25 Person Backyard Wedding

I guess it depends on the time of day. This would be great for 2pm or 7pm...not so much for 12 pm or 5 pm. You'd want to stay away from meal times and it'll work out great.

I agree with staying away from meal times! Maybe a 2 PM ceremony, and heavy appetizers? I'd make sure to spray the yard for bugs if you live somewhere where there are a lot of bugs. And if you are on a septic system, rent bathrooms. And have fans/bug spray/suntan lotion for guests!

I have been to one backyard wedding but I think there must have been about 75 guests and it was very elegant. It rained, but she had rented a bunch of large tents so it was fine.

I think backyard events can go awry quickly. Small weddings are lovely though, so if you just want to have a ceremony and then feed people, why not just take everyone out to dinner afterwards? I had my daughters baptism party in the private room of a fancy pizzeria and I think it was like 20/pp for salad, garlic knots, brick oven pizza and unlimited sodas. We brought in a cake from a local bakery, said a few words and everyone was on their merry way. If I am remembering correctly we had about 40 guests, so including cake, tips and decor we probably spent only around 1200 for a 3 hour party.

It will work great if you stay away from mealtimes and people know it will be a short reception. A poster on another board posted beautiful and elegant photos of her champagne/cake reception. I would offer sparkling N/A juice as well - you got this, girl!!!

Frankly I would much rather go to your wedding (short and sweet) than a boat wedding where we are out at sea (or close to it) for many hours.

For 25 people, I think that would be great! I'd also include some other food for people to munch on, like a cheese/cracker/fruit tray, maybe even a chick-fil-a nugget tray or something like that! Nothing huge, but just enough for something similar to a cocktail hour.

Not sure what your backyard looks like, but you should be able to buy or rent an arch/terrace thing for the ceremony for pretty cheap. You could either keep it relaxed, or also rent chairs - you can get basic wooden folding chairs (nicer than plastic or metal) for about $3/pp.