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These backyard wedding ideas will help you make your dream wedding come to life.
Clearly, there’s no place like home. Whether it’s your parent’s backyard where you used to play as a kid, or the old country cottage owned by your grandparents – getting hitched to a place close to your heart is absolutely an incredible idea.
However, it may require more work than you probably anticipated, so we’ve gathered some amazing ideas that will help you out while planning your big day. Check them out below.
1. Prepare for Poor Weather
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First and foremost, the weather will definitely be your biggest concern with an outdoor venue like a backyard. Thinking that it will rain during the most special day of your life might sound like a nightmare. You might think that all your dream plans and hard work will all be wasted.
Though the weather is something we can never control, the event itself is not a lost cause – as long as you have a backup plan for inclement weather. For most outdoor weddings at home, this means planning ahead a tented area in case it will start to drizzle.
Make sure to keep your guests in the loop, too; you don’t want them wondering what to do when it starts raining. And of course, they should fit on the tent you’ve prepared.
2. Light Up Those Clear Tents
If the usual tent is not your thing, you can always opt for clear tents that reflect that nature’s silhouettes. Then, add some string lights for a dreamy effect.
3. Rattan Chandeliers Look Good Too
Weave in some greenery into rattan chandeliers, and you will have a soft, earthy installation that will light up your tented reception.
4. Use Typewriter For Your Guest Book
Have your guests leave you some sweet notes, well wishes, or words of wisdom with a typewriter for a vintage effect.
5. Place Card Mailboxes All Over Your Backyard’s Corner
This is another fun way for your guests to leave their well wishes – something you’ll look forward to reading after the wedding.
6. Build a Grand Entrance
Just because yours is not a traditional wedding venue doesn’t mean you can no longer have a grand entrance. There are actually various ways to do so, such as setting up strings of flowers, cloth, or even real doors for the bride to get in.
7. Welcome Your Guests In A Cute Way
You can set up a wooden board with a hand-painted “Welcome” to greet your guests. Adorn it with some flowers and greenery to make it more elegant.
8. Mirror Can Be A Unique Addition
If you don’t want to use a wooden board for your welcome message, a mirror can be a unique option – especially those antique framed ones.
9. Create a Dreamy Path
Help your guests navigate through your wedding ceremony using lanterns to light up their trail or layering rugs for some bohemian effect.
10. Add a lounge area where your guest can cozy up.
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It’s important to set up a lounge area as a part of your reception since your wedding guests will be dining, drinking, dancing and socializing with each other – often for the very first time as one huge group – it’s best that you give them a place where they can sit and enjoy a conversation during the party.
You can create a shady place by putting up umbrellas over lounge chairs, or you can transform any traditional pergola into an outdoor wedding lounge with polished seating.
11. Use Pampas Grass as the Main Star of Your Main Event
The tall, wheat-colored tufted grasses have been trending for a couple of years now and seem like it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. Well, it’s incredible how its soft, fine quality can instantly add texture to anything, especially for those ceremony backdrops that come in different geometric frames.
12. Do it Yourself Wedding Arch
When you’re getting married in the backyard, Mother Nature is basically your floral designer. But a gorgeous wedding ceremony arch is something you may want to splurge on.
A wedding arch is as essential as any other part of planning for a stunning wedding ceremony. You can opt for geometrically shaped wedding arches which are getting more and more popular today. Then, adorn it with fresh flowers or greenery to make it even more attractive.
You can go for a circular wedding arch that looks like a massive, modern wreath. Not only does it provide a visual oomph, but it also symbolizes the eternal love you’re about to pledge to your soon-to-be spouse. The possibilities are endless.
13. Personal Wood Wedding Signs
Well-designed signage does more than just sending information to your wedding guests. You can incorporate a showstopping design, or you can add your personalities into the signs that will surely impress your guests deeply.
For instance, you can add an extra-personal touch to your wedding signs by including your and your partner’s favorite quote, song lyric, or book excerpt, or you can share a sweet message that would double as a unique guest book by the end of the night.
14. Light Up Your Wedding Reception
Good wedding lighting can help set the mood of your big day. And the best part? There are so many and easy ways to illuminate your celebration. You can use modern Edison bulbs, romantic candles, or charming string lights, which are getting more popular today.
What’s great about string lights is that it makes your overall setting sparkle, giving you fairy-tale vibes. But, of course, there are also countless ways to incorporate them on your wedding day – you can see them from trees, along the fence, or from tent poles all over the yard.
15. Set a Long Banquet-Style Table
The reception meal is another very important part of your wedding. It is where all your family members, friends, and loved ones will be sitting together to celebrate one special night – making it a very magnificent evening of revisiting precious memories and forming new ones.
If you’re planning to host a big wedding, there’s no easier way to make your backyard wedding reception feel welcoming and intimate than with long, banquet-style tables. Not only does it make your guests feel right at home and enjoy the warmth of the celebration side by side, but it also produces some amazing photos.
Also, there are countless ways you can design your long reception table ideas. For instance, you can make a dreamy setting of doubling up both greenery and soft organic linen with as many candles as you can fit all through the table. Another way is to go for a dramatic feel using attractive, colored linens instead of neutral ones – you will feel the season of spring kicking in from this.
16. Exchange “I Dos” Underneath A Big Tree
We can’t deny that nature is the best backdrop, and it even sometimes does all the work – like what few picturesque trees can do.
While we agree that trees are lovely all on their own, that doesn’t mean you can’t doll up the grove you’re saying “I Dos” in. In fact, there are plenty of ways to adorn tree branches, and it goes beyond adding in some linen drapery, fresh flowers, or other design elements you want.
For instance, hanging a chandelier from a nearby tree can quickly make the space elegant. Lining a few candles of various sizes down the aisle is another great idea; the subtle lighting will add a moody vibe to the entire setting.
17. Try Out Circular Setup
What’s great about exchanging “I dos” in a backyard is that it gives you total control of setting up things – like a ceremony on a circular setup that allows you to be literally surrounded by the special people in your lives and put your backyard wedding dress on full display.
18. Bring Trees Inside Your Tent
If you want to use tents to protect your guests from the elements, you can create a magical forest vibe by bringing trees inside the tent. Combine this with reception tables filled with gold candlesticks and fresh florals – the result will be an elegant backyard wedding.
You can even add potted trees inside or outside the reception tent or use them as aisle markers. You can complement these trees by making a grant tent entrance with woven vines, magnolia leaves, and brimming greenery.
19. Display Baked Goods
A backyard wedding will never be complete without some baked goods – homemade cookies, baked pie, and cupcakes. This is why a dessert table is an incredible idea to impress your guests as an entertaining, interactive, and tasty addition to the wedding reception. You can take the dessert table as a part of your wedding decoration.
20. Creative Ways To Use Mason Jars
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Adding some mason jars to your wedding will make it a dream rustic-themed event. You can adorn it with lace, ribbon, or some twine and use them in various ways. They can be great centerpieces, aisle decorations, hanging decorations, and so much more.
You can even personalize them by attaching a guest’s name to it – it will serve as a great escort card at the same time as drinking glasses too.
21. Ditch Traditional Place Cards With Some Shot Glass
It does not only make an Instagrammable moment for your guests, but it can also be a unique wedding favor your guests can use at their homes.
22. Designate a Dance Floor
Of course, you will need a smooth surface for your first dance – at the same time, designate an area for your guests to assemble and show off their dance moves while the band is playing. You can add a wooden stage for this purpose which looks natural for your backyard.
But if a flooring is not within your budget, you can advise your guests beforehand to wear appropriate shoes like wedges – because we all know stilettos and lawns don’t go along well.
23. Make Use Of The Surroundings
You can make use of the natural grandeur over you by developing your décor after the surrounding landscape or bring in more floras to work with the existing landscape – neutral flowers are enough to elevate the entire space. Check out what flowers are in season for an authentic feel.
24. Take the Bar Outside
This could be a bar cart, a wooden crate, wheelbarrows, or a vintage truck with basins of ice-cold beer and cocktails in the trunk.
25. Set The Mood With Some Lavender
Add some French touch to your wedding with some Lavender. You can place it at the entrance for some heavenly scent.
26. Make Sure There are Photo Opportunities For Your Guests
Transform every corner of your backyard as a perfect backdrop for your guests’ photos. You can do this by setting up a photo wall or just by hanging string lights or streamers from trees.
27. Seating Chart on a Windowpane
Writing table assignments on an old windowpane can add a chic charm to your wedding. It could be that for every windowpane, you will write a table number followed by the guests’ names to be seated on that table. You can use your best handwriting or just print out and tape it to the back of the glass.
28. An Outdoor Gelato Bar Is A Brilliant Idea
An outdoor gelato bar will give your wedding a rustic Italian feel, especially if you will use wooden elements adorned with some greenery. Pretty sure your guests will be totally smitten by this sweet station.
If you’re not fond of gelato, you can opt for ice cream as an alternative and for a more American feel.
29. Play Some Yard Games
You may have invested in several activities to entertain your guests, but there’s no better way to do it than some old-fashioned yard games such as oversized Jenga and so much more. This can also be another great way to personalize your wedding reception games.
30. Use Doors as Decors
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Vintage gorgeous doors can be used to make separate spaces, which can be great if you have a vast area that you want to section off.
31. Display A Stunning Macrame
Macrame is a great natural accent that can bring out your backyard’s beauty. You can use it to display escort cards or to decorate your chairs.
32. Hire A Food Truck
This could be anything from burgers, tacos, or specific dishes you love as a couple.
33. Outdoor Coffee Station
If you and your future spouse share a mutual love for coffee – your first date might have even happened in a café – then perhaps you’re looking for special ways to share a boost of caffeine during your wedding.
Luckily, there are several ways to share your passion for coffee during your backyard wedding. You can either set up a self-serve bar so guests can customize their beverages, or you can check out your favorite coffee shop if they offer a catering cart service and hire them during your wedding. Signage, flowers, and accessories like coffee beans can help round out the setup.
34. Haystack Seating is A Unique Addition
Well, who needs chairs when you have a haystack lying around? Ditching the usual chairs and creating a haystack seating can be the epitome of southern seating perfect for the backyard reception. You can top each hay with a flannel to make it comfortable or a patterned quilt to give you the pops of color you need. Indeed, it is the true outdoor country style.
35. Indoor furniture Looks Pretty Outdoors
You can bring some indoor furniture outside, like cozy velvet couches with some throw pillows in them, for comfortable seating and an added pop of color.
36. Dried Flowers Make Unique Tablespace
Dried flowers will further enhance your natural setting. What’s even great is that you can use them again at home or give it to your guests once the wedding is done as they last long.
37. Create an Impressive Photo Display
Creating an impressive photo display is one way to give your guests an interactive experience while strolling through your backyard.
And there are plenty of ways to personalize a photo display for your big day. You can take the rustic route of pinning pictures onto a string of twine, or you can beautifully hang them on a huge tree. If you want to take it to another level, try to include handwritten notes about that particular photo and what they mean to you. This is a great way for your guests to get to know you even more as a couple.
38. Keep Things Simple for Your Centerpiece
You can set up simple centerpieces by simply incorporating small bunches of flowers arranged in vases of different heights. Even small leaves like fresh herbs such as rosemary sprigs in a simple plate setting are enough to make a big statement.
39. Huge Letter Can Also Make Big Statements
You can add drama to your backyard wedding by adding some life-sized marquee letters that spell your and your boo’s name or even just your initials. This will add a touch of luxury to the whole setup and be the perfect backdrop for a photo.
40. Transform Your Pool
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You might have missed it, but a pool can actually be an amazing eye-catching feature that you should incorporate into your wedding. You can decorate it with gorgeous floats made of flowers that will reflect the rest of the décor or create a floating arrangement with flowers and candles.
You can even go full glam and build a dance floor over the pool.
41. A Barrel Décor Can Make A Statement Too
Make a statement with an outdoor barrel which you can use as an area to hold bouquets or your wedding giveaways.
42. Make Sure Your Guests Are Comfortable
Since you’re getting married outdoors, make it a priority to prepare for a temperature change all through the day. First, check out the weather forecast – if you’re expecting warm weather, you can provide fans or parasols to keep your guests cool and protected from the sunlight.
Make sure your guests cozy up if it cools down during the night. You can provide shawls or blankets for them to wrap up in.
43. Put Up Fire Pits
You can light up some bone fires once it starts to get dark. It won’t just make your guests warm and comfortable, but it can also make the whole setup intimate as they gather around in small groups.
44. How About Some S’mores
Now that you have a fire pit, why don’t you take advantage of it and set up a s’mores station for some sweet treat?
45. A Barbecue Area Is A Tasty Way To Celebrate Your Love
It can be a simple hotdog barbeque to kinds of seafood like shrimp and oysters. You can even check out a professional caterer in your area for the perfect backyard barbecue.
46. Consider Placing in Some Heating Lamps
Another way to keep warm during the night and ensure the comfort of your guests is by putting in heating lamps. In this way, you and your guests can celebrate longer into the night.
47. Have a Live Band Play on Your Wedding
If you want to splurge a little bit, you can hire a live band to play your favorite songs on your big day. Nothing is quite as dreamy and magical as live music gently coming out of an outdoor setting.
48. Feature Some Local Delicacies In Your Area
Your guests from different places will surely appreciate these local gems; at the same time, you will be able to support local businesses near you.
49. Throw some Confetti
Hand your guests some confetti for the most epic exit –using eco-friendly ones is highly recommended. Make sure your official photographer will capture it too.
50. Complete It With Some Sparklers
Finally, end the night with a sparkly send-off! Hand out sparklers to guests for one last amazing photo opportunity and an incredible way to end such a special night.
We hope these backyard wedding ideas will help you make your wedding dreams come true.
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