Under $5000

The general response you'll get on here is that it seems like it'll be cheap, but once you pay to rent every little thing from chairs to tables to porta potties, you'd be better off renting a space.

We’re having a complete outdoor wedding and it’s more expensive. Rentals for tables, chairs, catering, bartender and alcohol, decor, bathroom facilities, tents and more. It would have been a lot easier to host it at a facility.

That is an extremely tight budget for a backyard wedding which always end up being more expensive than a venue. Look into bbq or Italian for catering as that is the cheapest. You will probably have to buy a dress off the rack and do hardly any flowers or decorations. If I were you I would cut the guest list a little and look into hosting everyone in a private room at a restaurant.

As others said, doing it from scratch is usually more expensive. So if getting married on your land is that important to you, then you'll need to cut the guest list or increase the budget.

We are having about 80 people. We are right around $5000. We rented 3 cabins in Hocking Hills Ohio that has a shelter house. Ceremony and reception are at the cabins. Having catering was $580 pulled pork, mac n cheese and green beans. We rented table, chairs, tent and a few other things for $675. Have a wedding planner for $795, she supplies my linens and decorations. All in all I think we did good.

Yes my budget is 3000 I looked up a lot of do it yourself ideas online. I found a make up artist that was affordable on here. I reached out on Facebook for suggestions and found a photographer that's affordable instead of a cake we're doing cupcakes

We both work in the restaurant industry so we have food figured out for a great price. FH is also a musician and we met many of our friends through open mic nights so we plan to do that for music, play if you want if not have a playlist picked out. Alcohol is going to be kegs and wine bottles, along with no alcoholic drinks. Our whole friend group is very laid back outdoorsy people. I’m going to do a few diy decorations but mostly let our land show it’s beauty itself. The only real thing we are looking into is tenting, chairs and tables.

And restrooms

Find a venue like a hall or a club house that allows you to bring in your own food or caterer and alcohol. Have a early wedding and serve sandwhiches like pinwheels or tea sandwhiches or subs, veggie trays and trays. And some grocery stores have meat platters including chicken wings. If you want a little more do Mexican or Italian and have a restaurant cater for you which includes set up and delivery you could easily get away with spending $500 for 100 people if you have it early enough. Get a cake from sams club 3 tier is under $100 or a local grocery store. You could also set the hall up to get married also and hire an officiant which is cheaper. Shop around for a dress( I went non traditional with a special occasion dress for $160, it is ivory and champagne) and rent tux. Small wedding party or non at all. Spend most the money on you and you fh ( rings, honeymoon etc). Skip on an all day photographer. Get what counts..during and right after photo shoot. No limos maybe rent a nice car. Plan a small honeymoon. I know I'm missing something lol but this is what we did all for $3000. We only have 25 guest.

*** and when I say own food i mean the platters not self catering

Backyard weddings do tend to be more expensive than using a venue, but it definitely doesn't have to be.
If you have a connection with a club or lodge you can borrow tables and chairs. That will open up a little money to look into renting a tent. See if you can't put money down to put a hold on it but only pay in full if you need it.
Some things you can buy for less than it costs to rent, then sell them afterwards. They tend to be a lot of work, though. Tablecloths are a good example of this. They arrive folded up in airtight packages so you'll need to wash them, iron them then roll them up so you can store them without causing more wrinkles.
Are there bathrooms on the property? If not, what's your plan? Honestly, I have no idea what renting a port-a-potty or bathroom trailer costs. It sounds like a budget breaker.
Lastly, and I say this to everyone, get some liability insurance. Progressive will give you a quote for event insurance online. It's shockingly cheap and covers self-served alcohol (like coolers of beer or wine on the table.)
Follow the local wedding resale boards, for deals or just ideas.
Hope this is helpful! I'm honestly not sure if you can do that budget, but with a little luck (and a bathroom) you might be able to!

I am! We found affordable place because our wedding is going to be next year, but we have too many guests and the place we're trying to get it is not really big enough for 140 guets or less. Althoug I know some of the guests that we are inviting are not be able to come because they are travelling to get here... the place is only $300 and it is a beautiful neighborhood.

We're doing the same thing. We're keeping it simple and under a $5000 budget. My FH and I are doing a lot of diy like making our arch. We have a few professional chefs in the family who will be making our food and we are making our own desserts and cake. My FH and I have a lot of baking experience and have been doing bulk and creative desserts for a few years now. We are limiting flowers, we have most of our decor donated or we made it ourselves. My FHs aunt is a professional photographer so she will be doing our photos and she did our engagement photos. We are having a dry wedding (I know a lot of people frown upon that) we aren't stopping people from drinking they just have to bring it with them. I also have been shopping lots of sales. We might be a little over budget by the end but aren't yet.

Honestly, cut your guest list to 50 or less and find an all-inclusive venue. Backyard DIY weddings seem cheap but with the insurance riders, permits with the county, any fees to host an event with an association, renting generators, renting tents, renting linens, renting bathroom trailers, and DIY decor you're going to be way over budget.

The easiest ways to cut your budget:
-cut the guest lists
-find an all inclusive
-no bridal party
-off-season and weekday wedding
-morning or afternoon wedding
-cake and punch or late night hors d'oeuvre and cocktails style receptions
-elope
-no DIY-ing and just buying second hand decor from a bridal swap, "garage sale" Facebook group

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Not saying it can't be done but it may not be as easy as you expect. I had this type of reception for my first wedding - on my former in-laws land and by the time we rented everything we were at 12K for about 120 people I think... and like you I was in the hospitality industry and able to make smart, cost-savvy decisions. We used a friendor for music, I did my own flowers getting tulips from a family friend, etc. Where it really adds up, as others have mentioned, is the rentals - the tent, tables, chairs, tablecloths, portapotties, dishes/silverware, (renting real is comparable to buying disposable from what I recall) etc... and then the stuff you will wind up having to purchase - napkins, disposable drinkware (probably won't want glass), BUG SPRAY...

And you probably already know this being in hospitality, but if you are having a bar and supplying your own booze, check local laws and see if you need dram shop insurance... god forbid someone drink too much and get pulled over or worse... and then report they were at your open bar party drinking for 5 hours.

I would look into your photographer, dress, and DJ first (if you want a DJ) just see what you want to spend and get some quotes and go from there, then see how many people you can afford to invite and look into restaurants or halls if you're looking for a cheaper priced wedding. Your backyard will be more expensive, my grad party for 100 people was 3000$ for all the rentals and food and dessert, and we had catered Italian. So I can't imagine getting a DJ, dress, and photographer for less than 2000. Not trying to discourage you just saying I would think about what's more important to you first, get some quotes for the things you think you need (photos, DJ, dress, etc) and then see where you're at. You don't want to start inviting people then discover you can't afford your dress or photos.

It's better to have 20 people and have a nice wedding than to have a really cheaped out wedding where you make 100 people angry.

Ours is going to be outdoors as well within the same budget as yours. Ours would have been well over that budget (and I would have just gone with the first venue we looked at) except that we lucked out by getting the tents, tables, and chairs for free. The tents originally were more expensive to rent than the first venue I loved and the only reason we stuck with doing it outdoors is because we got such a deal by getting that stuff free.

Outdoor weddings typically cost more than renting a venue. You have to get everything... down to electric if needed.

Rentals add up real quick! FH and I fell in love with a bare-bones venue (small lodge that rents out their property out of season). Tents, bathroom trailers, tables, chairs, BBQ caterer for 80 people plus everything else (DJ, photographer, dress, suit, decor, HMUA, etc), it was going to be a $20k+ wedding, which was twice our budget.

I think backyard weddings and receptions actually come out pretty expensive. All the rentals add up pretty quick! With that being said, it’s totally your choice. You will also potentially run into the issue where what you have seems so small because essentially your venue (your outdoor space) is infinitely open.