Southern Ohio Wedding

Timeless Backyard Tent Wedding

As the economy is ramping up I have found a lot of my couples are wanting to still have an elegant, party style wedding with all of their friends and family but they aren’t sure how to make that work with a tighter budget!

Often times I find as the photographer I may be the most expensive vendor they hire, which I think they are doing it right! Photo and video is the only thing you will have as a way to jog your memory from your big day! Yes you can keep the dress and of course you are going to have a long and happy marriage which is the overall point of the wedding, but as the years go by it becomes harder to remember all of the people who celebrated you as you took those lifelong vows. Even sometimes your wedding day may be the last celebration you share with your beloved Grandparents! Behold the importance of photography and videography!

As I step down off my soapbox I thought it was time I offered some wedding planning tips to help keep your budget in check but your wedding elegant! Today we are going to be talking all about the ins and outs of a “Backyard Wedding”! Now I am not talking about an estate venue that you get married on the large heavily landscaped and manicured lawn and front garden but instead the true Family Backyard Wedding! Which although it may not be your first choice it can be done in an elegant way and I even think there are a few reletively inexpensive options for elevating the space that you will be getting married in! I do want to reiterate, this is not a post about how to have a “Cheap” wedding! This post is all about having a timeless, high end wedding, without the cost of an additional venue space!

What to look for in an event space to see if it is compatible with your goals?

1. How many guests are you expecting, and can this space hold that amount of people?
2. Does this space have enough parking? You do not want people to be parking on the street, and in fact some neighborhoods won’t allow for that.
3. If you are having party dancing, How many neighbors are there, and is the an HOA? You need to keep in mind neighborhood rules such as quiet hours!
4. If you do not own the space is the owner willing to let you landscape, and bring in tents and any necessary equipment?
5. How will you get electricity to the space? I think there are a lot a people who forget about this or how many outlets or plug ins may be necessary depending on vendors. (Generators are a great options but make a large eye sore, try to keep them tucked away, hidden in shrubs, or a place that is easy to reach but concealed.)
6. Lastly, How easy will it be for any elderly guests to walk through? Is it filled with hills, holes, or tripping hazards?

Tips for elevating a Backyard Wedding

1. Landscaping!!!! The existing plants, trees, and shrubs may be perfect and plenty but sometimes adding flowers in the form of a cut flower garden sprinkled throughout the space can give it more of an elegant garden feeling and less of a home lawn vibe!
2. If you are unable to change the landscaping, think about using potted plants and flowers! Find some statement containers to plant some in season flowers in and place those at the entry of the driveway, near the probably inevitable outhouse (We will talk about that). Use these potted flowers to create interest, and the feeling of a floral arrangement! This is a great alternative to real floral arrangements placed in all of those locations and will look far superior to fake flowers. I am just going to tell you, if you want a high end look you need to use 100% real flowers! They really do make all the difference!
3. Rent the Tent! Getting a large tent big enough for all of the recpetion space is a great way to make it look intentional, you can add some soft twinkle lights for ambiance as the sunsets. If you want to go above and beyond find a company or DIY draping for fabric and get a floral wreath/candelier piece to go the center of the dance floor! (I told you we were making a statement and I think that would wow anyone)
4. Invest in nicer chairs and tables! The plastic white chairs and tables are tempting because they are typically much less expensive to rent but even if you upgraded the chairs to a sleek wooden chair and had bows around the backs you could still use the plastic tables with high quality table cloths but have the look you are going for!

What not to do for a Backyard Wedding?

1. The outhouse…. I told you we would talk about it! Now the biggest thing you can do to ruin your high end look is to get the low quality outhouses. Invest in the outhouse trailers, they don’t end up stinking, they look classy, and you can even add little baskets of products for your qusets to freshen up. I will say while you will want this reletively close to the event for the convenience, I think I would make a better overall impact if it was slightly tucked away from plain view. Like I mentioned before you could also add some planters full of flowers and greenery to make it elevated.
2. Don’t put the ceremony space where a house, or the parking area for guests will be in plain view in photos. You don’t want your friends vehicles in the background of your first kiss photo so be strategic about the placement of the ceremony and reception space in correlation to parking and any clutter or eyesores.
3. Don’t leave the clutter. If your family tends to have miscellaneous items laying around their home, which more than likely if they have any amount of property they do. (I am guilty of it to) Altough they may not want to get rid of those things offer ot help them move them for your wedding! I think expecting your family to do all of the preperation and tidying for the big day is not the way to approach it! Take the time to clean, and help maintain the property leading up to the wedding. Mow the lawn, reposition unwanted clutter, trim trees, etc.

I truly think that the backyard wedding could be something that is elevated and turned into a highend event space but keep in mind that not all spaces are designed for a wedding, and in the long run the idea of a backyard wedding could cost you more than you would be spending on a small scale venue!

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