Big enough yard for backyard wedding?

Congratulations on your engagement! A backyard wedding sounds lovely.

If I were you, I'd start with a local equipment company that'll possibly supply the chairs and tables. Tell them about your space, the square footage, how many people you are expecting, and let them give you their professional perspective.

Is it all flat land? If its not flat then you cannot set chairs, tables or dance on it.

Also how cold does it get in the fall, I wouldn't be happy sitting outside in 40-50 degree weather for 6 hours.

Hello Christina, congrats on your engagement We are a venue that is nearby you that specializes in outdoor weddings. It sounds like you have a lot of good ideas, and you are heading down the right path. There are a few things I would tell you to be careful about...like parking for that many guests. Insurance (wedsafe or other ins.) for event insurance is a very good idea. If you are wanting to serve food or alcohol there are different restrictions that you may need to follow. Like health department will require you to have caterer and not homemade food for that many people. Will the suburban area you live in allow you to have an event that size within that area...do you need to get a special permit?

I guess my largest concern is how much more stressful it could be planning you wedding this way. I would recommend looking to other venues you your area. With out venue we only allow couples to book up to 18 months in advance, and still have many open weekend dates through-out 2014.

If you are having a tent, I would strongly recommend tent sides...and a tent heater for that time of year!

Congrats! I am having a backyard wedding myself. It will be on the front porch of the little cabin my FH is in the process of building (it overlooks our pond, so pretty!). I love the idea of doing it in the backyard, but I understand your concerns. I definitely agree with Tatiana about getting with some professionals regarding the space. Our backyard will have some logistics issues too, like the guests will be able to see me before I get to "the aisle". But, it will be worth it. Getting married in our own backyard on the porch of the cabin he is building me...that's priceless!

To my memory it is virtually all flat, yes.

In late September the average temps here are 53 to 69. I would probably rent some of those umbrella space heaters in case we get the lower end of that. And yes, tent sides to keep heat in and any rain out.

Tatiana: That is a good suggestion. I did do some poking around on a rentals site already. Their package deal for a 150 guest event includes a 40' x 60' tent, which is a whopping 2,400 square feet so that has me worried. Their layout for that puts all the tables as well as the dance floor under the tent. It also uses round tables, but I actually like the look of rectangular ones which I believe is a space saver. Our guest list is not even built yet, 150 was just a guess. Maybe if it came out closer to 125 and we used regular tables it could work...

I will have to do some serious thinking about that.

Are you sure 2200 square feet? That come out to 0.05 acres, which definitely sounds too small for a wedding of 150 guests

Besides what Holly mentioned, depending on what you have in mind for electrics (i.e., DJ/sound equipment, lights, catering truck, tent heater), you might need to look into renting a generator. There might also be noise restrictions in your area (i.e., no amplified music past a certain time) that you will have to find out.

Christina, please understand that my statement to you are not in attempt to get business...but in West Michigan, I have heard of backyard events that did not get all the regulations in place prior getting the food shut down. That would be the very last thing anybody would want on there wedding day. Make sure your township would allow you to have the event on a private residence in a suburban area...please please look into the permits and codes....please!

Holly: Thanks for the tips. There is a church just down the road from my parents' home that we're pretty confident would allow us to use their lot, and then we'd arrange for some sort of shuttle service for our guests. We wouldn't be preparing food ourselves, I'd hire professional licensed caterers and bartenders. And yes, the possibility of needing a permit had occurred to me, so if I move forward with this idea we'll look into that right away to make sure it's possible.

And it also occurred to me that it could be more stressful, haha. Which is why I put in requests for pricing to like 6 different wedding planners/coordinators yesterday. Having a pro on site to help with all the logistics would be ideal. I have seen your venue at Apple Blossom in my searching and for reasons I can't remember it didn't make it on to my list. Maybe I will give it a second look.

Christina, I wish you the best....good luck with everything! I hope you get the exact wedding you are hoping for....

on a final note...I love your date! It will be my 11 year anniversary!

Barbara: No, I am not sure it's 2200 SF. That is a rough number I came up with based on the overall dimensions of my parent's property and by staring at an aerial picture, guessing how much of the yard would actually be usable. I was deliberately conservative, leaving a lot of clearance next to the fence, treeline, and house itself. That's why I said we could get at least another 200 SF out of it, probably 300.

According to a site I found yesterday, for a "Seated and served meal with dance floor" you should have 13–15 SF per person. So at least 1,950 for 150 people. This is what lead me to believe it might be possible.

I would not go off of an estimate. I would get a rentals place in to measure for tents and see what they tell you about guest count. You also have to consider space for a caterer to prep and plate foods or even just to keep things hot. You have to think about power. You will need some lighting at the very least.

You haven't been engaged long. I would continue the venue search in addition to getting real measurements of the property. You can also think about a Friday or Sunday wedding, which may mean one of those venues is open. If cost is a factor, a backyard wedding won't necessarily be cheaper with all the rentals and permit costs, if needed.

Oh yeah I wasn't planning on charging forward with the plan based off of my rough estimate alone, I just wanted to wrap my head around if it was even remotely possible at this point. I just found another rentals' site that provides a more detailed chart to calculate needed space. Doing a quick calculation I came up with about 1,700 SF being necessary for what I want (including everything but the porta-john trailer). But believe me, I will get a professional to take a look before I commit.

I am thinking we would probably do buffet style so I was hoping that would mean the caterer wouldn't need as much space to work as they would for a plated meal. I'm sure we could give them access to my parents' large basement if they needed an out-of-the-way place to prepare and spread out.

And yes, needing a generator had occurred to me. A must, I'm sure.

I know this would not necessarily be cheaper than using a traditional venue, and could very well end up costing more, but for the freedom it would allow me it might be worth it.

We are open to a Friday wedding (MoB says Sunday's not an option), but the venues I've looked into don't even have any Fridays open in the time frame we were hoping for. I am finding that I am rather picky, ha. I have a pretty specific image in my mind of the type of place I'd like and it rules out a lot of traditional places like churches, country clubs, banquet halls, anything downtown... I really want something with a laid-back elegance. No perfectly manicured golf courses in the background or grand ballrooms... that just doesn't fit my personality. I could go on and on, the point being: I'm picky and having a hard enough time finding venues I like and an impossible time finding any that I like that are also available!

Oh and for the record: I personally would be completely fine with a Spring 2015 wedding which would open up a lot more possible venues, but my fiance is of the opinion that that would be FAR too long of an engagement. I'm fairly certain around 18 months is very common. Silly boy.

18 months is quite normal. I would say the most busy months for venue (espeically outdoor venue) are September, October, and May!

This past season...Both our September and our October were more busy than June! Keep that in mind...you may have an easier time in July or August!

Hey I was thinking...you were talking about a tent. A tent for 200 guests would most likely have to be 80 x 40, and that is with 25 tables of 8 per table. That tent alone is 3200 sq feet. The amount of room you stated above is no where close to what you will need. The bathroom trailers is about 15x 10, depending on which one you are looking at...You would most likely need a caterer tent at least 20 x20. So those 3 you would be up to **** sq. If 200 people are confined to that amount of room...it will feel very crowded.

Again, I wish you the best of luck...

We won't have anywhere near 200 people. I was working with an estimate of 150 tops, I'm guessing it will more likely be between 115 and 130.

I want to use rectangular tables, not rounds. Not only do I like the look of regular tables they also require less space per person. As for the caterer, I did factor in a few buffet tables and a bar area in my calculations. If the caterer needs additional room for storage/prep they could use my parents' basement, it's a walk-out basement so it has direct access to the backyard.

This is one of a few sites I have consulted to get an idea for the space needed, and they have all given me the impression that it is possible with what I have: http://suburbanrental.net/helpfultips/49-how-much-space-do-i-need

I've learned that October vendors book rather quickly!

To the point, 2200 square feet is a decent amount of reception space. But the logistics of a backyard wedding are tricky and stressful.

Personally, I would be too cold in 60 degree weather for more than an hour, even with heaters. If I were a guest, I would likely leave early, or most likely end up indoors if that were a possibility. In that case, you'd have guests swarming the inside your parents home.