Tell me about your back yard/low key wedding or ones you've been to!

Well, no it’s not traditional. Traditionally weddings happen in churches ⛪ It’s okay to not have a tradition wedding. You have to decide what your vision for the day is. Your wedding is what you make it.

My sister and her husband eloped and had a backyard reception. They did rent a dance floor which was great. I can't remember if there was any decor because it was so long ago, but you could dress up the dance floor with some string lighting overhead and flowers if you want. Are you planning on having a first dance? Father-daughter or Mother-son dances? Are you planning on having a DJ or just a playlist? If so, I think it's good to have a dance floor.

Grilling steaks sound really yummy, but it's more of a casual fourth of July picnic feel than a traditional wedding feel, which is still fine if that's what you're going for. I'd probably opt to have it catered which can be relatively inexpensive just so no one has to man the grill.

There was one girl on here not too long ago who had a backyard wedding and it was AMAZING! If I can find her post I'll come back with a link!

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Traditional weddings happen in places other than churches. Everyone is the world isn't Christian.... I've actually never been to a wedding in a church.

OP, I went to a gorgeous backyard wedding but it was also hosted impeccably well. Caterer had 5 different passed hors d'oeuvres, two stations for the main meal (one taco bar and one short rib station with sides), DJ, Photobooth, tent for coverage, dance floor, and hosted wine and beer. I think a nice backyard wedding is totally doable, but I don't think its' cheaper than a wedding at a venue because you have to rent literally everything.

View Quoted Comment I saw the build your own burger bar and liked it. If I dress it up, burgers wouldnt be too bad right?

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Agreed. The last church wedding I went to was probably 14 years ago.

A backyard wedding can be as casual or as formal as you want to make it. I will say, I'm not sure that a backyard wedding is the way to go if you're looking to save money. Events like this come with so many hidden expenses that you don't even think about; the cost of renting tables, chairs, linens, all of your dishes and flatware, a tent because you will need a rain plan, possibly a dance floor, etc. The small costs really add up, and then still have to worry about regular wedding expenses like catering, photography, and attire.

Hello Krysee!

I've been to a few backyard weddings and they were all a blast! Whether or not you want to do a dance floor and decorate is completely up to you two (and your budget)! The backyard weddings I went to had very minimal decorations (just a few lights and candles) but had a tent with a dance floor underneath it.

You two could start to think about what type of vendors you may want to hire, such as a photographer, videographers, band/DJ, hair/makeup artist, etc. Other considerations with backyard weddings (like bathrooms, serving food and keeping it warm, neighbors/noise level) are important to keep in mind while starting to plan too!

Check out this post from another community member who had a backyard wedding! She did a great job of breaking down her budget and included lots of pictures, which might help inspire you! Here is the link:

Backyard Wedding & Budget Breakdown

I want this to be as layed back as possible. Like an elopement, but we opted to let our closest friends and family be there.
I'm thinking boho style. I have a million strings of lights. The backdrop is the river and a mountain. Our cabin is on the water front.
Completely non traditional. I would only do a first dance. No mother/son, father/daughter dances. We have a 32x32 foot dance floor already built.
We already had decided to do pie instead of cake because I dont like cake. We could do lemonade and tea and barrels of beer.
I already have the bottles and candles and sola flowers for decor. Just maybe addsome flowy cotton gauze and some helium balloons, the over size ones.

I for sure wouldn't have it catered. But if I dress it up enough, should be ok right ? This is only my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents and a few friends.

View Quoted Comment I plan to use all of the old tea set China ware that we have as well as the cutlery from that set. There is a lot ! Mismatched. Because I'm going to go for a boho style.
Tables and chairs I can get from my brother in law for free because he is a fireman and the local fire hall has these.
And we have a tent and a dance floor already, free! These have been passed down from wedding to wedding the last 3 years, in our family.

View Quoted Comment Thanks you !

View Quoted Comment You don’t have to dress anything up. It sounds like you’re going for a relaxed vibe. Do whatever is comfortable to you.

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I think your decor ideas sound great, but I would strongly urge you to reconsider your catering situation. Fifty people is a lot to cook for. Neither you or your family should be worried about feeding 50 people on your wedding day or the liabilities that come with it.

You can make your wedding whatever you want it to be! If you want a dancefloor, you can have one set up there. If you want a lot of decorations, a tent, all the bells and whistles, you can absolutely do that! I will say that the beauty of a backyard wedding is the nature of it all. In my opinion, the less you do to that natural look, the better, but it's not the "traditional" wedding look.

FH and I decided on an intimate wedding. We are down to two options which we are pricing and getting information on before making our final decision.

Option one is a campout wedding. We would reserve a group campground at the lake we had our first "weekend get away" date. It has a shelter with tables and chairs for up to 50 people, parking, fire pits, electric and water, RV and tent camping spots, and is on the lakefront. We would do some centerpieces for the tables, maybe string up some little paper lanterns or fairy lights, and have a BBQ food truck for the reception. Guests are able to just come for the event and stay at a hotel or camp out with us on the grounds. Obviously flowers and lots of decorations aren't necessary in a setting like this because there are trees, flowers, greenery, the mountains, and the lake surrounding us.

Option two is a wedding ceremony up in the mountains followed by a restaurant brunch reception. This would be a standing ceremony on the mountain side, and since we can't bring anything out there, no decorations, no chairs, just people watching the ceremony. It's breathtaking up there so the decor is not necessary anyway. This is a harder sell because we can't really provide guest seating.

Our wedding is on a Wednesday so we are actually hosting a post-wedding celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant the following Saturday. We are mostly hosting this for those who won't be able to attend the wedding. I anticipate there will be a lot more people at that celebration than at the actual wedding, but I'm really okay with that.

I hope this was at least a little helpful. Best of luck planning your beautiful backyard wedding!

The best wedding I’ve been to was a backyard wedding in Oregon. Only 50 people, and I think the bride and groom spent about $3000 in total. The groom’s dad barbecued chicken and they got delicious sides and salads from Costco. People were drinking from the keg before the ceremony 😂 It was very low key, relaxed, and the company was awesome (everybody knew each other very well). Their best friend baked the cake and it was delicious. They didn’t have a dance floor, but the groom’s brother happily dj’ed (he was a little intoxicated), and it was very entertaining. I don’t remember any decorations in particular but their backyard was beautiful! The bride still wore a big ball gown. You do you, and good luck!

View Quoted Comment This sounds like my dream come true for a wedding. All I want are a few important people and the mountains. Like you.
We have a beautiful natural scenery. River in the background and mountains on the other side of the river. I wanted to do a camping thing too but figured why waste the money and the drive time and hauling everything out if I have it all at my cabin, ya know ?
I think your wedding sounds beautiful and intimate. Maybe that's what I should call ours, intimate. Thanks love

View Quoted Comment Honestly cooling for fifty is no different than what we just did for Christmas

View Quoted Comment Lol that sounds awesome !
Everyone that will be there is very close, know each other very well. I do have a very nice dress because I bought it with the intention of a big wedding. But I'm still going to wear it

I started off thinking back yard but found it was actually cheaper to rent a shelter house at a nearby lake. It is an open air one but they already have all the seating so I didn't have to rent chairs or a tent (in case it rained). We are having about 40-50 at ours and I am keeping it very low key. I'm doing a lot of my own decorations but keeping them very simple. My budget was originally $5000 but I keep chipping away at it and currently have it down to about $4000 with everything I wanted still.

My cousin got married at our family ranch with about 70 people. They had a tent outside, it got WAY too cold at night & they didn't have heaters. They did have the tent walls but it wasn't enough. There were also a ton of mosquitos. If it were me, I would have sprayed the day before all around the area then supplied bug spray and lit citronella candles everywhere. He had a small dance floor but it wasn't big enough for everyone. I don't think people would have danced if it was just grass. He had a pre-ceremony drink which was nice because it was hot. They had bottles of wine, beer and a ton of water. They ran out of water bottles though, it was so hot and everyone wanted water. They rented portapottys since our septic system doesn't have that large of a capacity. I've seen trailer bathroom rentals and I would have gone for that instead since they are nicer. They also paid for guest transportation since it was a 45 minute drive for guests.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I think intimate is a great way to discribe it. The campout is honestly what I pictured all along. I've just had some trouble getting it to form how I wanted it to. Trust me, if I had a cabin in the family, thats where we would be doing it without a second thought. Now's just a matter of figuring out which options suits our desires and budget best. When I was a kid, I always imagined being married in our yard back home, but back home is Belgium and there is no way FH's family and most of our guests could make it out there so we decided it was best to stay in our state. The scenery that you described sounds beyond perfect! I can't wait nto see pictures of your wedding! When is your date?

View Quoted Comment Except that it’s your wedding day and who wants to cook for 50 people at their own wedding? I guess the alternative is making one of your family members cook at your wedding, but I would prefer for my loved ones to enjoy the day with me instead of putting them to work. There are still huge liability issues when you decide not to hire a licensed, experienced, and insured caterer.