Backyard Wedding Ideas and Planning Tips

Are you looking for some backyard wedding ideas? If so, you can find ideas here and tips that will help you figure out all of the details you will need to consider when planning a backyard wedding.

The information here will help you prepare for all you need to think about in your planning.

Planning a backyard wedding can be a lot more time consuming on your part rather than renting a reception hall but only you can decide if the benefits will outway your time. (And, if you can afford to, hire a wedding planner thay can help create more backyard wedding ideas and... they can help plan it for you too!)

Backyard Wedding Ideas

Are you looking for backyard wedding ideas to help save you money or do you have a desire to be wed at your families home?

Either way, the backyard wedding ideas and tips here can help you decide if a backyard wedding is for you.

Have your ceremony poolside.
Get married in a gazebo or under a wedding arch
Get wed on a large dock overlooking a pond
Plan an early evening wedding and light the place up with white christmas lights, hanging lanterns and candle votives.
Create a themed wedding like a Hawaiian Luau, Western or Garden theme wedding

Garden Wedding Favors - Create a gorgeous glowing garden on your reception tables.

Backyard Wedding Planning Tips

There are so many things to consider when planning out your backyard wedding idea. We will take a look at them here.

First of all, will you be married in the backyard?

You will need to talk with your officiant (the person who will marry you) to see if they can perform the ceremony in your yard. If you are using an officiant not related to a church this shouldn't be an issue. If you are using a pastor, priest, etc... they may not be able to officiant at your home.

Also, if you are planning on being wed in the backyard it is best to have a back up plan. If the weather turns out bad the day of your wedding is there an indoor location for all of your guests for the ceremony? You could offer a secondary location in the event of bad weather. Include this in your invitations. If you do have a minister or priest who will be officiating you should be able to coordinate with them to use the church if needed.

How large will your guest list be?

There are several things to think about here. Will everyone fit in your yard? Is there room enough to place tables, chairs, tent(s) and people in your yard? You should have a tent area with the food under it and it works as a back up area in case of bad weather. Guests can squeeze into the tent if necessary.

Depending on the number of guests you have, you may need to rent several port-a-potties. You also may want to consider an area to “freshen up”. You can set up a cute table somewhere off to the side, out of the way of everything else. Place a dozen or so matching pitchers with water on one end of the table and baskets of hand towels and face cloths next to those. Include a basket with packets of hand wipes as well and or small bottles of hand sanitizer. Make sure you display a flower vase on the table so it looks inviting and a small sign identifying the area would be perfect. You could call it the “Freshen-Up Station” or something along those lines. Be sure to have someone check the supplies and water from time to time so nothing runs out.

Can you accommodate all of the parking?

Still thinking about how many guests you will have, you will need to think about where everyone will park. Can you utilize any areas at your neighbors? Is there a large parking lot nearby that can be utilized, with permission of course. You could pay someone to be a “taxi” service for guests. If expense is not too much you could hire a limo service and have them pick up and drop off guests from a designated parking area. Your guests would love it! You would need to have an attendant stay at the parking area to assist guests to tell them the limo would return momentarily.

Did you consider everything you will need to rent?

Start a list. As mentioned earlier, you will need chairs for every guest. Tables for dinner guests to sit at, tables for food and beverage set up, one for the cake, one for gifts unless you have another area planned for a money box and gift area, and your head table. What about alcohol? Will you be serving drinks? You will need to have an area to serve this from. You can check on the rental of a bar style unit.

Will you be catering the food or is family preparing this?

You need to determine if you need to rent cooking supplies, hot servers, coffee pots, etc... You will also need table linens (at least for the food and cake table). You can rent linens or buy some. Plates, silverware, cups and glasses will also be needed. You could use heavy duty paper plates and plastic silverware. Do you want plastic cups or glass? Will you be having a toast. You may, at least, want champagne glasses for the wedding party and parents and toasting flutes, like this lily set, for the bride and groom.

Next you will need to decide on backyard wedding decorations. You can rent some of these also. You can rent chair jackets or covers, if not for the entire set of chairs they would look nice on the wedding parties chairs at your head table. Many brides prefer to use them on all of the chairs used during the ceremony.

Are you having a backyard wedding ceremony?

If so, you can consider renting a gazebo, arch, columns or lattice panels. You can find these at your local rental store and sometimes florists.

These things look so beautiful when decorated with flowers, bows and a sheer fabric like tulle or organza.

A wedding aisle runner which is what the bride would walk down to get to the ceremony spot also looks very nice. These different decorations will add to the look of the ceremony and help to make beautiful wedding day photographs that you will cherish forever.

Personalized Aisle Runners - Celebrations Custom Wedding Aisle Runner

Your florist can help with additional backyard wedding ideas as for your decorations. Once you find a florist talk to them about ideas on how they can help decorate the ceremony area and the rest of the back yard. Or go to your local garden center if you or more of a do-it-yourself person and get some ideas from there.

Personally, I love the look of shepherd’s hooks with a hanging lantern or basket of flowers on it and bows attached to the top part of the hook. Planters with flowers or ferns that hang down also look very nice.

I also love having large bows or small flower arrangements hanging on the sides of the chairs that line the aisle.

Backyard Wedding Ideas

Want to add romance?

In lieu of a wedding runner or wedding carpet you could have a flower girl carrying a Love Bird Flower Girl Basket from which she could throw down handfuls of rose petals in the area where you will walk to the ceremony site.

What says romance more than rose petals?

There are a limitless number of backyard wedding ideas that you can do. I hope that we have helped to spark an idea for you and bring to attention all of the areas that you will need to focus on if planning a backyard wedding. For additional information you may want to consider hiring a wedding coordinator. They can help you with all of the details of your wedding day.

Good luck and enjoy your wedding!

Here are some other great items you might like for decorating your outdoor wedding.

I just love round paper lanterns. They add a lot of color and are perfect to hang from the trees.

Round Paper Lanterns