Engagement party in backyard?

Hi ladies! We are thinking of having our engagement party in one of our parents' homes/backyard, in June or July. Has anyone done this with a tent in case it rains? Or is it better to schedule a rain date? I just wonder how nice would it be to have people sitting outside in the rain under a tent lol.

Also, I checked with a rental place, it seems that since both houses have decks, it would cost a lot more to have a tent put up?

Last choice is to keep the guest list small, so in case it rains we can all fit in the house.

Any suggestions/experiences will be appreciated!

TIA

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I did it! It was the greatest day of my life, thus far. My party was 7/3/05.

FH and I joked that we could've just hired an officiant and gotten hitched that day!

I typed up a little thingy last year - here ya go!

http://www.liweddings.com/chat/topic.aspx?ID=239009

Message edited 3/22/2006 11:56:06 PM.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

We're having it catered at my mom's house as well this May but I think we're just going to hope for the best and if it does rain hopefully we can get everyone inside! We're trying to keep the list smaller just incase.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I would have loved to do that, but FIL's think it';s better to have it else where so we're looking... FIL's are on vacation so when they come back we'll go looking at some venues

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

If you don't think you have room for the 'in case it rains' aspect. Then maybe look into a town park. A lot of parks have cabins/pavilions. We had ours at the Rye Town Park, which is right near Playland. (We live in Suffolk, so not close to us.) But we got a beautiful pavilion, right on the beach, for $400. They set-up and clean-up. And we also got food catered for another $400 for 50 people. It was an easy, wonderful day. There are so many places to have an outdoor party, with indoor convenience.

Good luck!

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I had a b-day party for FH in backyard this past summer. We bought tents from PepBoys - they are actually carport tents but worked perfectly. They need to be anchored to grass. It will cost a lot more to put a tent up that needs to be on a hard surface like a deck or concrete. We had bbq and some food catered in. Vinny from High Voltage came and DJ'd the music for a very reasonable price. It was a blast!

We rented chairs and tables and put them under the tents in the yard. They dropped them off the day before and picked them up the day after, very easy. FM me if you want contact info.

--Kathy

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I had an e-party at a park and we just did a rain date. But the tent thing is a good idea. Lucky for me we had a beautiful day 6/25/05. It was perfect and everyone had a great time. I also only gave out a my phone number on the invite, so people could just call and not send RSVPs. Trust me its sooooo worth it. I honestly I wish we could just have people call or email me RSVPs, for the wedding, rather than mail. I bet RSVPs would actually come up on time.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

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Posted by EmberLynn

I had an e-party at a park and we just did a rain date. But the tent thing is a good idea. Lucky for me we had a beautiful day 6/25/05. It was perfect and everyone had a great time. I also only gave out a my phone number on the invite, so people could just call and not send RSVPs. Trust me its sooooo worth it. I honestly I wish we could just have people call or email me RSVPs, for the wedding, rather than mail. I bet RSVPs would actually come up on time.

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Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I went to an engagment party in a backyard, it was actually pretty nice, they just made food and set up a buffet, had a bar, luckily it was a nice night out but it was very relaxing just to chill out. Last summer i also went to a baby shower which was also held in the yard that had a hawaian theme, I had alot of fun and it just seemed more personal. If it is a small gathering of people and you could fit everyone in the house then I would probaly do that.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

We had it in a backyard as well. It was really nice. We had a tent - and even though it was a nice day - most everyone stayed under the tent most of the time anyways since it was so warm out (we had it the first week of August).

I like more casual E-parties, personally. Bring out all the stops for the wedding!

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I had mine in the backyard and I loved it! 170 people! We had tents for the tables, food, and the dj! Kids were in the pool,,the dj was there for 11 hours, food was catered from villa lombardis, and an unlimited amount of alcohol! We brought out an ice louge later on and the entire party was doing shots off of it! The poor dj couldnt get anyone away to watch us cut our cake! It was a beautiful day,,fun and relaxing,,,and people didnt leave unitl 5 in the morning! Definetly recommend it!!!! Backyard parties are so much fun!!!!

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

Thank you sooo much for your replies! 'Shorty' your pics are awesome, what a great family!

Now if only I could order the same great weather all of you had... : )

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I had a backyard Engagement party...It Was SO much fun everyone had a great time. We had a "theme" we had a Fiesta!!!! We had it catered with all kinds of Mexican food and the margaritas was passed around all night!! We also had a pinata for the kids. I got all the decorations from Orientaltrading.com. We had one closed in tent for the food. We also had a rain date! Good Luck

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

We did it last August 27 exactly a year before our wedding. We did rent a tent just in case - and we had great weather until later on that night when most of the guests went home and then I was opening gifts and it down poured so we were glad to have the tent. It was a lot of work - setting up tables, umbrellas, planting flowers but I feel it was worth it. I wanted something personal and intimate for the engagement party and it was so much fun. My dad did all the cooking because he is a retired chef and we hired a woman to serve and clean up so no one would be overwhelmed (definitely recommend that). I made the favors- candles with our lables on it and put on a cake stand to look like a wedding cake I would do it again!!

Message edited 3/23/2006 2:32:57 PM.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

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Posted by JennandPhil827

We did it last August 27 exactly a year before our wedding. We did rent a tent just in case - and we had great weather until later on that night when most of the guests went home and then I was opening gifts and it down poured so we were glad to have the tent. It was a lot of work - setting up tables, umbrellas, planting flowers but I feel it was worth it. I wanted something personal and intimate for the engagement party and it was so much fun. My dad did all the cooking because he is a retired chef and we hired a woman to serve and clean up so no one would be overwhelmed (definitely recommend that). I made the favors- candles with our lables on it and put on a cake stand to look like a wedding cake I would do it again!!

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Re: Engagement party in backyard?

Engagement Pics in Backyard

Image Attachment(s):

Message edited 3/23/2006 2:27:30 PM.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I had my e-party in my backyard on June 26, 2004. it was great. We got a really great price on our tents, chairs, and tables from a great vendor....you can FM me for their info and prices. we also had a dj, did a dove release and had catered food with butler service. We got our porta-potty, dj and bartender from the pennysaver for a very low cost and they were all AWESOME!

carved watermelon with our names


e-party cake with huge e-ring on top


fruit and vegetable display


Our bartender


The happy couple

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

Yes, we did. We had tents but the weather turned out to be perfect that day (83 and sunny). The one thing that I would have done differently is that I would have hired a caterer and some serving help. My family and I were so busy in the kitchen that we missed a lot of the party.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

i had a backyard e-party. it was only about 30 people or so, and we had it at FHs family's house in Sydney in November, which is spring/beginning of summer.

IT STORMED!!! and i mean it stormed! what we call northeasters here they call 'southerly busters'. well one of those busters moved in that nite....

FMIL arranged everything with invitations and making a list what to eat, but i wound up cooking about 70% of the food the days before. the lady had me make 3 cheesecakes, a bunch of salads and other foods (it was a BBQ). my FFIL bbqed the food. i was mad to say the least b/c after all was said and done it took me like 3 days straight of being in the kitchen to cook everything. i cant complain too much, his family housed me and fed me for a few months that i was there, they were really great and i cooked often when i lived there b/c i was getting free food and board etc. i guess my FMIL really liked the way i cooked.

anyway, the guests had enough time to eat outside before the storm set in and we got everyone inside when it started. his parents made a few speeches when the storm came and i remember just seeing the lightning and hearing the rain on the ceiling and i think there was hail too. luckily his family's house is pretty big, so it was able to have everyone in their living room.

we got some great gifts so we cant complain, and it was pretty fun. at the end of the day i dont think the storm ruined it or anything.

here are some pics, sorry they are grainy..

ETA- you can see the rain up against the window in a pic or 2.

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Message edited 3/23/2006 11:32:23 AM.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

I love the idea of hiring someone to help serve and manage the food and all...

Can anyone suggest someone? Or did you get the person from the caterer?

One caterer said we need 2 ppl at $100 each (for 3 hours), is that about right?

TIA!

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

We had our engagement party in our yard last June (6/4/05). The morning started out rainy but after 10 AM it was sunny and hot. The party was incredible! We didn't rent tents. Instead we had a rain date listed on our invites. We barbecued and had an amazing time. We also bought a 6 foot hero and some salads.

edited to include pictures

Message edited 3/23/2006 12:32:46 PM.

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

DH and I had ours in my parents backyard and it was perfect! We did rent a tent and that made it even better! It was a beautiful sunny day, but the tent made it more like a party instead of a backyard get together. We did have it catered and everything turned out perfectly! Except - I did forget to give out my homemade chocolate favors!!! - it was August and of course hot, so the favors were in the basement fridge - totally forgot! I was still giving them out during the holiday season!

Re: Engagement party in backyard?

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Posted by becca888

I love the idea of hiring someone to help serve and manage the food and all...

Can anyone suggest someone? Or did you get the person from the caterer?

One caterer said we need 2 ppl at $100 each (for 3 hours), is that about right?

TIA!

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Re: Engagement party in backyard?

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Posted by Shorty McBride

I did it! It was the greatest day of my life, thus far. My party was 7/3/05.

FH and I joked that we could've just hired an officiant and gotten hitched that day!

I typed up a little thingy last year - here ya go!

http://www.liweddings.com/chat/topic.aspx?ID=239009

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Re: Engagement party in backyard?

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Posted by JennandPhil827

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Posted by becca888

I love the idea of hiring someone to help serve and manage the food and all...

Can anyone suggest someone? Or did you get the person from the caterer?

One caterer said we need 2 ppl at $100 each (for 3 hours), is that about right?

TIA!

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FM reminding me and I will get the # at home and give it to you. She does it privately and she charged I think 30 and hour and she was GREAT!! We used her for a baby shower and y aunt's 50th party too. She is a teacher and does it on the side. She cleans up everything!!!

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