Tag Archives: wedding reception location

The Challenges of Planning a Backyard Wedding

A wedding at your own backyard has several distinct advantages. First, it saves you a considerable sum of money you would have spent renting a wedding reception location. Secondly, it gives an intimate and personal feel to the wedding, particularly if you’re only inviting a small group of close family members and friends. Also, everything is nearby so you don’t have to rush about to get something you may have forgotten.

Some of the basics in setting your backyard as your wedding location include:

–          Space planning. Even with a spacious backyard, you have to allot spaces to key elements of your wedding. This includes the place where you and the groom will stand during the wedding ceremony, the seating space for guests, and space to set the guest tables and buffet tables. You will also set aside some space in your kitchen (and even your dining room) for the caterer. In addition, you will also need to allot for dressing areas, particularly for the female members of the entourage.

–          Rental of equipment. Please note that there are a lot of items that you will need to create that special ambiance for your wedding. This includes the lighting and sound systems, chairs and tables for the guests, decorations such as potted plants and sparkling lights, and more. If you plan to serve lunch or dinner, you may also need to rent plates and linen.

–          Decorations.Of course you would want to prettify your backyard so that it becomes a great setting as a wedding venue and reception location. You may need to work at adding decorative elements – plants, lighting, decorations for the photo booth and for the overall surroundings. Some of these things you may need to have to build from scratch – for instance, if you’d rather make your own gazebo, then you need to allot time and materials to get this done. You will also need more than an extra pair of hands to set up the seating and floral arrangments on the day itself. Some arrangements should also be made with regards to packing and cleaning up.

–          Alternatives to an outdoor wedding. What happens in case it rains? Will you have enough space indoors to accommodate all the guests? You may have to make provisions for this, otherwise, to have some tents or some kind of shelter built to ensure your guests are happy and comfortable during the ceremony and reception.

–          Kitchen space. Your standard sized kitchen may not provide enough space for your caterer’s requirements so you may have to find an area where they can work more efficiently. They may need to set up a buffet table and also a station to heat and prepare the rest of the food.

–          Parking considerations. Remember that guests may be driving over to your home. Your parking area may not be enough to accommodate all these. You may need to make arrangements with your neighbors for the temporary inconvenient of occupying available parking spaces in your area.

As you can see, having a backyard wedding will take a lot of work for both you and your family and friends. However, if you do get it right, your wedding can be as intimate and personal as you want.

If you want to have less stress and hassle on your wedding, you can also think about having your wedding at the many wedding reception locations in Utah. This can free up a lot of your time with regards to setting up and organizing the items stated above. One such option is The Ivy House, a SLC, Utah wedding venue.

The Ivy House is a Utah wedding location equipped with all you will ever need to have a hassle-free and enjoyable wedding experience. These include dressing areas for the bride and groom, a good sound and lighting system, enough table and chairs for a mid-sized occasion, a romantic staircase with indoor and outdoor balcony, a baby grand piano and more.

How a Wedding Planner can Help Create Your Dream Wedding

A wedding is actually one large project with a lot of mini-projects. You will have to manage these mini-projects to ensure that each one is according to your specifications and requirements. Depending on how involved you want to be for your wedding, a lot of your work and time will be eaten up by the all the wedding preparations.

For instance, you will have to keep track of your gowns (as well as the suits and gowns of your entourage), your wedding favors, your wedding invitations and the guests’ responses, the food and cake, the marriage license and all its legal requirements, the bridal registry, the flowers, booking the wedding reception location, the caterer’s tableware and linen, hair and makeup trials and booking, the musicians or DJ and so much more. Whew! Does the list make you dizzy just by reading it?

A wedding organizer or wedding planner may just be the ticket. A wedding planner can actually be a bride’s best friend as a wedding planner will work to make things easier for you. Your wedding planner can be as involved as you want – if you want to retain decision-making and control, you can still do so, only without having to do the legwork.

Here are some benefits to working with a wedding planner:

A wedding planner saves you money. Wedding planners have great relationships with wedding-related suppliers – such as seamstresses, caterers, wedding venues and so on. They can work out better deals –not just with the monetary cost but also on the quality of service.

A wedding planner saves your sanity. Going at it on your own can be a challenge. If you are inexperienced, you may end up making mistakes that may cost you. The stress and tension of the preparations may also chafe on your emotions and even affect your relationship with your fiance. A lot of fights between couples during this time will have something to do with the wedding preparations. Indeed, wedding preparations can be chaotic. Here is where a wedding planner can come in. Forgot something important at the last minute? The wedding planner will most likely have thought about it and will come up with an alternative. Do you have a stain on your gown? The wedding planner will have the tools to fix these mishaps. With a wedding planner, you can actually reduce your stress level and have peace of mind, knowing that someone is there to take care of the details.

A wedding planner guarantees can help create a flawless wedding. A wedding will need a lot of “backstage preparations and emergencies”, especially on the wedding day itself. With a wedding planner running the show, you have an increased chance of better coordination and implementation of each part of the wedding.

A wedding planner helps save you time. Instead of you taking time out to research suppliers, try out possible vendors, choose the decorations for the wedding reception location and so on, what you need to do is simply to appear and decide. The wedding planner will iron out the small details for you.

Simply put, a wedding planner will help you achieve the kind of wedding you want without you having to exert much effort. All you have to do is to make your choice and the wedding planner will make sure it is ordered, produced and delivered according to specifications.

A wedding planner can give you valuable advice. Since they plan weddings for a business, they are already aware of possible pitfalls to avoid, as well as the latest trends you can choose. How will you set up the wedding reception venue? Just how many extra plates should you add to your current list to allow for breakages? What kind of flowers did Kate Middleton have for her royal wedding? What are the latest innovations and trends in wedding favors – is there something that others have not yet tried? These are the kind of questions that a wedding planner can help you with.

Help with getting a wedding planner

To hire a wedding planner, you can ask for referrals from friends and coworkers who have already married. That way, they can give you feedback on the performance of their wedding planner. You can also book with a Utah reception center that also offers a wedding planner with the package.

The Ivy House is a SLC, Utah reception center that provides not just a wedding planner but also other essential services and providers such as the baker, caterer, floral arranger and photographer and videographer. The Ivy House provides you with these choices for a hassle-free wedding where you can fully enjoy your big day.