Backyard wedding

I would do your homework. Doing your own wedding is expensive and a lot of work. There is a lot to coordinate and do. We did it for my sons wedding and it was very time consuming and more expensive than we thought. And you have to have a backup plan for weather.

My sister-in-law got married in her backyard. It was a lot of work and money. It ended up pouring and everyone was crowded under a tent because she didn't have a back up plan. People were running in the rain into the rent to avoid getting wet. No one used the dance floor she rented because it turned into a slip and slide so the DJ she paid for went pretty much unused. A lot of people left after it started raining. She also forgot some of the appetizers and desserts in her house so all of the time and preparation that went into the food was wasted. Everyone also saw her in her dress before the ceremony because people were going in and out of the house beforehand. She also tried to take some photos before the ceremony started so they saw her then as well. People were also going in and out of her house to use the bathroom. She also didn't have enough seating so a group of us including her three brothers sat in the grass on a blanket in the very back so we could barely see the ceremony and weren't very comfortable. She ended up ruining her dress because of the rain. People had to park a few blocks away because there wasn't enough parking. Based on her experience, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Unless 25 or fewer guests for a day wedding, I wouldn’t recommend it. All the rentals will be expensive and a venue with climate control, tables, chairs, bathrooms, lighting and other critical elements will be less cost and less stress than a backyard wedding.

Backyard weddings can get very expensive. You have to rent tables, chairs, plates, cutlery, linens, bathrooms (it is highly unlikely your home bathrooms can accommodate 50-75 people), etc.

I am STINGY with money, but I think your wedding day is the exception. If you feel like you will be stressed and taking care of everyone all day, don't do it. My sister gave me the best advice when she said that the wedding planning is most efficient when the men stay out of it 😅

I had a backyard wedding and it was great for us. Our wedding was about 7k all together as well. It was said to rain on our wedding and I stressed so much till the day because we had no tents, only a porch to go under, but it lightly rained (a continuous sprinkle) no one minded it, it was actually pretty romantic and the preacher had some things to say about it (like it’s even harder to break a knot when it’s wet etc,.) We ate underneath the porch, if you don’t have a porch I would either DIY or rent a tent. My dad built doors for me to walk through from scrap wood, and my brothers put fire on it to torch it, (it looked really nice). As far as taking care of everyone, we only had family at our wedding and not many were “strangers” so everyone knew what to do they weren’t clueless and didn’t wonder off or anything lol. But it helped having people in charge (like my parents and aunt who helped with everything and announced things, and the preacher who I’ve known for 7 years was a big help too, he kept everyone laughing and in a good mood, it’s good to have people you can rely on that shares good vibes. It will put everyone at ease.

Also we only expected to have at most 60 guests, not all showed up. Bathroom was not a problem, we had one bathroom in the house and everyone didn’t suddenly have to use it at once. Honestly I only saw like 3 people go to the bathroom and 2 of them I know just went to touch up their makeup. But if you’re uncomfortable with people using your restroom you might want to look into something else, everyone will have a different opinion on this but it was definitely the easiest/most affordable choice for us.

We have a really nice property with a huge old mansion (that I cant wait to get rid of because of $25k heating bill - but that's another story) and we were going to have the wedding at our property - in yard with tent, etc and let guests stay in our 10 bedroom place - but it actually was cheaper (by 50%!!!) to rent a venue (also an antique mansion).