Making your dream wedding a reality is possible, and there is no need to look any further than your own backyard to make it happen. Though the at-home wedding was made popular in 2020 after the pandemic regulations forced brides to host smaller occasions, a backyard wedding can work for anyone looking for that extra touch of sentimentality. For couples who want the nostalgia of a familiar space and complete flexibility with their vendors, vision, and wedding date, hosting a wedding à la maison could be your perfect fit.

Brides like Twyla Shelmire, whose wedding is featured in our most recent issue of D Weddings, who have decided to tie the knot at home can speak to the advantages. Twyla shares how she designed her backyard reception and gives advice for couples doing the same. Elizabeth McKeller, local wedding planner and owner of The Nouveau Romantics—whose expertise you can see in action in Robyn Sills and Travis Wedgeworth’s big day, previously featured in D Weddings—also shares her tips and ideas to make your home your dream wedding venue.

Prep Your Home

Once you have decided on a backyard wedding, the next step is beginning prep for the big day. When it comes to gardening, landscaping, and interior design, this is something you can start months in advance. Elizabeth shares that if you plan on having guests in your home, it is a good idea to simplify the decor and remove larger furniture pieces to ensure that there is plenty of space for guests to move around. While you are working on sprucing up your home, go ahead and invite your vendors (especially your tent, lighting, and structural vendors) out to your property for a walk through.

Gather Inspiration

The best part about a backyard wedding is that it’s a blank slate, and the immense flexibility allows your creativity to run free in choosing decor. Before you go down a Pinterest rabbit hole, Twyla advises to set a certain theme. “Gather as much inspiration as you can, and it doesn’t necessarily need to come from weddings,” she says. “It could be a really cool piece of wallpaper you found or a piece of art that could inspire your color palette, your invitations, or even the vibe of the party.” Elizabeth adds that you can gather inspiration from your favorite places to travel or even hotels, but don’t try to make your style or home into something it’s not. “Don’t pretend to be someone else’s wedding,” she says. “Take your home, take your topography, take what’s there and expand on it, and that will be unique.”

Elevate Your Vision

The options for elevating your yard and home are endless. For Twyla’s reception, they gave the space a dreamy feel with string lights, candelabras, dinner party music, and an outdoor seating area. She replicated her envelope liner pattern on the front of the bar and topped it with rattan lamps to make the space extra homey. Elizabeth suggests to string lights in trees and line pathways with votive candles. If you have a pool, adding candles or flowers is a great way to make it a focal point. On the flip side, if you need the square footage, you could also cover the pool and turn it into your dance floor.

Don’t Overlook the Logistics

Though planning the aesthetic elements of your big day is arguably the most fun, don’t make the mistake of overlooking the not-so-fun logistics in the process. Depending on the size of your wedding and which parts you plan on hosting outdoors, you will most likely need to rent bathrooms, a generator, and a weather-resistant tent. Remember that any structural items need to be loaded in before, so it is important to factor in delivery access points to avoid wrecking your grass (or worse, creating a mud pit!) before the big day. Elizabeth also suggests going ahead and hiring security and private liability insurance for your event, because it’s always good to be over-prepared.

Think about the Flow

The best way to begin designing your home and/or property is to think about the guest experience. Elizabeth suggests starting with the moment the guests arrive, and asking yourself how they will park, what they will do when they arrive, who they will be greeted by, etc. She describes the ideal layout as a “series of walls,” where guests would come in and see the ceremony, then cocktail hour, and finally the reception space. Twyla shares how her reception began with bagpipers welcoming guests who had arrived on buses and played them through the entryway, dining, and living room, right out to the backyard where the tent was set up. Your guests will appreciate your attention to detail, and you will be creating a space where your wedding moments are made and remembered for decades to come.