Locations >> Home Weddings and Backyard Weddings
Whether you call it a home wedding, backyard wedding, or a do-it-yourself wedding, yours will be meaningful and uniquely your own.
As the economy slowed, some couples turned to home weddings. Does your home have a garden, a patio, or a great room that you think would be a nice setting for your wedding? How about a home ceremony in front of your fireplace, surrounded by your pets? You can do it! Here are just a few tips for a home wedding / DIY wedding.
What do you need to do to have a beautiful home wedding?
The same things that you need for any other wedding: Two loving people who want to be wed; one congenial officiant. Other things, rings, guests, flowers, are all optional!
Your home wedding can be as simple or structured as you would like!
One of the most sincere complements I have ever received is Natasha's father recommending me to marry his daughter. It had been an honor to marry MaryLou and Serge at Mystic Seaport, and less than a month later Natasha called.
Natasha and Le'Once wanted a simple wedding ceremony, one that would recognize their years together and their daughter, Ayjia. It was a pleasure to create a special wedding ceremony just for them. Ayjia was thrilled with a reading from Dr. Seuss that linked her with the future of her parents. Including children in a wedding ceremony is pure joy for me!
Have you thought about video at your in-home wedding? Videotaping a small wedding is easy: You can simply set up a tripod, start the video camera, and record your intimate wedding at home. In a few minutes you will forget that the camera is on! Nobody will be distracted from your ceremony by having to take care of the camera. If you want professional results, however, it's best to hire a videographer who is used to doing at-home weddings. Justin Appi of Video Affair Photography and Video comes highly recommended.
At A.G. and N.M.'s intimate wedding ceremony there were very simple decorations. A.G. had brought hand-made Chinese "Double Happiness" decorations, black ink on white rice paper, with her from China. N.M. had purchased votive candles, which provided a soft, romantic glow for their small wedding.
After the English vows, they said a few words to each other in Mandarin, keeping their special vows private. For the homemade wedding pictures, I took photos of them exchanging tokens. It was a very special private wedding, and I felt honored to be part of it!
For K.C. and J.B.'s intimate wedding ceremony they exchanged vows in the great room of their home by their horse farm. K.C.'s daughter held her mom's flowers while her new dad put the ring on her mom's hand. After the ceremony, I took pictures for their family album. Their private wedding was fun!
Backyard Weddings Can Be Elegant and Fun!
Josam surprised Rachel by sending a horse-drawn carriage to pick her up for their wedding.
Josam and Rachel put a lot of their own thought and work into their backyard wedding, transforming their yard into a romantic setting. The surroundings were natural, yet made special by the addition of personal touches.
You can't beat an outdoor wedding for decorations. Whether it's spring, summer, or fall, Mother Nature provides lots of color.
These days many people are concerned about the environmental impact of special events, and a backyard wedding is usually a green wedding.
Backyard Weddings Can Be Casual
Jamie and John invited their guests to celebrate their marriage at their backyard wedding. Jamie's father put together an arch, which her mother decorated with flowers and lights. Friends and family made a buffet-style banquet for the backyard wedding reception, and they even had a homemade wedding cake.
