By Marti E. Andera | 06.05.2024

 

What’s the charm of Summer Weddings? It is the perfect time for an epic backyard wedding that can make your day look and feel unique and luxurious. Think of a natural venue with plenty of freedoms that an indoor venue can’t offer. The beauty lies in the lack of rigid rules, except for maintaining a neighborhood-friendly noise level.

Ready to dive into planning? First, let’s clarify that a backyard wedding is not synonymous with a DIY or specific theme wedding. It’s everything you’ve dreamt of for a wedding, with a backyard being your chosen venue. Start by selecting your date and deciding if it’s a single-day or multi-day event. Then, it’s time to shop for your outfits and list your must-haves for you and your spouse (remember, this list is subject to change). One advantage of a backyard wedding is you can have a shorter planning timeline, as there’s no competition with other couples for venues. However, early planning is still crucial to ensure the vendors you want to work with are available.

Are you curious about the essentials for a luxurious backyard wedding? Here’s a list of five must-haves, curated from the suggestions of couples, my wedding industry colleagues, my own experiences working with wedding couples and online resources.

Five Must-Haves for a Luxurious Backyard Wedding

Rentals

• Tents are a must for an outdoor event. Rent from a wedding vendor, not an outdoor rental shop. If possible, rent everything from the same company – tents, chairs, furniture, tables, dinnerware, dessert cake stands, decor items, chandeliers, rugs, and runners. Look for free delivery, set up, takedown, and pickup. A colleague’s rental business offers setup and takedown, including washing the rented dishes. Have a relief station in each tent with bottled water, cooling, or small microfiber towels to dab any excess sweat off, facial rice paper shears are a great way to blot your face without removing any makeup. To add comfort, choose flowers and herbs that act as repellents in your decor – mint, petunias, lavender, and chrysanthemums.

Source: photos via ForBetterForWorse

• Chairs are inexpensive, so for convenience, rent two sets, one for the ceremony site and one for the cocktail/reception area, a tip from “Kimberly Kinch.” author of “Backyard Wedding Tips.”

Music + Dance Floor

 

Source: both photos via Swidrak & Co. Luxury Weddings

Which choice for music, Live vs. a DJ vs. a DIY playlist? For simplicity and luxury, I’d suggest either live music or a DJ to obtain that luxurious aesthetic for your wedding. Hiring a professional for your wedding music and sometimes a coordinator of all entertainment for your wedding ensures you have all the equipment and a backup generator. It saves time researching what you need for good sound acoustics for your ceremony and reception. The experts will know all the details for an epic, luxurious wedding celebration.

Backyard weddings pose a challenge when figuring out where to construct a dance floor. Lots of options exist in addition to renting and assembling a dance floor. Maybe your backyard has a patio with a stone surface that will be natural for dancing. Rugs are also a good choice and come in many elegant styles and patterns to go with most wedding aesthetics.

 

Amazing Food + Drinks

Source: Wedding Cake Photo via Blog by Brides

It’s my opinion that amazing wedding food starts with cake and desserts, yes both are needed for a luxurious wedding. Some guests prefer one or the other whereas most will like both, which is where my tastebuds fall.

Choose food vendors very carefully, because your guests will always remember amazing food and also, because food is inherent in an all good wedding experiences. Use the talents of well tested family and friends since meaningful family dishes are traditional and are part of epic wedding memories. Look over the contracts twice to ensure all the details are listed. Give a copy of the contract to your Day of Coordinator for them to deal with the details on the day of the event.

The Details

Adding over-the-top details is the easiest way to add luxury to your wedding while staying within budget.
• Choose two statement items and go all out on these two areas, for example, the ceremony space and the dance floor.
• Lots of comfortable seating to provide a break for guests of all ages
• Create a Welcome area complete with optional Valet parking
• Lighting for all areas of your backyard space and plan for the evening by lighting up pathways with LED lanterns
• Extended cocktail hour with an appetizer table self-serve style
• assign guests to tables rather than individual seats

Day of Coordinator

Source: photo via Jeremy Wong Weddings on Unsplash

A Day of Coordinator is one of my favorite luxury items to add to a wedding. Here’s why: Hire a day of wedding coordinator to have a stress-free wedding day and enjoy with your spouse and family. I recently learned what this person offers to the wedding couple. Here are some of the services from TheBestDayDetails, a day of coordination service based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more at their website.

•Timeline creation, setup and tear down, three meetings plus a venue walk-through, one lead coordinator and one assistant, rehearsal coordination, venue & caterer contract review, week of vendor confirmation and day of management, desert and floral pickup and setup and managing all ceremony & reception events.

I hope the inspiration from this post helps you treasure your backyard wedding and you’ve created everlasting memories for you and your spouse and your loved one’s. The most important thing we share with our Brides is this: It’s always your love story, your wedding day, and your way is always the best way to reflect your personalities for your dream wedding. I’d love to accessorize your wedding day look for your luxurious backyard wedding.  Contact me here.