Change the whole wedding reception

Have you shared you concerns with the venue? I don't think it would hurt to ask if there is a way to make your wedding less expensive. I feel like they maybe willing to budge a little to keep you happy and so you will recommend them to other couples. Also this may seem tacky but have you talked to some of your provides about a lower pricing to advertise them to your guests. It could just be something like letting them put out napkins with their logo on it or putting their info on your wedding website.

I agree with the other comments. I think you need to sit down and really budget for each venue, with the extras for the backyard, you can decide what you can afford (including the cost of losing those deposits). After you lay it all out, you'll have an easier time coming to a decision.

Wow, you really did send you invites early. We just sent ours out yesterday and get married 2 months before you guys.

You may need to send out another invite which tells them the change in the venue. Or get ahold of every guests number and call them 1 by 1 to tell them.

You'll have to come to terms with the fact that you will lose all of your deposits. Is it worth it in the end to lose out on that money to try to save some money? Did you sit down to figure out a budget with guidance from your bank prior to picking a number and booking vendors and a venue?

Honestly, I would stick with the venue you had planned. The deposits are non-refundable, so if you change everything you are doing you are just losing money for nothing, whereas if you kept it then it at least went to something

The debate about changing venue may put you in the same position putting twice the amount into rentals for tent with cover, china and glassware, decor and floral.

Personally, i would stick with the venue and keep it as it is.

At one point, we were deciding to change the wedding to a park and then a restaurant. After looking and searching, it wasn't working out. We ended up keeping the venue which everyone enjoyed.

Please don't regret making a bad decision.

I think like others have said, you'll need to figure out how much you would loose in deposits by changing venues.

Then figure out what you would need to rent and supply in the backyard wedding.

I would be surprised if it ends up saving you money at this point.

Also - with a backyard wedding, if it rains you'll need a back up plan or you'll need to ensure you have a tent to cover the yard (which can get expensive!).

No,I haven't changed the location yet. It just has been in my mind a lot lately, and I'm considering changing the location. The only thing that was expensive from my original venue is the food and alcohol. If I do a backyard wedding, I can just do a bbq dinner, byob..and it feela more intimate. But i think you brought up a good point on providing cutlery, plates, renting out tables and chairs. Honestly,at this point, I'm hoping some of my guests won't rsvp, so I can cut down my spending.

Have you definitely changed the location already? If not I'd check what it would cost you to change everything - deposits which would be lost, plus costs to make the backyard work as a venue. This could include restrooms, power, a sound system, a tent if you need one, chairs, tables, cutlery, etc. It can often be more expensive to host an outdoor wedding than an indoor facility and you want to make sure this change will be a safe financial decision for you!

As far as telling your guests I would send a card, nothing as formal as an invitation but more like a postcard, with the updated location on it.

Have you costed out a backyard wedding? It is surprisingly expensive by the time you rent all the equipment (tent, tables, chairs, porta potties, sound system, catering, lights, etc)
We are doing a backyard wedding and we are going super cheap! And we are still going to be hitting $10,000. So if you budget that in with the money you will lose in non refundable deposits it might not actually save you any money...

I think you just need to be honest with your guests about the change of venue for the reception.

As for the deposits I think you just have to resign yourself to losing them unless you can negotiate that the vendors go to the new location.