might want. Good luck with the decision making and kudos for keeping finances in mind👍

View Quoted Comment It’s not gonna cost the same as a venue. I’ve already done the math and it’s gonna be drastically lower if we do a backyard wedding. And there are really no cheap (or close) wedding venues in my area. The cheapest is $3000 not including deposit. And our budget is 5,000.

View Quoted Comment For real! And I think some people didn’t read my entire forum because I literally said we would pay for rentals and we have the space for parking and we have two bathrooms and some of the commenters must’ve missed that part. And it’s not gonna be formal. It’ll be casual and we plan on having a DOC. And it’s 30 people. That’s not a lot at all lol. Anyway, we’re probably gonna go for the backyard wedding because it’s more intimate and more memorable. Thanks for the input 💕

I had a friend who had a backyard wedding, and it was lovely! It sounds like you know what type of event you're looking at, the amount of work that will be involved to get the space ready, and you've already priced things out to meet that expectation, so you know what you're getting yourself into. I'll add to just make sure you have a contingency plan you'd be comfortable with in case the weather doesn't cooperate. When I had my graduation party (way back in the day lol), we had plenty of space outside, but there would have been no way to accommodate everyone inside if it had rained.

View Quoted Comment We are really thinking about it. The more money saved the better, and our backyard is really cute already so with some decor it’ll look fabulous. And we’ll get tents in case it rains!

Let us know how the costs stack up for that amount of people! I'd be curious. I do know for bigger crowds, the expense of the backyard wedding is as much as a venue, once everything is factored in.

I would get quotes from caterers… also consider who will clear plates and empty overflowing garbages, etc? The food can be the most expensive item! Good luck

Hi! I just wanted to chime in that we're also planning for a small, intimate, backyard wedding! We, too, want to keep things small and simple and our budget is roughly the same as yours. The venue rentals alone in my area are a minimum of $2,500 (not including food, linens, etc). I've quoted a few caterers in the area and without servers, it's less than half the cost of just the venue space alone.

I think a lot of people think of a very traditional reception situation (plated meals w/ servers, big, loud dance, 100+ guests) and don't realize that weddings can look different from couple to couple. One couple may absolutely cringe at the idea of their guests clearing their own plate, while another couple may know that their family and friends are there to celebrate their loved ones, and will be more than happy to clear their own plates and offer to help with trash and cleanup.

Good luck! I hope everything works out (for both of us!!)