Backyard Wedding On A Budget

 With everything going on right now it is difficult to plan a wedding with so many unknowns. Is COVID-19 going to be gone/low enough in time for our wedding? Will we have to cancel our venue due to COVID-19? How do I keep costs low when there are so many unknowns? And so many more!  

Seeing everything going on and knowing how hard it is to plan a wedding as is, let alone under these conditions, I thought I would share how I planned our backyard wedding on a budget. Backyard weddings are an awesome solution to be able to have your wedding during these times with the piece of mind that the venue won't cancel or be shut down on your big day. 

When I was planning our wedding I would read about budget weddings a lot but they were never realistic for me. There were certain aspects of the wedding I really wanted and knew I was going to end up paying more for (photographer, videographer, and flowers). The other thing I found was that the blogs I read would leave out all of the little costs that add up. While I may not have had  the lowest budget wedding, it was the most affordable and realistic way to have the wedding of our dreams. In total it cost us $22,132.56 which ended up being about $220 per person, this would be cheaper per person if more people attend (we had 100 guests). 

Keep reading to find out all of the pros/cons and our budget breakdown of what everything cost us! 

All Photo Credit: Hannah Victoria Photography
Instagram: @HannahVictoriaPhoto

My husband (Carson) and I got married July 1st, 2017. The main reason I chose to have my wedding in my mom's backyard was not only because it had a great view, but mostly because I wouldn't have the cost of a venue or the nightmare of following all of the rules for a venue. When I was looking around, venues wanted to charge a pretty penny to have the wedding there and then extra fees for what seemed like everything. When I would ask questions about having a bar, photo booth, etc., they would say, "yes we can do all that, but it will be extra." After looking at so many and trying to wrap my head around how I would stay in budget I finally just asked my mom if I could have it in her backyard. Since the venue cost was gone we were able to spend more to get an amazing photographer and videographer! Looking back, that is the best decision we made by far. We spent the most on our photographer and videographer because we wanted to make sure we had memories of our big day that will last forever. 

Pros and Cons 

Pros:

• Low cost to no cost
• We did not have to get permits nor pay extra fees for the Photo Booth or Bar (as long as the alcohol was not served, but check with your local county and state).
• Doesn't charge more for more/less people
• Could set up as early as I wanted to (I didn't feel overwhelmed and rushed)

Cons:

• Had to coordinate a cleanup plan since venues typically do that for you 
• Making sure all of the vendors know where it is before the big day. Typically vendors know the local venues so I had to make sure they knew how to get to the house and where they should park on the big day.
• Getting permission from neighbors (inviting them helps) since it will be a loud and late night.
• Prep work on making sure it looks nice is on you/your family (landscaping was the biggest one for me)!

Ways we kept costs low for our wedding:

• Venue: Mom's backyard
• Food was buffet style. This was drastically cheaper and our guests loved it! 
• Buying decor details from the Dollar store. The one that saved me the most was their candles! They did not have any labels or stickers and I was able to order them in bulk off their website (you can see them on the tables in the pictures)
• Crafted and made a lot of the decor before and just stored it in bins at my mom's house until the big day
• Did the landscaping and deck staining ourselves (any touchups you want done to the backyard to make it what you want...mine were staining the deck and landscaping)
• Keeping an eye out for deals. When I knew I wanted an item for my wedding, like the hanging outdoor lights, I would watch and wait until they went on sale to buy them. 
• Buying our own alcohol from Costco (not a choice typically if you have a venue)
• Using paper plates/silverware so it is cheaper and easier to cleanup (also from Costco)
• For the reception I chose farmhouse tables. Not only did I like the look better, but it also saved a lot of money because I did not have to pay for table cloths! 
• Simple and elegant flowers. Having bouquets on each table would have been so expensive so I went with eucalyptus leaves and put my Dollar Store candles in the middle. It was simple, elegant, and SO much cheaper! You can also have some vases waiting on the tables and use your bridal party bouquets as the centerpieces! 
• We used benches for the tables and chairs only on the ends, the benches were much cheaper than purchasing a chair for each person! It also worked out because we used the benches as seating for the ceremony then moved them back to the tables for the reception.
• Purchasing a trough to store drinks (rustic and cute) and galvanized drink dispensers (my mom still uses them for parties)
• Day of coordinator being a VERY ORGANIZED family friend who wanted to be a wedding planner ( great way to have them practice). It was not something we planned on having but last minute decided to. It was worth it and much cheaper than paying a professional. If you have someone that is organized and have a detailed time schedule for them to follow it works really well. 

Ways you can save even more!

• Flowers from Costco or Sams
• Make the food/buffet yourself and prep ahead of time 
• Use decor items you already have
• Get a Polaroid camera and book for guest book instead of Photo Booth 
• Cut out costs that are not as important to you. For example if you do not want a videographer that would save you a lot! 
• You could make the farmhouse tables and then sell them after the wedding 

Cost Breakdown for 100 guests

• Venue: $0
• Photographer: $3,054
• Videographer: $3,000
• Catering: $2,466
• Cake: $495
• Rental Furniture: $2,136.84 
• DJ: $1,200
• Flowers: $2,358.72
• Marriage license: $20 (this can vary for each state)
• Day of coordinator: $600 
• Grooms Tux: $398 (this is purchase and alterations, we decided to buy instead of rent)
• Wedding Dress: $1,980 (purchase and alterations)
• Bridal Party Gifts: $490 
• Parent Gifts: $415
• Rings: $1,500 (we both went with simple bands)
• Other Decorations: $478
• Alcohol: $460 
• Photo Booth: $1,081