Venue vs backyard wedding? Which is better? Booking a wedding venue is better than a backyard wedding!
You may think that we are biased but we are here to prove that there are many things that are involved into hosting a wedding (your special day) that you may not have even thought about. Let us break it down for you.
Vendor Selection
You may think that you will have more control over selecting a caterer, florist, bartender, wedding planner etc., save money and will no be tied down to a preferred vendors list that venue may have. However, it may be more time consuming to vet vendors and the chances are, you may not have a vendors list as this could be the first ever event that you are planning. This may lead to extra stress that you do not need.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
Vendor selection is an overwhelming and sometimes stressful process. It takes a lot of time to vet, interview and research vendors. This is where a professional venue like High Beam Dreams has an advantage. We have a recommended vendors list that contains a list of different vendors who we have worked with and developed a relationship. We understand how important it is to find vendors who are aligned with your vision and budget.
Cost
You may think you will save on the venue rental fee but backyard weddings often end up costing more than weddings held at a venue. While it seems like, up front, it will save you money, it really doesn’t. A venue can amortize these costs between all of the weddings they’ll host in a year – you’re doing it as a one time investment. If you do not have indoor plans, you will need to rent a tent. Tents can be expensive and may end up costing more than a venue rental. You may want something that is totally rain proof, wind proof, weather proof, temperature controlled with lights and a dance floor. Apart from this, you will need to rent chairs, tables, decor items, table linens, dishware, glassware etc. If you are in British Columbia, you will need a contingency plan for situations like smoke from forest fires or drought like situation during peak of summer (our venue has received requests from couples regarding venue availability during forest fires as they were not able to host a backyard wedding due to smoke).
High Beam Dreams Advantage
You may have to work on making your backyard equipped to host an event. There are lots of things to be kept in mind while planning the set up, for example, you might not have a backup rain plan or an indoor space to host your desired guest count. These are logistics a professional event venue like ours has already figured out and executed hundreds of times. High Beam Dreams is an indoor and outdoor space. When you book a venue, a rain plan isn’t something you have to worry about. With the things that we provide as a part of our package (these would be things you’d have to add in to your budget to buy or rent if you did a backyard wedding) makes your special day stress free and affordable
Indoor & outdoor space
150 folding white resin chairs
Choice of 10, 72 inches round table or 20, 6ft rectangular tables
10 high top tables
White table linens
Wedding Arch
Projector
Basic PA system with cordless mikes
Baby Gran Piano
String lights
Bar Area
Ample parking space
Air conditioning/heating
Refrigeration space, commercial ice machine, coffee machine and hot water dispenser
Commercial food warmer
Landscaping
Your backyard may not be setup to host your special day which means you will need to work on landscaping, that is more cost added to your budget. Think about how many people your backyard safely hold (also think about parking), if there were an emergency? Average square feet per person is 6 to 10 feet. You will need to start at least one year before the scheduled date to have a levelled, perfect yard with some grass, greenery, flowers, etc. Any improvements you’ll need to do to your backyard space will need to be added into your budget, and will likely hit a bit harder since no one is sharing those costs. Landscaping is part of a venue's annual budget. The lawn, any upkeep, it’s all budgeted in. Any improvements – all are amortized into the rental costs for all the weddings they’ll have that year. That means any one fix isn’t being paid for all at once… so it costs less.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
The yard at High Beam Dreams is lush green all throughout the year. We have professionals that come out, prepare and take care of the wedding venue property on a regular basis, especially during wedding season. You don’t have to pay an additional landscaping fees for your wedding day. Additionally, we have a 10,000 liters rainwater harvesting tank that is helpful in keeping the plants happy, flowers blooming and grass green, even during the times when water restrictions are in place.
Photo Ops
You must keep in mind the guest count, how large or small your family is, if there a space in your backyard that has a distraction-free and pretty background that’s big enough for your family photos, or wedding party photos? Is there enough variety of spaces for your couple photos so they won’t all look the same? if not, think about places nearby where you can go for photos. If you plan this, make sure you account for travel time to and from that spot, and that you also think about transportation for everyone who needs to go there.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
With our lush green yard with seasonal and native flowers blooming and stunning high beams indoor, you have tons of room and lots of options for photos. Not only this, our venue is 5 minutes away from the most picturesque beaches so you don't have to worry about arranging for transportation for your family or guests. We have you covered.
Set Up/tear Down
With a backyard wedding, you need ensure you have plenty of time for setup. You may be relying on friends or family for this. One thing to keep in mind is that your friends and family and your wedding party will be busy getting ready and having photos done. You want them to enjoy and celebrate this special day with you and not rush or stress on setting up or taking down, waiting for vendors arrival or helping them find space for parking for loading, unloading etc.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
There is plenty of room for vendors to park at the wedding venue and have easy access for unloading and re-loading when they drop off or pick up items. Our venue requires that you either hire a wedding coordinator yourself or we help you find one from our recommended vendors list. As we provide chairs, tables, linens, it makes it easier for your planner and their team during set up and take down. There is no stress of figuring out getting items delivered to the venue and then returned later. While you may have to rent dishes, glassware etc., most of the stuff being in the venue ensures less stress on you, your family and wedding party.
Lighting
Backyard wedding will require lots of planning for lighting and also power (don't forget that your DJ will need ample power). If you are hosting a reception, and it stretches into dark you’ll need plenty of café or string lights throughout your reception set up and yard lights for safety of your guests while they walk around. Your DJ will need power for their setup. Make sure you test any power sources and have a backup plan if you blow a fuse at the power site.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
Being a venue, we have power in place, string lights, ample plug in for your DJ. This is something you will not have to worry about at a venue.
Restrooms
One more thing to add to your budget while planning a backyard wedding are portable restrooms. You may be tempted to just let you guests use your restroom – but your house plumbing is really only suited to a small number of people (usually one more person than there are bedrooms) – so you’ll need to rent portable restrooms. It’s ideal to have one bathroom per 50 guests. You’ll need a flat, level surface for the portable restroom company to place the bathrooms on. You can expect to spend between $300-1000 on portable restrooms, depending on the style you get, how many you need, and who you rent from.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
Our venue has indoor built in washrooms and out of the two, one is wheelchair accessible.
Accessibility
Accessibility is important while planning a wedding. You want to make each of your guest, and family member feel welcomed. For this, couples must ensure that paths created in your backyard are wheelchair accessible and so are the restroom (or at least one). Making accessible paths is another cost that you will need to keep in mind.
High Beam Dreams Advantage
Our venue is wheelchair accessible with accessible parking, paths, restroom and indoor venue space to make everyone feel welcomed.
Booking a wedding venue surely will relieve some of stress and offer you a for piece of mind, and ease for your wedding party, family, and you as a couple. Not having to worry about all of the little details (like having a plan if it’s muddy or if a vendor doesn’t arrive, or something goes wrong), can be well handled at a wedding venue.
Find the venue that fits right for you. Ask them questions to understand if that venue is the right choice for you. If you are not sure what to ask, head to our blog - Wedding Venue Tour Questions - Things You Should Ask. Contact us about our most sought after dates for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. You can also contact us on Instagram and Facebook.
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Thank you so much for stopping by our blog, we hope you found this information helpful. We want to use our blog to increase awareness and support for locally owned wedding venues. Locally owned wedding venues tend to provide a higher level of expertise, service and dedication. They also have far less turnover than corporate owned or investor owned venues. As you plan your wedding we hope you will consider a locally owned wedding venue like ours.
Photo Credit: Image 1: Hannah Stepaniuk Image 2 & 4: The Memory Writers Canada Image 6: By Breezy Photography
