Your backyard may look just perfect today, until you envision your big day. Once you imagine your family and friends walking toward your ceremony, sitting in their chairs during the service, taking photos after, and enjoying appetizers and drinks afterwards, your backyard looks very different. Suddenly, your patio appears dull, your lawn uneven, and that messy spot near the fence is really obvious. Here’s how to prepare your garden for a backyard wedding with fast and easy tips.
How to Prepare Your Backyard for a Wedding
When preparing your garden for a wedding, it’s helpful to keep things practical. You don’t want to remake the entire yard. You simply want it to appear clean, inviting, and allow people to easily maneuver through it. Most of the most attractive outdoor weddings rely on only a few smart decisions that can make an impact if completed early enough.
Clean All the Hard Surface Areas Surrounding Your Garden
Many times, people initially consider flowers first; however, the hard surface areas (paths, patios, stairs, entryways) do most of the visual work prior to guest arrival at their seat. If these surfaces are dirty, dusty, or coated with years of debris build-up, your garden as a whole may appear less cared for than it truly is.
Deep cleaning of the hard surface areas surrounding your garden is the key. A lightweight brush and hose may suffice to remove some lighter dirt & debris; however, older stones or concrete typically require more. An electric power washer is a great option for removing grime from both paving and garden walls, as well as outdoor entertainment spaces, without creating another massive project for the weekend. The difference can be visually impressive, particularly when viewed via photographs where clean surfaces enhance the appearance of other elements.
Complete the cleaning process before decorating. Allow the area sufficient time to dry and then address any disturbed topsoil or mulch.
Tidy Up the Yard Before Adding Decorations
You can become extremely enthusiastic about arbor designs, ribbon usage, table settings, etc., yet nothing enhances the beauty of a garden more than having it appear neatly maintained prior to adding decorations. Overgrown shrubs and unkempt flowerbeds are difficult to hide under ribbons and decorations.
Begin by trimming overgrown shrubbery. Also, trim hedges to give them a purposeful appearance vs. a large bulkiness. Remove any dead branches hanging into walkways. Eliminate any obviously spent seasonal plants instead of relying on the idea that no one will ever realize they are gone. Apply fresh mulch to garden beds to bring order to those areas with minimal effort.
This matters since guests view the entire setting around and beyond the ceremony location, including walkways, while waiting. A tidied garden provides a peaceful atmosphere that adds elegance to simple decorations.
Plan for Guest Movement Patterns
A beautiful yard is not always an easy yard to navigate. Guests may realize this as soon as they arrive at your home, wearing nicer shoes than usual, carrying gifts, or trying to locate their designated seat, chatting with family members while standing, and drinking something.
Consider where you want your guests to walk. How do you envision your guests entering the yard? What locations will be most likely to attract guests before the wedding ceremony begins? Will the pathways leading to their assigned seating be wide enough?
At times, the simplest ways to improve an area are not necessarily decorative in nature. Relocate potted plants to narrow pathways. Fix uneven patches in the lawn. Create a clear and unobstructed path to seating areas. Ensure that seating is easily accessible without having to step over edging or onto uneven terrain for older guests attending.
Guest comfort in an outdoor wedding environment directly correlates with how well they can navigate through it. There should not be confusion as to where guests should proceed or concern regarding potential injuries to ankles or feet while navigating through the yard.
Revamp Elements Guests Will Touch
Outdoor furniture is generally invisible, until something happens which prompts you to look at it closer, as when cleaning, painting, or repairing outdoor furniture, you notice the layer of dust on armrests of chairs, peeling paint on the surface of benches, or the table that shakes when people place their drinks on it. The condition of all of the above-mentioned elements will be one way guests perceive your entire yard, whether it looks nice in general photographs or not. Clean every chair and tabletop, secure loose parts of your outdoor furniture (hardware), and remove anything that appears worn and is unsuitable to preserve for this function. Test all of your current garden seating in a manner in which your guests will be using it.
The same principle can also be applied to the gates, railings, and entrance doors into your yard. Guests will pass through each of these areas; therefore, make sure they are clean. A wedding in a yard should still have the appearance of being well-maintained at ground level, not simply visually pleasing from far away.
Work With Light Early
Light affects every aspect of your outdoor location. What may seem so serene & beautiful during the day as you walk through your garden area is harsh & unforgiving by mid-afternoon. As you look at your garden at the exact same time your ceremony/reception will take place, do not assume things will work out just because you have planned them that way.
Identify the areas where light shines on your garden. If there is going to be an open path of sun that hits the groom/bride and unevenly distributed shade to seated guests, make sure to adjust accordingly. The small adjustment could help in creating a comfortable setting, along with good photography quality in your garden.
Next, think about the lighting needs for after hours. As you extend your wedding beyond daylight hours, use lighting to safely light up areas of the yard that guests need or would like to visit (pathway/steps/dining table/ etc.). While string lights are great, they give off the best light when defining rather than distracting.
Pro Tip: Use battery packs for places without ample electrical wiring nearby.
Plug Weak Spots with Strong Temporary Options
While most gardens contain one section that never looks good, ideally, now is NOT the time to initiate massive landscape projects, nor attempt to rush new planting solutions in hopes they develop quickly enough before your wedding day.
Instead, use powerful temporary solutions to cover weak spots in your garden. Piled potted plants can fill voids where your garden feels empty. Large containers situated near the ceremony area can produce form and balance. A few healthy greenery additions strategically positioned within your garden can also serve to deflect attention from bare spots.
Although people likely won’t remember all the details, they’ll remember how pleasant/easy it was to stroll through your garden while watching you say your vows.
For more tips, see our guide on how to plan a backyard wedding.
