After over ten years working in the wedding industry, some of my very favorite weddings I’ve ever photographed are backyard weddings. They take the best of both worlds: the intimate and flexible nature of an elopement or microwedding, plus the feeling of a party filled with all your favorite people just like any other traditional wedding. There are lots of ways that you can go about it. Here are some of my best tips for planning your backyard wedding in New Mexico!
Use a Family Home for your Backyard Wedding
I love when a couple can use their own home or one of their parents’ homes for their backyard wedding, as it feels so meaningful to their personal history together. This is a place you already have spent so much time with each other and/or your loved ones. How fitting that you get to celebrate one of your happiest days together here! And, it will always carry the sweet memories from your wedding day forward too.
Some other perks: you have full control and access to your backyard wedding “venue” making it easier to set things up in advance and in the exact way you want it.
Plan an Airbnb Wedding
Of course, not everyone has access to a backyard suitable for hosting a wedding, particularly as your guest count gets larger. And not everyone wants their home to double as a wedding venue. I’ve seen many couples find success in renting a vacation home (as through Airbnb or VRBO) and utilizing that for their wedding. Some homes are used this way so frequently that they are basically an Airbnb wedding venue.
The biggest thing to note here is that you must receive permission from the owner of the property to host a large event like this, as many specifically do not allow large parties or events.
Destination Backyard Weddings
Another perk for an Airbnb wedding is that you can book it anywhere! This is a way to have a little destination wedding or elopement, while also getting to host some of your guests. My most popular places where people have destination backyard weddings or elopements at a rental house are in the mountain towns of New Mexico and Colorado like Taos, Santa Fe, Abiquiu, Durango, Telluride, and Woodland Park. You can view a few examples below:
Hannah and Alec’s Airbnb wedding near Telluride, Colorado
Brynn and Chase’s Airbnb wedding in Taos, New Mexico
Jessa and Robby’s Airbnb wedding in Woodland Park, Colorado
Another option for a destination backyard-style wedding, skipping the traditional wedding venue route, is to book up a place of lodging, like an inn or bed and breakfast, for all your guests and use their property for your wedding. While this is veering away from an actual “backyard” setup, the perks can be similar. Everyone gets to stay in a destination for a long weekend, and you have control over how simple or extravagant you want to go. Here are a couple examples of venues like this:
Hotel Luna Mystica wedding venue in Taos, New Mexico
Canon del Rio wedding venue in Jemez Springs, New Mexico
How Big is a Backyard Wedding?
Honestly, this totally depends on how big your space is and how big you want your wedding to be. I’ve had backyard weddings have anywhere between zero guests to well over 100 guests.
Some people choose a backyard wedding to allow a bigger budget for a large guest count. Others want the backyard wedding experience to simplify everything, with no need for more than their closest family and friends.
Examples of a big backyard wedding with over 100 guests:
Brooke and Daniel’s autumn backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 130 guests
Grace and Carey’s spring backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 130 guests
Gabbi and Cody’s summer backyard wedding in Tijeras with 100 guests
Examples of a small backyard wedding with less than 50 guests:
Rosemina and Nader’s backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 25 guests
Kristen and Ryan’s backyard wedding in Santa Fe with 50 guests
Just like any other wedding, the more guests you want to invite, the more you’re going to need to invest in your budget and planning. And, of course, consider how large your backyard and/or home space is. Can you realistically fit all the guests you’re hoping to fit?
What Vendors Do You Need?
One of the main reasons people consider a backyard wedding is to cut the cost of renting a wedding venue. Many people choose to DIY lots of their other wedding details as well. But what is realistic to do yourself, and what’s better to entrust your budget to the professionals? Here’s my hot take.
Photography
I’m obviously biased, but I truly believe there’s no way around hiring a professional wedding photographer to capture your day, no matter how simple you’re keeping it. There are no redos for your wedding photos, and they will be the one thing for your future selves to relive the day.
Contact me, DBK Photography, for your backyard wedding photographer in New Mexico or Colorado.
Catering
Every single backyard wedding I’ve photographed has hired a caterer, for good reason. There are plenty of things for you to be doing to prepare for your wedding. Feeding your people is a whole other thing. Remember, your catering team will likely not only prepare the food, but help to serve it, and clean up afterward. WORTH IT.
Some local New Mexico catering companies to consider:
Rentals
Most likely, if you’re having more than 10-20 people come to your wedding, you do not have enough tables and chairs for everyone. Bare minimum, you’re probably looking at renting these. You might also consider umbrellas for the tables and/or a tent for the elements (both sun and rain.) If you’re hoping to have dancing at your reception, also consider renting a dance floor. You can also choose to rent things like a ceremony arch or other decor.
Darling Details is my very favorite wedding rental company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
AA Tents and Events is another local rental source with a large inventory.
Wedding Planner
Honestly, a day-of coordinator is worth their weight in gold, particularly if you are feeling overwhelmed communicating with your other vendors and keeping track of all the details. A planner/coordinator is going to help you enjoy your day without worrying about everything running smoothly. Of course, if it is out of your budget, that’s totally understandable. I will just emphasize planning ahead and planning for potential mishaps.
Just Lovely Weddings is one of my favorite New Mexico wedding planners.
Music
My stance is that if you don’t have the budget for a good DJ/MC, you may as well do it yourself. (Or better yet, designate a friend to run a playlist you create yourself.) I hate to say it, but a cheap DJ with little experience can bring the party down in a bad way. A good DJ or band will definitely bring the party, so if that’s what you want for your reception, I would invest in it. If you’re not going to have much focus on dancing or music, then DIY it.
One of my favorite DJs in Colorado is Party for a Lifetime
Flowers
This is an optional one, depending on your personal dreams. If you want beautiful professional florals to take part of your wedding budget, I’m always a fan! If you feel like sticking with simple DIY flowers, go for it, but remember to allot enough time ahead of the wedding day to get these put together! A good middle ground a lot of clients find is to have the pros make the bridal bouquet, and sometimes a few bouquets for the wedding party, but no additional centerpieces or other floral decor. Two local Albuquerque florists to consider:
Portable Restrooms
My last mention that you may not have thought about is not glamorous, but it can be important. If you only have one or two indoor restrooms available to a large number of guests, or if you’re hoping to keep everyone from having to enter the house altogether, then consider renting portable restrooms. These do not have to be the gross portapotties you’re thinking of! Portable restrooms these days can have all the appliances, running water, and lights you’d expect in any regular restroom. A couple ideas below:
Customizing Your Backyard Wedding Day
This is the best part of having a backyard wedding: the day is what you make it! Don’t want a reception with dancing? You don’t have to! You want an intimate elopement ceremony but still want to have a party with your loved ones? You can do that!
I have seen so many versions of a backyard wedding day:
- Full day wedding at home with ceremony and reception in the backyard (like this DIY Los Ranchos backyard wedding)
- Ceremony at a church followed by reception dinner at the family home (like this Albuquerque backyard wedding with their ceremony at UNM Alumni Chapel)
- Intimate elopement at a vacation rental home with 0-10 guests (like this totally intimate elopement at an Airbnb in Taos)
- Destination elopement ceremony followed by friends and family gathering at a nearby home (like this intimate Chama River wedding)
- Backyard wedding celebrations with time for the couple to take photos at an offsite location (like this backyard Indian wedding)
- Getting ready offsite (like a hotel) before getting to the backyard wedding, to give yourself space as things get set up (like this Santa Fe backyard wedding)
As you can see, there are SO many ways to plan a backyard wedding in New Mexico or Colorado. If you’ve been considering getting married at your family home, or maybe think you want an Airbnb wedding, I hope this empowers you to plan your wedding day the way you want!
And, if you’re looking for a photographer to capture your backyard wedding anywhere in New Mexico or Colorado, I would love to help. Fill out the contact form below.
After over ten years working in the wedding industry, some of my very favorite weddings I’ve ever photographed are backyard weddings. They take the best of both worlds: the intimate and flexible nature of an elopement or microwedding, plus the feeling of a party filled with all your favorite people just like any other traditional wedding. There are lots of ways that you can go about it. Here are some of my best tips for planning your backyard wedding in New Mexico!
Use a Family Home for your Backyard Wedding
I love when a couple can use their own home or one of their parents’ homes for their backyard wedding, as it feels so meaningful to their personal history together. This is a place you already have spent so much time with each other and/or your loved ones. How fitting that you get to celebrate one of your happiest days together here! And, it will always carry the sweet memories from your wedding day forward too.
Some other perks: you have full control and access to your backyard wedding “venue” making it easier to set things up in advance and in the exact way you want it.
Plan an Airbnb Wedding
Of course, not everyone has access to a backyard suitable for hosting a wedding, particularly as your guest count gets larger. And not everyone wants their home to double as a wedding venue. I’ve seen many couples find success in renting a vacation home (as through Airbnb or VRBO) and utilizing that for their wedding. Some homes are used this way so frequently that they are basically an Airbnb wedding venue.
The biggest thing to note here is that you must receive permission from the owner of the property to host a large event like this, as many specifically do not allow large parties or events.
Destination Backyard Weddings
Another perk for an Airbnb wedding is that you can book it anywhere! This is a way to have a little destination wedding or elopement, while also getting to host some of your guests. My most popular places where people have destination backyard weddings or elopements at a rental house are in the mountain towns of New Mexico and Colorado like Taos, Santa Fe, Abiquiu, Durango, Telluride, and Woodland Park. You can view a few examples below:
Hannah and Alec’s Airbnb wedding near Telluride, Colorado
Brynn and Chase’s Airbnb wedding in Taos, New Mexico
Jessa and Robby’s Airbnb wedding in Woodland Park, Colorado
Another option for a destination backyard-style wedding, skipping the traditional wedding venue route, is to book up a place of lodging, like an inn or bed and breakfast, for all your guests and use their property for your wedding. While this is veering away from an actual “backyard” setup, the perks can be similar. Everyone gets to stay in a destination for a long weekend, and you have control over how simple or extravagant you want to go. Here are a couple examples of venues like this:
Hotel Luna Mystica wedding venue in Taos, New Mexico
Canon del Rio wedding venue in Jemez Springs, New Mexico
How Big is a Backyard Wedding?
Honestly, this totally depends on how big your space is and how big you want your wedding to be. I’ve had backyard weddings have anywhere between zero guests to well over 100 guests.
Some people choose a backyard wedding to allow a bigger budget for a large guest count. Others want the backyard wedding experience to simplify everything, with no need for more than their closest family and friends.
Examples of a big backyard wedding with over 100 guests:
Brooke and Daniel’s autumn backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 130 guests
Grace and Carey’s spring backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 130 guests
Gabbi and Cody’s summer backyard wedding in Tijeras with 100 guests
Examples of a small backyard wedding with less than 50 guests:
Rosemina and Nader’s backyard wedding in Albuquerque with 25 guests
Kristen and Ryan’s backyard wedding in Santa Fe with 50 guests
Just like any other wedding, the more guests you want to invite, the more you’re going to need to invest in your budget and planning. And, of course, consider how large your backyard and/or home space is. Can you realistically fit all the guests you’re hoping to fit?
What Vendors Do You Need?
One of the main reasons people consider a backyard wedding is to cut the cost of renting a wedding venue. Many people choose to DIY lots of their other wedding details as well. But what is realistic to do yourself, and what’s better to entrust your budget to the professionals? Here’s my hot take.
Photography
I’m obviously biased, but I truly believe there’s no way around hiring a professional wedding photographer to capture your day, no matter how simple you’re keeping it. There are no redos for your wedding photos, and they will be the one thing for your future selves to relive the day.
Contact me, DBK Photography, for your backyard wedding photographer in New Mexico or Colorado.
Catering
Every single backyard wedding I’ve photographed has hired a caterer, for good reason. There are plenty of things for you to be doing to prepare for your wedding. Feeding your people is a whole other thing. Remember, your catering team will likely not only prepare the food, but help to serve it, and clean up afterward. WORTH IT.
Some local New Mexico catering companies to consider:
Rentals
Most likely, if you’re having more than 10-20 people come to your wedding, you do not have enough tables and chairs for everyone. Bare minimum, you’re probably looking at renting these. You might also consider umbrellas for the tables and/or a tent for the elements (both sun and rain.) If you’re hoping to have dancing at your reception, also consider renting a dance floor. You can also choose to rent things like a ceremony arch or other decor.
Darling Details is my very favorite wedding rental company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
AA Tents and Events is another local rental source with a large inventory.
Wedding Planner
Honestly, a day-of coordinator is worth their weight in gold, particularly if you are feeling overwhelmed communicating with your other vendors and keeping track of all the details. A planner/coordinator is going to help you enjoy your day without worrying about everything running smoothly. Of course, if it is out of your budget, that’s totally understandable. I will just emphasize planning ahead and planning for potential mishaps.
Just Lovely Weddings is one of my favorite New Mexico wedding planners.
Music
My stance is that if you don’t have the budget for a good DJ/MC, you may as well do it yourself. (Or better yet, designate a friend to run a playlist you create yourself.) I hate to say it, but a cheap DJ with little experience can bring the party down in a bad way. A good DJ or band will definitely bring the party, so if that’s what you want for your reception, I would invest in it. If you’re not going to have much focus on dancing or music, then DIY it.
One of my favorite DJs in Colorado is Party for a Lifetime
Flowers
This is an optional one, depending on your personal dreams. If you want beautiful professional florals to take part of your wedding budget, I’m always a fan! If you feel like sticking with simple DIY flowers, go for it, but remember to allot enough time ahead of the wedding day to get these put together! A good middle ground a lot of clients find is to have the pros make the bridal bouquet, and sometimes a few bouquets for the wedding party, but no additional centerpieces or other floral decor. Two local Albuquerque florists to consider:
Portable Restrooms
My last mention that you may not have thought about is not glamorous, but it can be important. If you only have one or two indoor restrooms available to a large number of guests, or if you’re hoping to keep everyone from having to enter the house altogether, then consider renting portable restrooms. These do not have to be the gross portapotties you’re thinking of! Portable restrooms these days can have all the appliances, running water, and lights you’d expect in any regular restroom. A couple ideas below:
Customizing Your Backyard Wedding Day
This is the best part of having a backyard wedding: the day is what you make it! Don’t want a reception with dancing? You don’t have to! You want an intimate elopement ceremony but still want to have a party with your loved ones? You can do that!
I have seen so many versions of a backyard wedding day:
- Full day wedding at home with ceremony and reception in the backyard (like this DIY Los Ranchos backyard wedding)
- Ceremony at a church followed by reception dinner at the family home (like this Albuquerque backyard wedding with their ceremony at UNM Alumni Chapel)
- Intimate elopement at a vacation rental home with 0-10 guests (like this totally intimate elopement at an Airbnb in Taos)
- Destination elopement ceremony followed by friends and family gathering at a nearby home (like this intimate Chama River wedding)
- Backyard wedding celebrations with time for the couple to take photos at an offsite location (like this backyard Indian wedding)
- Getting ready offsite (like a hotel) before getting to the backyard wedding, to give yourself space as things get set up (like this Santa Fe backyard wedding)
As you can see, there are SO many ways to plan a backyard wedding in New Mexico or Colorado. If you’ve been considering getting married at your family home, or maybe think you want an Airbnb wedding, I hope this empowers you to plan your wedding day the way you want!
And, if you’re looking for a photographer to capture your backyard wedding anywhere in New Mexico or Colorado, I would love to help. Fill out the contact form below.