How to Plan a Backyard Wedding

Video Transcript

"So, you just got engaged and you're thinking about where you're going to have your wedding reception, and you're thinking about having it in your backyard. You might be wondering how am I going to do this. Well, I'm Lori Randall with Simply Divine Events, and I'm going to tell you how to plan a backyard wedding. The first thing that you're going to want to do is look at your backyard or look at your friend's backyard; wherever you're going to have this backyard wedding. Look at the space and see is this realistic, can we do this. How many; find out where your guest list is going to be. If it's a hundred people, are we going to be able to fit a hundred people out here. The next thing you're going to think about is renting a tent. Thinking of your budget as well is very important when planning an outdoor or backyard wedding. Things can get costly. It might seem like it might be a little bit simpler or it might be a little bit cheaper, but once you rent the tent, you've got to get a caterer, if you're going to cater it and not do it yourself. You're going to think about china and glassware and flatware, chairs, tables; you know, all of those things you need to keep in consideration, and you can rent those from, you know, local rental companies. Actually, caterers can rent a lot of that for you as well. Another thing to keep in mind is permits, permitting. Are you able to do this in your subdivision or your neighborhood or talk to local officials in counties to see what type of permits you might need to pull to have, you know, x amount of people on your property and putting a tent up. You also want to think about parking. Parking on the street. You don't want the fire department and the policemen coming the night of your wedding reception. So, make sure you get that all squared away before you even start your planning process with this. Another thing to think about is rain backup, if it rains. Are you going to be able to have a place to move inside. Is it going to be enough room for everyone. Another thing to think about is maybe you only have two bathrooms in your house, but you have a hundred guests. We don't want to overflow your, you know, septic tank, or you know, something like that. So, think about having extra; portable restrooms might be an option; electricity if you're going to be having it in the backyard. You might have a DJ or a band or some sort of entertainment. Make sure that there's electrical outlets for them to plug in as well. So, these are some things that you need to think about when you're planning your backyard wedding. Backyard weddings are beautiful. They're great. Think about if you live on a farm, maybe, you kind of want to tie in the big Oak trees, the fall wedding, if it's in like October, the pumpkins, and kind of just have it a seasonal way, that way you don't have to spend too much on your decor. You can do that. So, I'm Lori Randall with Simply Divine Events, and I just told you how to plan a backyard wedding, and I wish you the best of luck and start researching, and I'm sure it will be great."