Backyard weddings???

Samswed

OK, so I have always thought that I would get married outside and have my reception under a tent. I have been researching venues and its just so expensive. I am having a large weddng 250.00+ guests. My mother reccomended just doing it in my grandparents backyard...my grandfather has an amazing garden, his whole backyard is flowers and trees. Of course this would save money on a venue fee but, i am concerned about bathrooms and parking....any of you had to rent bathrooms and isnt it kind of gross to have porta pottys.

Shazzie116

Hey there! I didn't have a backyard wedding, but I think it's such a fantastic idea, and so much more personal. And you really have so many options to really make it a reflection of the two of you.

I think with the money you'd save by having it at "home", you could get the good porta potties. I know it sounds crazy, but they actually make kind of nice porta potties now. I worked a wedding a couple years ago and I was very impressed with the cleanliness and size of the ones they had rented for their at- home wedding. They were even air conditioned and had a really nice air freshener that went every couple minutes to keep it from getting smelly.

As far as parking goes, get friendly with neighbors, maybe encourage people to carpool, and you'll figure it out. Perhaps splurge on a valet to do the parking for you, they can park cars like a game of Tetris, it's amazing!

megandjay

I agree with Shazzie, it is totally doable! I might also recommend a wedding planner (see a post below), because they have contacts and handle things that a venue usually would. Just make sure to shop around and get someone that has experience pulling together an entire event. It may seem like spending more money, but since you won't have any venue coordinator, it will save you so much stress (which is priceless), but they can also usually get you deals.

I have also seen these 'upscale port-a-potties', and agree on the valet. You might also consider if you need a generator, and other equipment depending on how you organize it.

Shazzie116

Another cool thing about that wedding I worked at, they had a kind of "potluck dessert" table where they asked guests to bring a plate of their favorite dessert and a recipe, in addition to their cake. It was a huge Italian wedding, I'm not sure if that's a cultural thing or what, but it was really neat to see so many homemade, special treats, and it was a hit with guests to have so many choices! Like I said, there are so many things you can with an at-home wedding to cut costs and get your guests involved. Think outside the box

jay10

sounds awesome and I think if you had a wedding planner to oversee things it should not be too hard to pull together..........love the idea!

jkepros

I definitely think it's a great idea, and doable, but caution that it's not necessarily as "cost-saving" as you would expect.  A friend of mine was on a budget and so her then-FI and she decided they wanted to have their wedding & reception at their parents house.  It turned out they had to not only rent multiple generators, port-a-potties, dancefloor, all the tables & chairs, lights, etc, but had to pay a landscaper to first LEVEL the backyard (which cost them thousands).  She said everything was so expensive, and they tried to do it all as cheaply as they could.  They rented a school bus to shuttle guests to avoid the parking problems, but that was another expense.  They ended up spending more on their "backyard wedding" than we did on our Newbury Street wedding. 

Now, she loved her wedding, and her dad later sold that house, so she is so glad she got to get married there before he moved, but she said if she could do it again, she'd seriously consider having it elsewhere.  She was overwhelmed by all the work of doing it herself (although that could be reduced with the help of a good DOC), and said they are still paying off wedding debt (over 3 years later).  They thought they were smart to save so much money, but it ended up costing so much more than they estimated/budgeted for.

I absolutely love the idea of a backyard wedding, but would just advise you do your homework first to figure out what the costs might actually be before jumping into it, gung ho! 

jesibel14

I love the idea of backyard weddings.  They are so intimate and can be really gorgeous.  Think paper lanterns, folding, garden chairs, twinkle lights, pretty linens, cute bar set up and fresh, in season flowers.  If my parents had a big backyard, I 100% would have done it at their house (alas...I grew up in Somerville, where even medium backyards are hard to come by).

FI and I hosted our RD in the backyard of our new house and everyone raved about it.  We had 55 people too, so it was a bit of a task to pull off.  However, we were able to do it and keep it under $1500 for all the food/alcohol/tables/chair rentals/linens and decor (paper lanterns, lighting, floral centerpieces, etc).  We even dropped off letters at all of our new neighbor's houses to let them know of the event and to let my brother in law know if it was getting too loud.  

 I think it's totally doable for a wedding.  Ditto Shazzie on the pretty porta poddies.  Those, some valet parking, a cheap DJ to MC/organize the dances and flow and a dance floor, are some key parts that would make it as classy as anywhere else. 

I do highly recommend hiring a coordinator though, or at least a friend you trust to pull it off.  You can def do a lot the night before, but some things need to wait till the day of.  On your big day, you don't want to be setting tables and lighting votives instead getting ready and drinking mimosas with your bridesmaids

Samswed

Thanks all, yes we are interviewing wedding planners now. I have a funny feeling that my dad will just be opening up the check book:) I did research on the "pretty" porta pottys, they are nicer than my bathroom. will keep you updated:)