Texas-Dallas and Ft. Worth

Venue for reception vs. backyard DIY

I am new to the DFW message boards. My fiancé and I are on a tight budget and we’re paying nearly everything on our own. We found a venue for the reception in Denton and booked it, but we haven't found a venue for the ceremony. I thought we had a place lined up but it ended up being out of our budget. I’ve heard that having a DIY wedding can sometimes be as much as renting a venue because of all the miscellaneous costs. My fiancé’s family has been gracious enough to offer to host the reception in their backyard. I am trying to figure out if it would be cheaper for a DIY backyard reception or to rent a venue. We want to have the reception early on St. Patrick's Day. Any advice would be appreciated.Thanks. 

Re: Venue for reception vs. backyard DIY

  • courtski2004courtski2004 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Hi! Welcome!
    DIY can be done to accomodate any budget, it just depends on what you are willing to compromise especially if you are going to forego an indoor ceremony/reception for outdoor and put in the extra work to make it happen. I am confused though--you already have the reception venue but your FIL's offered their backyard instead--would you also be using the backyard for the ceremony as well? Would you be in danger of losing your deposit @ the already booked venue?
    As far as ceremony venues, are you looking for a traditional church ceremony?
  • edited December 2011
    What venue have you reserved and how much of a deposit have you already put down?  Does that venue allow you to bring in a caterer or require to purchase food through them?  If so, how much is the cost per person?  

    For the ceremony, will you also be able to have that in the backyard or will you need another venue?

    I think you should probably sit down and itemize the costs both ways. 
  • fallbride1109fallbride1109 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am on vacation this week, but I have a couple of cool DIY backyard wedding blogs saved at work that I can share with you if you are interested.
    ETA:  I found one of them
    http://www.younghouselove.com/wedding-album/

    The thing about the backyard thing is all the things you have to have:  enough bathrooms, ample parking, all the serviceware/tableware/linens, tents, heaters (it can still be pretty cool here in March), flooring, chairs, etc.  You get the idea.  So it's not as cheap as it may sound initially, plus you have to be sure you can REALLY accommodate everyone, and that means more than just having enough room.

    One of our former Knotties had her reception at her parents' home in California and it was lovely but she's not here anymore.  I have to say--it can be a very beautiful reception, it just takes alot of time and work.
  • edited December 2011
    Oops, I meant to write that the venue for the ceremony is booked. We haven't booked anything for the reception yet.

    Thanks for the responses. Cool
  • BanannaPBanannaP member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I, personally, wouldn't want to have a wedding at a private residence, it just seems like a lot of headache to me. If you're looking to do it early on a weekday, you might consider a restaurant. Hannah's definitely comes to mind, but there are others of course.
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