Plan a Backyard Wedding at a Private Residence

An underrated venue is using a private residence. This is widely known as how to plan a backyard wedding. It is entirely up to your design to take a once popular wedding venue trend and create something redefined and upscaled. There are so many special things that can happen to make a private residence wedding feel luxurious and thought out while also having advantageous logistics such as more choices for wedding date, complete control over your vision, and potentially a free location.

Guest List

The guest list is always a challenging task- no matter where you hold your wedding! The private residence tends to restrict the guest list count, but so do other venues. For those wondering how many guests for a backyard wedding? It really depends! I would carefully estimate 30-60. This is one of the first conversations you should have with the host.

Ceremony Setup Plan with a Backyard Wedding

At a private residence, it is more than likely you will have an outdoor ceremony. While there may be space indoors, those larger areas tend to be great for mingling and flowing throughout the day. Finding a large enough area to accommodate chairs for a ceremony while not waste space can prove challenging.

There are great options for how to have the ceremony outdoors. If the private residence has a garden pathway, those make for beautiful photos and an entry point. The wedding party can walk down from around the side of the house to the aisle, masking the bride until the big reveal. I have also seen a private residence wedding that was on the lower level of the backyard, so the guests watched the bride drop into the ceremony which was special.

The Planning Process

How long does it take to plan a backyard wedding? A backyard / private residence wedding will take a bit more planning than at a traditional wedding venue as there will not be a vendor coordinator. This will be a time I highly recommend a wedding planner! If you need recommendations for one, please let me know. I work with some really great people! 

A benefit of a private residence is it can help you plan a wedding for less than $10,000. You can remove the venue cost and source items yourself. This means getting a better deal on alcohol, choosing from a larger range of caterers, and using items you may already own. The downside is if you need to order chairs, tables, linens, heaters, a tent, and so forth. But every private residence wedding is incredibly different which makes it so special.

Another perk for you and the guests is if you host the ceremony and reception in the same place. For Jane and Ron’s Blue Ridge Kitchen Sebastopol Wedding, they hosted an indoor-outdoor wedding at the same location. It was convenient for the guests while also providing a change of scenery between ceremony and reception.

How to make your backyard ready for a wedding?

First you’ll need to go through and make sure you have a plan for your backyard wedding. Everything needs to be clean and organized. You will also need to practice the flow of the whole day. If the space has not been used for a wedding before, there will inevitably be some adjustments to make. Such as putting a heater too close to the door leading inside. You’ll want to move it over a foot or so. The most important thing to remember is that you can – and should! – move things to accommodate the wedding flow.

Planning for weather will be very important. Make sure you have cozy blankets if it will be a chilly day – these can be easy to source and give an upscale feel. Blankets would also make a beautiful wedding favor gift to remember your special day. If rain is in the forecast, it is essential to get a good tent. For tents, as it will only be used one time, it is better to rent them and have a professional set them up.

I love the trend over the years of alternative seating for a reception. A backyard wedding should make use of an outdoor couch, porch swings, even a rocking chair can be really cute! A great resource for logistics is Junebug Wedding’s The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Backyard Wedding. It covers restrooms, electricity, and other components that are necessary.

Let’s Get Started

If you love the idea of a private residence, but do not know anyone who could host, I recommend looking at Air BnBs or venues that used to be residences. You lose some of the flexibility, but there are great options to fit your vision. A recommendation is Weddings at The Madrona. This 10,000-square-foot former family residence sits on eight acres of wildly romantic wine country.

Whatever venue you choose, you are the architect of your most treasured day. When you are ready to choose a photographer who understands capturing beauty and how to make your photos timeless, Contact Alicia Parks Photography.