Budget for Backyard Wedding

I think you could do it for 10k! We had a backyard wedding with a full dinner for under 12k with about 150 people. That included our rings and purchasing dresses/ outfits for our entire 9 person wedding party. But we were CHEAP to make that happen. Feel free to pm me if you want more of a breakdown.

Just don’t underestimate how much a backyard wedding costs with things you don’t think about- tents, lighting, toilets, tables/chairs, sound systems, glassware (if you are having a bar). When you rent all of these items it really adds up quick!

I think 10K is absolutely reasonable if you're having more of a cocktail-type of reception. I really like the idea of food trucks for evening snacks too since they're usually so fun!

I originally looked at planning a wedding on a family members property. that has a barn. but due to guest size, we would have needed to rent a tent/more tables and chairs. and that piece cost a LOT more than I ever imagined. I wanted a back up plan for weather. plus we wanted to do a sit down dinner.

again you could make 10K work. its just a matter of really watching things. like tori said, your dress, photography, florals.

I would talk to caterers/food trucks in your area to get rough pricing. and go from there.

A backyard wedding without a full sit down dinner can definitely be done for 10,000... Just use a budget tool, and try and work out ALL the nitty gritty before you commit, if your budget is firm. Little things can add up quickly, however like Tori said, usually 40-50% of a budget is food and venue, so if it's free to use the 'venue' and you're only doing dinner for a smaller group, you should have a healthy budget for drinks, cocktail food, decor, and then of course the dress, suit, photographer, DJ?, officiant, accessories, stationary (invites, save the dates, thank you cards, etc)...

I have a 100 person wedding at a venue with sit down dinner, and I went over budget on my dress, and I'm going to be around $18K.

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Staying on budget for the dress will for sure be a test. Here's hoping!

I agree with Tori, I think 10k will be more than enough for a backyard wedding, as long as you are mindful.

I think 10K should be reasonable. Most of the cost of a wedding is the food and the venue followed by the booze. My wedding isn't at home but is 250 guests and our budget is $20,000 (out of the city in order to make that work). So far half the budget is food and venue. Just be frugal in the sense of not ordering a $3,000 wedding dress and you should be fine!