As we all know, the reality is that weddings are EXPENSIVE. We often spend more on our weddings than on a house down payment. Seems silly, right?
Well first, I want to let you know that no matter your wedding budget, you are going to have an amazing wedding! I have worked with brides with just $2000 to spend on their weddings and other brides who don't even have a budget set.
Now, will a budget in place we are all looking for ways to save. And most brides in the beginning think, "If I were to have a backyard wedding, I would surely be able to save!" And I am here to show you how that is 100% not the case. Yes, I am sure it has been done before, but 99% of the time a backyard wedding is actually going to cost you MORE than a venue, let alone the hassle!
It's A Hassle
Don't get me wrong, backyard weddings are beautiful and incredibly sentimental, but definitely not my favorite when it comes to everything that is involved. Here are just a few things you have to do at a backyard wedding that you wouldn't at a venue:
- Purchase your alcohol and know how much to buy
- Hire bartenders
- Hire banquet staff
- Rent tables and chairs AND set them all up!
- Rent silverware, glassware, and dinnerware
- Clean the house beforehand AND manicure the yard
- Rent and set up ceremony site chairs
- Rent the speaker system/microphones
- Make sure there is electricity set up outside
- Rent the dance floor
- Pick up trash at the end of the night
- Clean all dishes and box them up
- Break down all rental items and pack up
- Outside lighting
- ...and the list goes on!
If you are thinking of having a backyard wedding, just make sure you have someone hired to do all of this...we don't need your beautiful bridesmaids picking up trash and cleaning dishes hours after the wedding concludes!
THE COST
Now, you would think that you may be able to save a ton of money on this backyard wedding because you won't have to worry about that $2,000 site fee! Well let's think about this for a moment...first of all, not all venues have a site fee if you are using their catering so search for these sites first AND are you really going to be able to rent everything for just $2,000??
Let's take a look at just some of the items you will need and I will show you how quickly this will add up. We are going to use the lowest end costs for these items and pretend you have 100 guests coming to the wedding, for purposes of this example. So keep in mind, this is the low end!!
Tables: $30 per table x 10 tables (10 people per table) = $300
Chairs: $3 per chair (not chivaris) x 100 people (must use for ceremony and reception) = $300
Delivery Fee: $150 total (if they are all from the same company)
Linens: $10 x 10 tables = $100
Napkins: $1 x 100 people = $100
Silverware Set: $3 x 100 people = $300
Glassware (wine, water, bar): $2 x 300 items = $600
Dance Floor: $500 (not including set-up and tear down)
Lighting: $500 (very basic lighting)
Bathrooms: $70 x 3 = $210 (doesn't include cleaning or delivery)
Now let's stop right here. I think we have enough for now and just remember that there will be other items that we haven't listed here!
Our total so far is $3,060. And with a 7.5% tax our total is now at $3,289.50.
Remember that $2,000 venue rental fee we were worried about? Now this $3,289.50 does not include gratuity, is the low range cost of rental items, and is only for 100 guests. I think you are getting the picture! Now don't get me wrong, backyard weddings can be absolutely beautiful if that is what your vision is. But I assure you, you are NOT going to save money on a backyard wedding so if this isn't your vision, they steer clear!
