To-do list for the Backyard Wedding

On our quest for the perfect outdoor wedding, the “list” is very valuable. Since we have had three weddings in my backyard, Joe’s being this past June, we have put together some items that may not be on the typical wedding “to do or think about” list. We won’t bore you with redundancy since there are a lot of wedding lists out there, will just add some items that are special for planning a backyard or outdoor wedding.

• Parking – We have a fairly big front yard which is where people parked. I own a line stripper (will let you borrow it if you rent from us!) that you push and paints straight lines on your yard, made my yard look like a parking lot (my neighbors love me).

• Access – You may need a way to get a vendors van or truck back to the area of your wedding. I had to trim some trees to make access for the vendor’s trucks.

• Portable Restrooms – Not a porta-potty, but there are units on a trailer that look really nice inside. You will have to supply power, some come with air-conditioning so you may need a 20 amp circuit. You will also need to provide access to a hose.

• Layout – I am a planning freak so this was not a problem for me. I would suggest getting some graph paper and measure the yard. At all three of our backyard weddings we had an area for the ceremony and an area for the reception. We figured out the layout for the tables and chairs, dance floor, food tables, DJ, cocktail tables, bar and then plotted it out on the graph paper. I ended up changing the layout multiple times, but this to me is one of the most important steps and will save you a lot of headaches when the vendors start show up.

• Tent – When planning the layout of the tent for the tables, dance floor, bar, food, keep in mind the poles. Most tent companies have a diagram of the poles position. Also, if you want to hang decorations make sure that is permitted.

• Benches – In order to make the wedding look more like that of a church, we made benches and put them in rows. They looked really nice and matched the “structure” I put up years ago for our other two weddings.

• Ceremony Doors – I wish we had made these for our other two backyard weddings. The doors made the bride’s appearance more spectacular.

• Arch – Joe’s wife wanted a hexagon arch for her wedding, we made it big enough for both Joe, his wife and the officiant to stand under.

• Lighting – All of our weddings ended up going well into the night. For Joe’s we made some poles and boxes that supported Bistro lights that really worked well and looked awesome.

• Theme – A theme can really add to a wedding. My daughter Becky had a Luau themed wedding in our backyard. We handed out Leis, asked our guests to wear shorts and colorful shirts which is perfect for a warm summer day in the sun. We also had a pig on a spit.

• Bar – I think the bar is a pretty important part of the reception. People access it multiple times before and after the ceremony. We made a really cool bar for Joe’s wedding which looks awesome at night. For Becky’s we made a Tiki bar which is currently in my basement.

• Cocktail tables – Ok, this kind of shocked me. We put out five cocktail tables in front of the bar and all of them were used, we should have put out more. People love to gather around these with their drinks and converse.

• Backdrops – This is another item we had at Joe’s wedding that people went nuts over. We put the sweetheart table in front of our candle wall and once the sun went down I noticed everyone gathering in front of our candle wall to have their pictures taken.

• Dance floor – We made a 16′ by 16′ dance floor that ended up being the perfect size for Joe’s wedding. The dance floor is a must and I think should be in the middle of all the activity.

• Games – Yes, your outdoors, a beautiful day, everyone is having a good time, can we possibly make it even more fun? We had a cornhole setup for Joe’s wedding. For Becky’s Luau wedding we put some sand in an area and had a limbo contest.