How to Plan a Wedding Backyard Party

We hosted a wedding backyard party at our home last May and it was magical. I cannot wait to share it with you all today!

My son Michael was the best man at the wedding and his best friend from college (and volleyball teammate) was the groom. As you can see from the photo below, the wedding backyard party was an absolutely perfect setting for a celebration.

Wedding Backyard Party

I will never forget when Michael asked us if his best friend and his bride-to-be could have their wedding in our backyard. We were thrilled! Of course, we said yes, as we were honored to have the chance to help them celebrate the special day.

Before you start thinking that I planned and organized this wedding, you need to know that I did very little. All I did was make sure that the backyard looked good so most of my tasks involved cleaning the backyard and lots of of gardening.

It was a perfect day and I loved that they chose to set the altar in front of the pool. Our yard is always shaded in the afternoon which made it very comfortable for the guests in the 86-degree heat.

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The Set-Up of the Backyard Party

You might recognize the altar setup as those are the posts I use for my outdoor parties. They used two for the altar, and the bride’s father did all of the flowers. I love how he decorated the altar and the baby’s breath down the edges of the aisle.

We have had four weddings at our home (all of them had been for family members before this one) and none of them were set up this way. I have no idea why we had never thought of this because this is by far my favorite!

I absolutely love the baby’s breath outline for the dance floor. It was just so perfect and casual and worked so well with the overall theme of the wedding. Isn’t it a great idea?

There were about 90 guests in attendance and the yard was set up for the ceremony with chairs and the altar at the pool. After the wedding ceremony, the guests enjoyed cocktails while the lawn was reset with tables.

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The Ceremony

The tall gentleman standing next to the groom is my youngest son, Michael. He was the best man.

The ceremony was so well planned as it perfectly matched the personalities of the bride and groom.

I think you can all tell how happy the bride and the groom are!

See the tiny mason jars with handles on all of the chairs? These were all used for a wonderful toast during the ceremony. Each jar had an adorable label highlighting a message from the bride and groom.

The Dinner

The bride and groom purchased the linens and tableware for the wedding. I love the mason jar theme, as all of our drinking glasses are mason jars too! (You can see below links to most of the items.) The centerpieces were assorted sizes of amber jars and the orange napkins provided the most incredible pop of color.

The flowers were all white and so pretty!

On the hors d’oeuvres table, all of the utensils and serving bowls were made from bamboo and I absolutely loved them. See the links below.

Doesn’t this look like a very fun wedding backyard party?

The Lighting

The pool was so well accented with the floating lanterns and the floating letters that highlighted the name the couple is so well known as, “The Buddies”. Both the lanterns and letters were secured with fishing lines and fishing weights so that they were stabilized in place all night long.

As the evening went on, the lights came on, and eventually, the dancing began!

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