My fiance and I, along with our 15 month old son, have just purchased our first home! We lived in a condo before that but we have grown out of it.

We have a spacious backyard with a large patio. We are planning on having a backyard wedding! Our backyard is mainly greens with some trees in the corner. I have no idea where to begin!

I know I want lots of flowers and tulle. I'm indecisive over the colors...crimson red and gold or white and lavender?

If anyone has suggestions or tips, they would be greatly appreciated!

Congratulations! If you have set the date, use the time of the year or the season to help you plan your outdoor wedding.

Choose your colors based on what flowers are in season, for instance. Flowers in season are generally less expensive than out-of-season flowers.

You will need some kind of shelter, such as a canopy or a tent, to protect guests from the sun, or from rain. That can help set the mood of your event.

If it's a daytime event, which is usually less formal than evening, you can decorate the tent with a casual flair. Perhaps an afternoon tea, or an "upscale" barbecue, in which case tulle would look a bit out of place Crimson and gold would be great in the afternoon.

If it will be held in the evening, lights (candlelight or electric) will play an important role. I can see white and lavender here.

I don't know how much help I've been, so try posting your question on the Food and Entertaining forum. You'll probably get some great ideas.

And, while you are at it, go online to marthastewartweddings.com or theknot.com -- for more great help with wedding planning.

First of all, I'm going to suggest you post your question on the General Decorating board. You'll get more responses over there. That being said, if you like both color combinations, pick the one that you can find more flowers in season in those colors. Since it's your backyard, consider doing some potted plants/flowers that you can enjoy long after the wedding is over. You'll spend the same amount as a professional floral arrangement and it will last much longer.

Do you have any farmer's markets in your area? Check with vendors there to see what they will have available near the wedding date.They can better advise you on what will be at the peak of the season. Then if you decide to arrange your own flowers, you'll be assured of their freshness.

Good luck!

TAnya .. it's such a special time.. DD married a yr ago in the back yard... she chose colors based on rubber duckies we had floating in the pool one day...

We used a lot of Christmas lights .. candles in mason jars, all very simple things.. She only had 200 there... so it was pretty easy to do..we'd done the rehersal dinner here the night before also.. but there were less than 35 for it..



Have you actually set a date yet?

Remember that high heels sink into grass pretty easily and can lead to humorous situations.

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Originally posted by bugmenot:
Remember that high heels sink into grass pretty easily and can lead to humorous situations.

And that mosquito bites can turn a honeymoon celebration into a decidedly not-sexy parade of pink calamine polka dots. :P

That having been said, I think I'd personally go for the red combination because it'll pop oh-so-prettily out of the grass.

I have hosted a couple of weddings in my backyard for family members.

My tips:
Rent a tent. Whether it is for shade or protection from rain, a tent really sets the stage. It will give you some architecture to start with, and some definition for the wide open space of the yard. For the weddings I had in my yard I set up the dining tables and the food under the tent.

If there is a Costco in your area you have it made as far as flowers are concerned. Call them and talk to them about getting flowers. My Costco agreed to add an extra order of the color of roses I needed to their weekly order, and then I met the flower specialist at the store when the delivery came in an got first pick off of the truck. I don't think there is a better price on roses to be had.

You can also plant annuals in your colors in your garden beds, and in pots and containers. If you plant them early they will have the chance to grow and bloom and they will add a lot of color to the scene.

Take steps to secure your house during the wedding. During one of my events someone went through my bedroom, which is where my sisters had stashed their purses and coats. I am 99.9% sure it was one of the guests - the husband of a good friend of the bride - that I "found" in the upstairs hall. Anyway, all the cash was taken from the purses. One sister lost all of the cash she had brought with her for shopping, as coming to the wedding was part of a vacation trip. It was a considerable loss for her. It was very disturbing! If everyone is out in the backyard is is hard to know what is going on inside the house. You would hate to think a guest would rob you - but it happened to me. Just something to think through.

Other things to think about:
Where is everyone going to go to the bathroom? In your house, or would you prefer to rent a port-a-potty that is perhaps situated around the side of the house.

Where will you set up your catering staging area? Do you want to use your own kitchen, or perhaps if the food comes already prepared you could stage an area in the garage that would be cool enough, by setting up a few long tables etc.

Be sure to notify the neighbors that you will be making a little noise on your special day. I found that my neighbors were tolerant because they knew in advance. We had music and dancing, so neighbors that would have been bothered with that had a chance to make plans to be somewhere else during that time. We also made sure to tell them what time everything would be over.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

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We have a spacious backyard with a large patio. We are planning on having a backyard wedding! Our backyard is mainly greens with some trees in the corner. I have no idea where to begin!

I'd strongly suggest that you hire a landscape expert for this occasion for many reasons but the first two that come to mind. First, you don't get a "do over" on your wedding. This is a huge day and if you are not a total green thumb addict then you need one. The front yard or area your guest will approach the back yard from will need to be very nice and tidy. The backyard land scaping will stick in your guests memories, show in your wedding photos and can actually save you a lot of money in the long run if you hire a professional to do this for you.

Depending on most of your floral color to come from your yard provides both a beautiful backdrop for your wedding but it pays for itself dollar for dollar in equity value to your home so... it's a bit easier to justify the expense.

A local landscape expert will know what type of flower and what color will be abundantly available and fresh for your big day in your area regardless of the time of year or what planting zone you live in.

Working with a landscaping artist can also help you by knowing how to help arrange parking, arrival areas for the guests (maybe pots of flowers/plants in a row to outline the path you want your guests to walk on as well as using other features in areas to keep people from walking on areas they shouldn't walk on.

Later, those plants in containers can be kept or planted back into your landscape not only providing beauty for your home but saving precious memories every time you water or cut a flower for your table inside.

The professional will probably have the best resources too for renting wooden platforms or if you and your husband have some handy friends y'all could build some platforms for people to mill around on under the tent, for isle ways, dance floor and so on. When the wedding is over the wood could be used to build a great deck or gazebo area to add to your landscaping.

I know their are thousands of ideas for plants and flowers but what are you going to do with all that tulle when the wedding is over??? ~smile~

The prettiest wedding I have ever been to was my youngest daughter's! It was in August in Amish country Pa. Thr Amish wagons added to the beauty of this wedding. It was on several acres on her in-laws property. It had a pond with a huge weeping willow where the phots were profesionally taken. She had a huge white canopy with pink roses all around and a beautiful arch with real roses around it. It was by far the prettiest wedding I was ever at. Good Luck!

Don't use an aisle runner in grass; everybody trips!!!

Don't have chairs set so the guests are looking into the sun; they will be miserable.

If if will be a high-heat season, don't u & attendants wear panty hose and complicated hairdos that require lots of h.spray. Keep things loosey/casual/comfy--can still be elegant.

Spray grass before the wedding to keep bugs at bay; way before food is set out, of course.

If you use candles, u prob will need hurricane globes to keep them from blowing out.

Have pets ? or do the neighbors? Keep yours inside and nicely ask neighbors to do same.

Consider plants in baskets, etc. (for u and attendants to carry as well as to decorate with) so they can be reused in/outside of your new home.

I learned the hard way a long time ago: when planning an outdoor event, always have a back-up plan in case of inclement weather.

Since you cannot issue a "rain date" for a wedding, figure out where and how you would shelter your guests if the weather is particularly nasty. Also, electricity and water don't mix, so be very careful about any outdoor electrical hook-ups for lights and sound.