Is a backyard wedding really cheaper as people think it is?

No. Unless you limit your guest list to 10-12 people max, as you might do for holiday parties with plenty of chairs you already own, you will spend so much more money by doing it in your backyard. You have to factor in rentals of tables and chairs, portable toilets, sound system, food prep area that is not your kitchen, plus making sure the ground is flat. That doesn’t account for the parking situation or alerting neighbors of your event.


If you are on a tight budget, your best bet is to skim the parks department website for venue rentals. They don’t have event staff but they do have tables, chairs, a kitchen, and parking.

It really depends, if you are doing a low key back yard party then probably yes but if you are going all out and renting a tent, dance floor , tables, chairs, dishes, linens, glassware, silverware, portapotties etc probably not. Even if you save some money it might not be worth the added stress and the wear and tear on your backyard. Plus venues have insurance I d be worried about liability issues if someone got injured at a large event in my backyard. Definitely do some research if you interested in it and see what works best for you and your partner. Best of luck to you!

Rosebud and Michelle are bang on. Many people assume a backyard will be cheaper, but it's really not in the long term

I highly recommend checking out parks or historical sites in your area, usually they can accommodate events fairly well. I got married last year and we did a courthouse wedding- I highly recommend that too. You can always do a quick ceremony at a location and then change locations if you really want to.
But yes, backyard weddings for medium to large groups are incredibly difficult when trying to come up with the above accommodations that others mentioned. I’m not sure what area you’re in, but I used to work for the county and we had to rent a medium/large tent- it cost $8,000 not including setup. Maybe you don’t need the tent, but I would definitely look at rental costs before committing to a backyard wedding

View Quoted Comment That’s what I have been thinking After all the Rentals that we would need tables chairs tent etc. I don’t see that being cheaper then putting into an actual building for a little over 100 people

My fiancé thought this as well but was open to other options. We wrote everything down from a backyard wedding to a venue to a state park. A backyard weddinf was going to be 2000 more.

View Quoted Comment I should definitely sit down and do this. Thank you for the idea (:

My friend did a backyard wedding for like 40 people, her mom said it was still $20k. In my opinion those types of weddings are 10 times more work but cost just about the same so for me it made more sense to do a hall that came with everything.

Backyard weddings are 10x the work and around the same cost as many venues 😭😭😭

Backyard weddings can be as expensive or budget friendly as you want them to be. We had a backyard event and honestly spent just as much as as we would have a venue, somewhere in the six figures but keep in mind we had close to 300 guests and spent a fortune on rentals food, alcohol and entertainment. I don’t regret it as there was something special about being in our own environment and having what felt like a house party that went in for hours and hours.

Lol no, absolutely not. The place you get “cheaper” is lowering guest count. A backyard wedding with 10 guests, sure! A medium/large backyard wedding can easily get more expensive as you have to create the whole wedding from scratch, basically. Things we had to pay for for our backyard wedding that we wouldn’t have otherwise: bathroom , lighting, tent/flooring, kitchen equipment for the caterers, landscaping

No, this is a common misconception. Backyard weddings are usually just as expensive, and sometimes even more so, than weddings at a venue. And they are also sooooooo much more work and stress! That’s because you are having to do everything yourself, and you are starting from scratch. You will now have to take care of all the little details that venues/vendors take care of for you- things like buying napkins, renting silverware, plates, drinkware, tables, table linens; hiring a wait staff and a cleanup crew (because someone is going to have to take away dirty plates and empty the trash, etc.). What will you do for entertainment? Do you plan to have music? If so, you will now have to hire a DJ that can bring literally all the equipment, because you will now not have a built-in sound system that a venue would have had. You will also need to look into the noise ordinances in your city/neighborhood to find out exactly how many decibels the DJ is allowed to play the music at, and for how long. There may also be permits required to host an event, have a DJ, have parking, etc. And speaking of parking, depending on how many people are invited, you will have to determine where people will park and whether you will need parking attendants. As for catering, will the catering staff be allowed to travel in and out of your house to use your kitchen? What about restrooms? Are guests going to be permitted to traipse in and out of your home to use your bathroom? If so, do you have multiple bathrooms, or will everyone be using the same one? Who is going to be in charge of cleaning the restroom and ensuring it’s stocked throughout the night? What if somebody vomits or clogs up the toilet? Who will be in charge of cleaning/fixing those issues? The alternative would be to rent porta potties… and just ICK 😖 No one wants to go into a gross porta potty with nice clothes on. There are SO many things you have to consider when hosting a wedding at home. My advice would be to get an all inclusive venue and let them handle all the details, and you can focus on the fun stuff like decorations!