Asking neighbors not to call the cops for a loud-ish backyard wedding?

Invite them they probably won't show then have someone bring them food/ cake

Go door to door and let your neighbors know, bring some kind of gift; wine, cookies, gift card to a movie, brownies, etc. I would also suggest trying to not be too loud after a reasonable time, like 10 pm in case there are small children near by that they need to get to sleep.

300 isn't really considered intimate. I'm not trying to sound snarky or anything just saying, that maybe inviting a few neighbors, especially if you know them well wouldn't be so bad. If you don't really know them well/at all I would just tell them about it, they're not gonna be offended they weren't invited

Definitely invite them for sure! Your neighbors probably won't stay anyway. Just come get a plate.

So I can speak from experience on this one. In my former life I used to date a guy who threw parties with hundreds of people, they didn't have too many neighbours but I can tell you what they did every time. You go door-to-door and invite them (mean it), tell them you hope it won't be too loud however if it is please enjoy this nice bottle of wine on me. Also explain to them if the noise is too much, please let you know personally before calling the police and you will correct it for them. We never had any police break up any parties over the noise and honestly never had an issue with neighbours.

We had a backyard wedding on a Saturday in a populated neighborhood. We made sure the music was off by eleven. Nobody complained, prob because they recognized it was a one time thing and a happy event. :-)

Katie, I don't think OP Is going to invite the whole neighbourhood to her wedding.

It's like the little bags of candy I've gotten in planes from parents of babies (if you haven't seen those you can find them on pinterest). Give your neighbors a plate of cookies or bread and let them know the date, time, and reason. But it is still within their right to complain--every city has a time limit (usually 9 pm or 11 pm where I've lived) for quiet hours. If you go past that, you may be in trouble anyway.

Before you tell the neighbors though, decide what you're going to say if someone tells you "No, that's absolutely not okay with me" when you're trying to hand them cookies.

Good point, AMW!

A friend of mine had a big party at his house for his girlfriends birthday party one year. It was planned and they knew they would be loud so they wrote a letter and went around to the neighbors leaving it on the door. They left their phone numbers asking the neighbors to contact them if there are any problems. It all went fine. A few months later they had a party, did not notify neighbors, and the cops got called multiple times. Not saying it'll work but it wouldn't hurt

I think you need to tell them, likely with a nicely written note. Most neighbors would call the cops only if they found out there was a wedding and they weren't warned about it ahead of time.

We got a noise permit and invited the neighbors

I would try to make sure to shut it down by 10. I live in a house where I work day shift, FH works swing shift, and our "room mate" (his brother) works graveyard/REALLY early in the morning. We definitely can't stand noise coming from the neighbors. Even if it is your special day, it shouldn't interfere too much with your neighbors lives.

I would break it up by 10. Sometimes door to door doesn't matter and neighbors will do what they want. Cops may even break it up. When I turned 21, had a big party and a band outside, told my neighbors a head of time, cops called and broke it up at 7. Like literally within minutes of the band playing. Ridiculous.

I would say invite them. If you don't know them that well they might not even go...or like the other girls said too they might not stay long...

Annie, did you just compare your birthday party with a wedding reception?

I'd call the cops on you too. If you want a band playing, you rent an event space. That's obnoxious for a neighborhood.

A wedding is completely different than a birthday party or any other type of party. Do not invite your neighbors to your intimate backyard wedding. Kindly let them know, they will understand.

For my sister's backyard wedding, she's inviting them.

Fiona, I'm comparing celebrations yes just like others are. Noise is noise. It's the same coming from people, a band or a DJ. I never threw parties ever. It was one night. People will do what they want when it comes to noise with or without letting neighbors know ahead of time. Fortunately my party continued inside and everyone had fun. Even the cops thought it was ridiculous for them to be called.

I would give them a heads up, you shouldn't have to invite the neighbors to enjoy a backyard wedding. I would try not to get super rowdy also if your neighbors are super close-by and expect to wrap everything up by 10:00pm at the latest. I don't people mind you being rowdy so much during the day, it's part of enjoying life, but once the sun starts going down you can't expect people not to complain if it's too much.