Mackenzie Schaeffer Photography

I had the honor of traveling to Durham, North Carolina to capture Danielle’s special day! They had the sweetest backyard wedding filled with so many laughs, dancing and good vibes! These are a few reason why you should consider a backyard wedding.

Scaling back on your wedding day doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It can end up being more beautiful and romantic than you had ever imagined. And with so many couples realizing what is truly important to them in the past few years, along with the desire to make their lives as stress-free as possible, a backyard wedding is the perfect solution. From the casual vibe, a smaller guest list, and the sentimentality of having your wedding at home.

You can save you money!

By hosting a backyard wedding, you can forgo a big chunk of this cost. Of course, you may still want to consider renting items such as a wedding tent, furniture, heat lamps, caterers, as you start to plan the fine details of your day, these can start to add up quickly. So creating a solid budget is a must. But even so, your backyard wedding cost will likely be significantly lower.

When hosting your wedding in your own space, you can decorate and celebrate as you feel fit! You can choose your own date and time. You can even make last minute changes if you need to, and not rack up too many additional fees.

You are in your own personal space

A backyard wedding allows for an enormous amount of freedom and flexibility with your big day. The struggle of a lot of venues, is that there is often a LOT of traveling involved. With backyard and local weddings, staying in the comfort of your own property means that everything you need is all in one place. This also allows older family members/friends or those that can’t move from place to place a way to be involved in the entire day.

You also will know exactly what everything is going to look like, where things are going to be, and your wedding day is sure to have that intimate, family-feel. From a vendor perspective, the backyard weddings I’ve shot have always had a different feel to the day. It’s less rushed. It’s more relaxed. And I don’t see couples stressing as a result of venue issues.

You can keep it as casual as you want!

If you don’t want to host a lavish celebration with tons of bells and whistles, a backyard wedding is where it’s at. You can keep things casual and low-key, more like a BBQ than a grand gala. This is great for couples who are more about the company they share than the crazy decorations and expensive entertainment

The beautiful part about having your wedding in your backyard is that there are absolutely no vendor restrictions. You can have whatever food you want, have your ceremony and reception on any part of your backyard, and can celebrate for hours on end with your loved ones!