has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

kikabu98 Posted: May 19, 2004 09:42 AM

has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

has anyone ever been to a backyard wedding or had one?

i am thinking about that option because we want an intimate wedding at his parents backyard.

what i am concerned about is the weather. what do we do if it rains? the wedding is for august, but still you never know.

we will be getting a tent but it won't be a closed in tent, without air conditioning.

do we postpone the wedding if we know its going to rain, because we absolutelly would not be able to do it inside the parents house.

Thanks for all your help.

mattituckprincess Posted: May 19, 2004 09:50 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

i've been to one and it was lovely. the morning of the wedding it rained but the rest of the day was fine. they too had a tent and it wasn't enclosed or attached to the house. things i really liked about it: (1) very intimate, (2) casual feel yet everyone was dressed up, (3) just the fact that it was all outdoors. things i didn't like about it: (1) our car got stuck in the mud when we tried to park (the owned a few acres of land upstate so all the parking was on a piece of the lawn) right during the ceremony no less (we felt like it was a chevy chase vacation movie!) (2) bathrooms- had to use the bathroom in the house so there were always a few people on line and (3) my heels got stuck in wet grass a few times on the walk from the tent to the house.

one thing i might suggest is having a tent attached to the house or having a walkway st up from the house to the tent. good luck!

Donna Posted: May 19, 2004 09:53 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

I've never been to one, but I don't think you can just postpone it because of rain. Won't you already have vendors for that day? DJ/Band, photographer, etc? I think in case of rain you should invest in a better tent. This way people won't even care about the weather.

tourist Posted: May 19, 2004 10:02 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

I went to one years ago ( I was 10)
It was in late September, and it was overcast, but not raining.
The ceremony was in church, and then we went to teh house. It was god b/c thre were kids & we could run around outside of tehtents. However, there were 2 tents, one for his side, & one for hers, so it was very segregated. They had musicians playing harp & flute that no one could really hear. I'm not sure what you'd do about music. A dj is too much for a backyard. Just palying cd's might be better.

I don't remember the bathroom situation. I guess we jsut went int he house- it wsn't too big of a wedding. If there was a problem, I'd probably remember it, or remeber people complaining for the last 18 years. I've hear there are nicer port-o potties you can rent if you are concerned.

We had a lot of 'under the tent' functions in college. Maybe you could rent one of those more professional tents, where the sides roll down if need be.

I think your only problem would be if it is a crazy thunderstorn or something, but those are usually brief.

wc0143 Posted: May 19, 2004 10:08 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

My brother did this two (hmm - maybe three?) years ago in Massachusetts.

They have a LARGE square driveway area where the tent went (so you could get into the house thru the garage).

The wedding was also in August and it was HOT! We were melting during the ceremony (on his front lawn). It was also warm under the tent.

All in all, I'd say it was great except for the heat (and I was sick as a dog).

They had a fancy port-o-potty outside and a bathroom right past the garage in their finished basement.

They had a bartender and the food was being prepared on two large professional grills by a culinary college. The music was a string trio (or maybe more).

BlondeJD Posted: May 19, 2004 11:07 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

I went to a backyard wedding in NH. My friend's parents had it at their house and everything was set up very nicely. The only problem was that it starting raining as soon as they began their vows and PS: there was no tent even though they knew there was a chance of rain. I would've been okay to sit there in the rain getting soaked (good thing I truly represented for NY and wore black ) but there were people in front of me who brought an umbrella and decided to open it--I couldn't even see my friend get married! I mean, if everyone else is suffering, they should too!! So, good thing you're getting a tent! The heat wasn't an issue and if you're in the shade of a tent, you & your guests should be okay. If you're really concerned, you could always start the ceremony later in the day when the sun starts to go down. Good luck!

nferrandi Posted: May 19, 2004 11:18 AM

Re: has anyone been to a backyard wedding, please advise...

I think a tent wedding is a good idea, but you have to be prepared for all of the 'what ifs.' You have to get a tent that has the option of walls, if it's nice out you roll them down, if it's raining you zip them up. I know it's an added expense, but you should really think about keeping the tent closed and getting A/Cs for your guests comfort. You may also want to consider having a floor laid. We had a tent bbq for our e-party and it rained for 2 days before it and the ground was really muddy. We also had to rent heaters at the last minute because it was pretty cool out. Bathrooms weren't really an issue for us, but like other girls mentioned, they rent really nice porta-potties now. Good luck!