Backyard ceremony and BBQ after.

catlover30 · June 2015

We are planning on having a very small intimate wedding in August 2016. There will be about 15-20 people with a small wedding party of a best man and a maid of honor. Our budget is about $5000, we are wanting to use our back yard with a tent set up. what does everyone think?

justsie · June 2015

catlover30 said:

We are planning on having a very small intimate wedding in August 2016. There will be about 15-20 people with a small wedding party of a best man and a maid of honor. Our budget is about $5000, we are wanting to use our back yard with a tent set up. what does everyone think?

As long as everyone is hosted properly, a seat for every butt, meal at mealtimes, etc. then that sounds great!

catlover30 · June 2015

We are planning on having beer/wine and wine coolers as well as pop/water and iced tea. I am thinking on catering the BBQ or hiring someone to man the grill. Also we will probably get some fried chicken from the local chicken place as well. Now all I have to figure out is where to rent the tent and tables/chairs ect.

justsie · June 2015

catlover30 said:

We are planning on having beer/wine and wine coolers as well as pop/water and iced tea. I am thinking on catering the BBQ or hiring someone to man the grill. Also we will probably get some fried chicken from the local chicken place as well. Now all I have to figure out is where to rent the tent and tables/chairs ect.

I'd also suggest offering a vegitartian option, this is something that BBQ places often forget about. Even if you don't know anyone who is veg. some people may have a diet restriction.

catlover30 · June 2015

Oh I hadn't thought of that, maybe veggie burgers and a hot side like corn on the cob and maybe baked beans as well as some cold salad options in trays over ice to keep cold. Thanks for the suggestion.

catlover30 · June 2015

scribe95 said:

I think it's fine. I bet you spend far less than $5,000 for that setup.

Yes I think so too, there may be some accomodation expenses for myself and FI for the couple days after the wedding. Thinking of doing a mini-moon at a resort about 3 hours away or spend the week at our RV. Not sure on those details yet.

ElcaB · June 2015

I think this sounds great! Beware, you may want to think about hiring a planner. Backyard weddings (even small ones) can be super stressful.

mikenberger · June 2015

Think bathrooms. Where is everybody going to go? And trash.

MesmrEwe · June 2015

20 people - That's a great budget to work with. For that, you should be able to bring someone in to do the food for you without having to lift a finger. As long as you're allowing people inside to use your bathrooms (remember to have plenty of supplies on hand - toilet paper, paper towels, garbage can, etc.), you should be o.k. When it comes to the tent, for a group that small it may even be cheaper for you to purchase a nice one to own yourselves depending on how much space you've got. The end of the season sales, craigslist, or local auctions are a great source for this. Plan a power source for your caterer so they can keep hot foods hot and cold ones cold. Also, depending on how warm it is where you live, you maybe want to plan to have the cake/dessert inside for display instead of outside (it'll also prevent bugs from getting in the icing). Sometimes the local Lion's Club will rent out tables/chairs for parties, check this out. Otherwise, they're a great thing to register for otherwise ask friends/family if they've got folding tables/chairs you can use.

Then ask yourself how you want to do plates/silver/glasses, linens/napkins. There are so many options (I found my china service for 20 at a yard sale for $15 - even if a lot of people were bummed we didn't register, I didn't have a need), napkins/linens from Sam's will run you about $40 and you can keep them instead of what any place will gouge you to rent.. You're really at the perfect size to purchase instead of rent, then resell if you don't want to keep things.

One final idea is make sure to royally chill down the house the night before the wedding. The cooler you have it at the start of the day the easier it'll be to keep up with everyone coming in and going outside.

catlover30 · June 2015

mikenberger said:

Think bathrooms. Where is everybody going to go? And trash.

We have 2 bathrooms in our house that guests can use and we will probably hire someone to help clean up.

catlover30 · June 2015

MesmrEwe said:

20 people - That's a great budget to work with. For that, you should be able to bring someone in to do the food for you without having to lift a finger. As long as you're allowing people inside to use your bathrooms (remember to have plenty of supplies on hand - toilet paper, paper towels, garbage can, etc.), you should be o.k. When it comes to the tent, for a group that small it may even be cheaper for you to purchase a nice one to own yourselves depending on how much space you've got. The end of the season sales, craigslist, or local auctions are a great source for this. Plan a power source for your caterer so they can keep hot foods hot and cold ones cold. Also, depending on how warm it is where you live, you maybe want to plan to have the cake/dessert inside for display instead of outside (it'll also prevent bugs from getting in the icing). Sometimes the local Lion's Club will rent out tables/chairs for parties, check this out. Otherwise, they're a great thing to register for otherwise ask friends/family if they've got folding tables/chairs you can use.
Then ask yourself how you want to do plates/silver/glasses, linens/napkins. There are so many options (I found my china service for 20 at a yard sale for $15 - even if a lot of people were bummed we didn't register, I didn't have a need), napkins/linens from Sam's will run you about $40 and you can keep them instead of what any place will gouge you to rent.. You're really at the perfect size to purchase instead of rent, then resell if you don't want to keep things.
One final idea is make sure to royally chill down the house the night before the wedding. The cooler you have it at the start of the day the easier it'll be to keep up with everyone coming in and going outside.

Thanks for the suggestions, they are all great. We are thinking of having a really casual gathering so I may just go with simple linens and possibly paper plates. We may buy a couple tents like you said because we could use them later for camping ect. We do have a fair amount of space in the back yard so that isn't an issue. I will check out our lions club and see if they have table and chair rentals. We are just starting the planning but I have way more ideas to what we want to do.

Knottie25481578 · June 2015

You might want to consider hiring a food truck, they're popular which means lots of options, especially for BBQ! We're hiring out a taco truck for two hours to feed 50 people for $700. It's a great option because 1. we're also having a backyard wedding, 2. We wouldn't have to worry about setting up/cleaning up and 3. there's lots of food options for a block price

Plus many food trucks have their own drinks/plates/silverware, so you wouldn't need to worry about it!

catlover30 · June 2015

That is an awesome idea, I will look into that for sure.

Knottie91379610 · June 2015

A food truck is an awesome idea! If I had extra funds, I would love to do that!

Anyways, I like what you're doing.

We are also having a backyard reception and we'll be serving barbecue-type food. I believe pulled pork, chicken, spring salad, and homemade potato salad are on the menu!

It really is a great way to save money, it's more flexible, and it's more of an intimate setting. You won't have any venues telling you how to decorate and whatnot, so that's a plus!

Sounds good, girl!

catlover30 · June 2015

Thanks, we like that we can do what we want and have as long of a party as we want the way we want. We just had our back yard landscaped so it looks nice for next year. We have a new deck as well so that's nice too, I wouldn't have thought of doing the wedding in the yard if we didn't do the work because the deck was not safe for anyone to be on. Now we have a wonderful space ad we are lucky enough to live by the ocean so we are thinking of having the ceremony either on the beach or on the warf, both are free so that's a bonus and no need to decorate.

[Deleted User] · June 2015

I think with a guest list of 20 people and a budget of $5,000, you'll have an amazing wedding. I think backyard weddings are great as long as your guest are properly hosted. You have a small enough guest list to make the backyard wedding work very well.

catlover30 · June 2015

I think so too, we are very excited for sure.

Backyard ceremony and BBQ after.

Re: Backyard ceremony and BBQ after.

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