Choosing to have a backyard wedding can be an opportunity to make your big day intimate and personalized. But, planning a backyard wedding can also be challenging. For tips and tricks, we turned to event planner Danielle Rothweiler. Below, she provides everything from decor inspiration to budget advice. Read on to learn more about affordable ways to turn your backyard into a romantic setting for your wedding day.
First, let’s talk about why backyard weddings have become a trend. When Covid-19 hit, weddings everywhere got cancelled and postponed. Back in 2020, there was a strong push towards the micro-wedding trend. Couples were looking to have an intimate wedding, instead of inviting 300 guests.
Some couples are still opting for smaller, more personalized weddings either at their home or a relative’s home. There is a lot that goes into planning a wedding off-site and outside of a banquet hall that does this every weekend. There are things that couples don’t think of because they’ve never done this before and it’s outside the norm. Here are 12 mistakes that Danielle has seen couples make when planning a backyard wedding, so you can avoid them.
Mistake 1: Skipping a Site Visit with Vendors
A lack of space, an uneven ground and more issues can make it pretty difficult to host a wedding at home.
When you host a backyard wedding, there needs to be room for tenting. Tenting includes the reception area, but you also need options for other parts of the wedding day, as well as for the catering staff that will likely request a cooking tent.
In order to figure out how much tent you actually need, a site visit with a professional company is necessary so they can put together a proposal. Before that site visit however, you should find out what your caterer will need. An entire tent proposal can go out the window if you go back to them with catering needs. Because of that, you should also have potential caterers come out for a site visit to scout out locations to make and prep food.
Once you have these major vendors figured out, you can use the proposal your tent company put together to figure out your floor plan. Start with deciding where the dance floor will be in order to design where the guest tables and everything else will end up.
Mistake 2: Forgetting That This is a Wedding, Not a BBQ.
One thing that tends to happen with backyard weddings, is that they are treated like they are less special than a formal or traditional wedding. Just because you’re hosting at your home, doesn’t mean the formalities need to disappear. I suggest that you still send out proper invitations that reflect your style and wedding vibe. The bottom line is, you still need RSVP details from your guests no matter where you get married.
Wedding invitations give guests a sneak peek into what they should expect at the wedding.
Before you select wedding invitations though, decide what the dress code will be. Another common mistake backyard wedding couples make is making the dress code super upscale. The driving force behind any wedding dress code is the wardrobe of the couple. For any brides feeling pressured to wear a super traditional wedding gown, trust me, you do not have to do that.
Mistake 3: Letting Parking Be an Afterthought
One of the biggest mistakes couples make when planning their backyard wedding, is totally forgetting about parking. Where will your guests park their cars?
Even with a small guest count, there may not be enough room on your street for guests to leave their cars. Figuring out where parking will be should be part of the initial wedding planning conversations.
Adding these details in with your wedding website or invitations is a great idea, but don’t forget about adding signage on the actual wedding day.
On the flip side, it’s a good idea to make it very clear what areas are off limits with a “no parking” sign.
Mistake 4: Letting Your Guests Get Bored
In addition to dancing, you’ll also want plenty of fun things to incorporate into your backyard wedding.
Lawn games have been popular for outdoor weddings for years now, but no game has been more popular than cornhole. And who doesn’t love Jenga? Even with the smallest backyard, there is probably plenty of room for a giant Jenga set on your wedding day. Break out a few Sharpies and let guests leave their well wishes on the blocks they pull out, and it doubles as a guest book!
Mistake 5: Leaving Your Guests in the Dark…the Literal Dark
Backyard lighting is a must for two reasons…The first reason is because it looks pretty cool and it’s an inexpensive way to level up the whole backyard look. The second reason is so that you can see where you’re going.
String lights will take your backyard from basic to beautiful, and they are super affordable too! You can hang them from existing trees or other structures and essentially create any look you want.
Mistake 6: Allowing Your Guests to Play Musical Chairs
If you’re hosting a backyard wedding with multiple tables, then go with a simple seating chart. If you’d prefer to go with escort cards instead of a seating chart, keep the display simple.
For backyard weddings with smaller guest counts, it’s entirely possible to just use one table. Since all of your guests will be sitting together, they only need to know which chair to sit in. In that case, you can direct them to their spots with beautiful place cards.
7: Overdoing the Backyard Decor
There are countless different ways to set up for a backyard wedding. But whether you’re having a backyard wedding for 200 guests or 20, it’s the space you’re using and your style that should inspire the design and decorations.
You might not want to spend a ton of money on ceremony flowers, or maybe you just don’t have the space for a big arbor. As your guests arrive, show them the way to go with a custom directional sign. Many people love signs like these, and it’s a really simple piece of decor that makes a huge impact. Take your backyard wedding to the next level by adding floral hoops to your tent ceiling. Super easy to assemble, this is a great way to make your backyard wedding special for a really low cost.
8: Forgetting to Coordinate Special Moments or Simple Gestures
The worst part of being outdoors (at least for me) are the bug bites. It’s a great idea to offer your guests their own personal bug spray. Odds are they won’t think to put it on before coming to your wedding, and it’s a super sweet gesture to make.
Dreaming of that sparkler exit ? Did you know that many private venues don’t allow sparklers like these? Luckily for you, it’s your backyard, so you get to make the rules! It’s important to have enough sparklers for the people who will be in the picture, plus a few extra. If your guest count is under 20, feel free to give everyone attending their own stick of pretty fire. Set up the sparklers in advance as part of your backyard wedding decor. Oh, and professional tip…keep two buckets of sand nearby to extinguish the sparkles when they’re all done. No one wants to see their backyard wedding go up in smoke at the end of the day!
9: Letting Guests Play Bartender
Just because it’s your house, your rules, doesn’t mean you need to allow your friends and family to grab their own drinks. Things can get disorganized when guests start playing bartender. Let licensed bartenders handle all of the drink orders. Also, little details can make a big impact when it comes to wedding design, which is why I love custom cocktail napkins. Give your guests plenty to talk about with fun facts about the two of you and your love story.
10: Ignoring The Inevitable Foot Problems
With a backyard wedding, you’re basically asking guests to walk through grass, dirt, and whatever else you’ve got going on back there. Most guests realize this, but also realize this isn’t an appropriate occasion to wear sneakers or boots. On the other hand, you really don’t want guests to make the choice between their shoes or no shoes. From stepping on a piece of glass to the fact that it just looks unappealing.
You can grab flip flops and add your personal wedding details to them. It’s an easy and cheap way for you to provide this alternative footwear option to all of your guests.
Another great way to save the heels of your female guests is with heel protectors. You may have seen these at multiple weddings, and maybe even put them on the ends of your heels. The clear protectors go right on to the end of the heels and will keep guests from sinking into the grass for the whole wedding day.
11: Underestimating How Many Chairs You Need
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen backyard wedding couples make is trying to cut corners by only having one set of chairs. Somehow, many couples think that they can use the ceremony chairs for their reception. That is never a good idea. First and foremost, chairs need to be set up in any location where guests will be sitting. If you don’t provide a second set of chairs, then there are only two ways to get those ceremony chairs to the reception space. You can either ask your wedding guests to move their chairs from the ceremony to the reception, or you can hire a staffing company to take care of it.
The answer is to simply rent two sets of chairs: one set for the ceremony, and one set for the reception. If you’re having a cocktail hour of any type, be sure to offer some alternative style seating. You can easily create a lounge area in your backyard that will double as seating and wedding day decor. Save the chairs for the ceremony and reception, and let your guests relax in between.
12: Forgetting to Consider The “Boring” Stuff
Here are a few boring things you’ll want to keep in mind for your backyard wedding:
- You’ll need enough electricity for anyone using power. This includes your music vendor, your caterer, and any other vendor that will need to plug stuff in. The best way to figure this out is by asking every vendor what their electrical needs are and going from there. It could result in you needing a generator, so don’t leave this until the last minute.
- Where your water source is will matter to your caterer and your bathroom trailer vendor if you are using one. And, you probably should use one if your guest count is over 15 people. After all, your vendors will need to use the restrooms throughout the night too.
- You need to also figure out if you need any permits for the wedding day. Where will your guests park and is that allowed on your street? What is the noise ordinance rule and what time does the music need to go off? If you’re putting up a tent, find out what permits are needed for that as well.
These are some of the biggest backyard wedding mistakes I’ve seen made as a wedding planner. There are a lot of details that go into planning an at-home wedding, but hopefully you now know what mistakes to avoid.
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