Backyard Wedding Tips and Advice

There is nothing more intimate and personal than a backyard wedding. It’s an idyllic setting where you can tie the knot and relive the occasion anytime you want. It’s also convenient: You don’t need to take multiple flights to get there and you can take as long as you need to get set up. Whether you’ve got vendors to coordinate or you’re doing it all on your own, a backyard wedding simplifies some of the most stressful aspects of the wedding day, so you can focus on making memories.

Below we’ll dive into some creative backyard wedding tips to help make the moment extra special. For gathering all your goods, we recommend heading to (or ordering from) your local Sam’s Club. Its Member’s Mark collection has everything you need to put on a show-stopping celebration. From tasty hors d’oeuvres to the tables they’re served on, it’s a one-stop-shop for wedding-planning bliss.

Set Up Specific Areas

The beauty of having your own space is that you can set up areas to hang, dance, celebrate, and eat however you’d like. Once you have a focal point (where you’ll say “I do”), build out your stations. Set up a tent to house your buffet or cover your photobooth and guestbook. Plan a gazebo space for photos or mealtime — and add to the communal vibe with long buffet tables for casual dining. The benefit of being outdoors? You can even have a fire pit for guests to hang late night and make s’mores, and a porch swing for romantic pics and enjoying the lovely weather.

Serve Food They’ll Want To Eat

With more formal venues, sometimes you don’t have any options when it comes to food or the options are limited at best. With your own backyard wedding, you can serve whatever you’d like, whether you want to do just hors d’oeuvres and bites, a family-style meal (on good-looking plates), or something more traditional.

If you want to get fancy, pick up some gorgeous angus prime beef or make it bite-sized with prime beef sliders. Want to give the people what they really want? Serve mozzarella sticks and rotisserie chicken bites as late-night snacks. For a low-key backyard wedding, turn it into a barbecue. Fire up your grill, get your patties in bulk, and have guests dress them up however they’d like with all the fixins.

When it comes to dessert, set up a fun dessert bar to give your guests lots of options. Cover it with cookies, a chantilly cream cake, a chocolate mousse cake, and mini cheesecakes, too. If you’d like to do something more traditional or custom, start with a plain vanilla layer cake and get creative or have it ready made (and fully elegant). And give it the presentation it deserves with a lovely cake dome.

Go Light On Lighting

Since you’ll have daylight on your side, keep lighting delicate and elegant. Hang string lights around the property or along your tents for a lovely glow as the night draws to a close. You can also use candle lit lanterns for light and direction — place them at the entryway of your home and use them as markers for where your aisle starts and ends.

Make Use Of Nature

Another benefit of an outdoor backyard wedding is that your decor is built-in. The scene is literally set! To make it extra celebratory, all you need are some well-placed florals. Consider buying potted plants to spruce up your stations (ones that you can keep when the wedding is done). Use garlands as table runners or drape them under the tent for a fairytale canopy. Instead of spending big at a florist for a fancy arrangement, pick up stems of your favorite flowers in bulk and drop them into bud vases on your tables. When you’re already surrounded by nature, a little extra goes a long way.

Plan For Weather and Bugs

Anyone will tell you that having a plan B for rain is essential when you’re planning an outdoor wedding. That’s why tents are particularly useful. But there are a few other items to have on hand to keep everyone comfortable. If it’s particularly hot, for example, keep a few coolers outdoors with water bottles, so guests don’t have to wait at the bar. Light a few good-looking citronella candles in case there are bugs and mosquitos. And should it get chilly, have a few soft throws on chairs and benches, so guests can cozy up between stints on the dance floor.