Venue VS off-site catering? (Vendor advice appreciated!)

I think the only way this may be cheaper is if your have a very casual wedding. You will need a tent for shade & potential rain. Depending on guest list, you will need porta-potties (please spring for the trailer type), etc.

I'd rather have the $ for a house; but you will need to change your wedding plans to be able to afford/pull off a backyard wedding.

People will tell you the backyard is more expensive. However, I am planning my reception at my father's house and am able to splurge on a high end bar and catering because of saving so much money by it not being at an official venue. I have priced out the cost for open and consumption bars at the venues in my town. I was looking at $10-12k for a midlevel full bar for 200 people. At the house, I am having a grey goose level full bar and 10 different kinds of bourbon for 275 at $3k. Plus, for the best caterers in town I do not have to pay the 20% service fee of the total bill to the venue without inhouse food service or get stuck with subpar convention food for $75+ a plate.

Yes, the tents, tables, plates, and glassware rentals add up. However, it is offset by the huge savings on the bar and food. Before you make a decision you have to price all inclusive venues out and also get quotes for rentals and catering. Compare the 2 and decide.

Rentals can be very expensive. I would do research and gather all the numbers before making a decision

I can definitely understand prioritizing a home over a wedding but a backyard wedding probably won't be cheaper. You will need bathrooms, possibly a dance floor, lighting, electricity, tents, glassware, tableware, and more. If you want something more low key I believe it can be done with a smaller guest list.

Backyard weddings can get expensive with all the rentals for sure - rentals are expensive. Plus then you have to do all the set up and tear down or else you need to spend the money to hire someone to do so. You could probably find a happy medium though, by getting a tent and some chairs to have your actual ceremony in the back yard and keep the guest list fairly small with just people important to you - then take everyone to dinner at a decent restaurant for your reception. It'll be a smaller less fancy affair than you would get going with a full out venue since it makes it harder to have dancing and time limits can be a little shorter at a restaurant, but you don't need to get all the extra rentals that would be needed for a backyard reception. And if everyone wants to dance after dinner you can some back to your home and set up some speaker and an ipod to have some casual dancing.

ETA: Spelling

My mom said the same thing to us 2 years ago. We bought a house and are so, so happy. After a couple of years of saving, we have enough to pay for our own wedding. So if you're willing to wait a couple years to get married, I highly recommend the house!

We are having a back yard wedding on a 5000 dollar budget.

Your biggest thing you will need to do is cut the guest list, we are only having 35 at most.

Rentals will probably eat most of your costs, however it can be done. You have to do be diligent and do your search. It can be done.

We were able to find rentals through our florist and it saved us sooooooo much in the end.

Catering, BBQ is on the cheaper side of the spectrum for catering and it can still come off as something nice and well thought for guest.

Do not self cater. You can host beer, wine, and soda and skip the hard liquor and that will keep cost down and no need to hire a bartender for it.

I would say still hire a DJ, it will help with logistics. In my case that is however.

You can cut cost on photography by having ceremony and reception photos and no getting ready photos. Some photographers specialize in intimate weddings (I found a few in my area) and offer a smaller rate.

I wanted to add that I do believe their can be extreme cost saving when there are less restrictions. As pp stated, we are spending about $1000 for liquor for 70 people. Food costs savings were also substantial.

Backyard weddings are rarely cheaper. I'd rather have the money for a house too, but maybe the way to do that is to do a small wedding at a venue.

Thank you everyone for all the input, it was all very helpful! We don't want to wait a few more years to get married since we've been dating and living together for 5 years already. Also, the minimum guest count we're looking at is 70 (max 100). We both have big families. Luckily I used to be a wedding photographer and a coordinator, so I have many friends in the "biz that will be giving me killer deals, so that will help. Looks like I'll just have to price out and compare the two options. Any further advice/input still greatly appreciated!!!

Backyard weddings often get more expensive than an all-inclusive venue. The absolute best way to cut costs is to cut your guest list. I would probably do a private ceremony with immediate family and a few very close friends and take them out to a nice dinner afterwards if you really want to use that money for a down payment (which is very smart btw)

We're in the same boat! My dad is giving us some $ as a gift and says he doesn't care what we spend it on. At first I wanted to keep the wedding cheaper (backyard or rent a house) so we could put it toward a downpayment, but now I'm thinking the stress of setup/teardown and managing all those vendors will be worth the extra $$ just to get a more inclusive venue or hire a planner.

I was under the assumption it would be cheaper too until I started (trying) to plan. We are now paying about the same $ for an awesome venue

My neighborhood has a community center with restrooms, catering kitchen, tables & chairs included.

Renters can bring their own caterer and booze, linens, decor.

Is there something like that in your area?

New house location -- is there adequate room for parking, noise ordinances, permits required, etc.?