Wedding Guide · Backyard Weddings
Planning a Backyard Wedding in Florida
From a husband-and-wife photography team who have photographed weddings in backyards across Northeast Florida, and hosted one at home
Backyard Weddings in Florida
A backyard wedding gives you something a rented room can't: your own ground, your own pace, and guests who already know where the good chairs are. We've photographed weddings in backyards and at private homes around Northeast Florida, and we hosted one at our own place in St. Augustine. This guide walks through how we'd plan one, in the order the decisions tend to come up.
Whether it's a dozen people on a patio or fifty under string lights, most of what makes the day run smoothly gets settled weeks before anyone orders chairs. Below is the plan, along with what we do on our end so the photographs match the day you're picturing.
Backyard Wedding Planning
Why Couples Choose a Backyard Wedding
A venue gives you a room and a schedule. A backyard gives you a day that runs on your terms, in a place that already feels like yours. That's what the couples we've photographed at home tell us they wanted.
Budget is part of it. With no venue fee, the money can go to what shows up in the day itself: good food, real flowers, comfortable seating, music, and a second photographer if you want one.
The rest is harder to price. The oak you planted after you bought the house, the porch where a parent has morning coffee, the yard you grew up in. Those details give a backyard wedding a story that no rental can borrow.
You also set the rules. You choose who comes, what's served, what the music sounds like and when the last guest heads home. At backyard weddings we've carried stacks of chairs to the ceremony spot and helped put a tux on the family dog, because the day belongs to the people in it.
Planning a Backyard Wedding, Step by Step
This is the order we'd work in. Each step has a photography angle, so we've noted it where it helps.
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Pick a guest count and a date
Seating, restrooms, parking and food all scale from the headcount, so start with a number and check it against your space. Once the date is set, photography coverage is simple to plan around it.
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Walk the yard and map it
Stand where your guests will stand. Choose a ceremony spot, a place to eat, a place to dance and a place to mingle, and notice where shade falls and where the sun sets. A phone photo from the officiant's spot shows what the camera will see.
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Choose a tent and a plan B
A tent gives you shade, rain cover and an anchor for string lights. Even if you never need the cover, decide ahead where the ceremony moves if the sky changes: the porch, the garage, the living room.
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List your rentals
Chairs, tables, linens, dinnerware, lighting, restrooms, a dance floor and extra power. A backyard gives you the space and you bring the service, so each item is something you rent, hire or borrow.
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Book the people who run the day
Caterer, bar, officiant, music, florist and photographer. A day-of coordinator takes a lot off your plate, especially with a larger guest list.
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Plan parking, restrooms and cleanup
Decide where guests park, where they find a restroom and who handles the trash at the end of the night. Guests notice these details, and they shape your schedule.
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Tell the neighbors and check local rules
A short conversation now keeps the evening relaxed. The local rules section below covers what to look up.
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Build your two timelines
One simple schedule for guests and one detailed schedule for photography. Here's how we do it.
Laying Out the Yard
Think in zones instead of square footage: arrival, ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dance floor. Guests should always be able to see where to go next, and the couple should have a spot to slip away to for a few quiet minutes. Here's how we'd approach the backyards we see most.
Small yards
We've worked in very small backyards, and they have their own charm. Everyone stays close, the ceremony feels intimate, and the dance floor fills fast. A small space is never what makes the day special. The people in it are. There is always a good angle, and finding it is our job.
Acreage and open lawns
Room for a tent, string lights across the grass and a long view of the sunset. Open lawns give you the freedom to spread out, with separate spots for the ceremony, dinner and dancing.
Family homes
The yard where one of you grew up, or where a parent still lives. These come with built-in meaning: an old garden, a porch swing, a favorite tree.
Yards with water
A pond, a marsh, the intracoastal or a stretch of beach right behind the house. A dock makes a natural ceremony spot and a deck handles dinner. Naima & Avery's wedding, below, had a dock over a pond and weeping willows along the water.
Light and Backdrops That Photograph Well
Good photographs at home come from a few specific choices. Most of them are easy to make while you're still planning.
Shade from trees
Live oaks, magnolias and pecans give soft, open shade that flatters everyone. If your yard has a big oak, we'd plan the ceremony beneath or beside it. If it doesn't, a tent or sail shade gives you the same softness.
A calm backdrop for your vows
Pick the spot where you'll stand with the camera in mind. A hedge, a tree line, a porch railing, the edge of a pond or a simple wooden arch all work well. A week ahead, take a few phone photos from the officiant's angle to see what's behind you. A quick move of the grill, the hose or a boat trailer makes the frame quieter.
String lights and candles
Bistro lights over the patio, across the lawn or through the trees give the evening its glow, and rentals make them easy. Candles on the tables and a few uplights in the trees make a yard look intentional on camera. We'd never flood a yard with lighting that changes the mood, so we talk through your lighting plan with you and decide together whether we should add any of our own.
Where the sun sets
A satellite map shows which side of your yard faces west, and an evening walk-through shows where the sun actually drops behind the trees. We plan couples portraits around that spot, so the light falls on your faces while the guests enjoy the party.
Your Two Timelines
We keep two timelines for a backyard wedding. The first is simple and goes to everyone: be here at this time, be dressed by this time. The second is the photography timeline, and we build it with you.
The photography timeline starts with what matters most to you. Some couples care most about the ceremony, and others care most about the bonfire and a glass of rum afterward. We ask whether you want getting-ready photos, portraits before the ceremony and family photos right after, and when couples portraits should happen. We usually line the couples portraits up with sunset.
How that looks changes with the season, the yard and the kind of day you're planning, so we work it out together on a planning call instead of handing you a fixed schedule.
Your Backyard Wedding Timeline
Answer a few questions about your day and get a photography schedule you can adjust with us.
Build a photography timeline for your wedding day
Get a personalized photography schedule in 60 seconds — no signup required.
Build My Timeline →Weather, Neighbors and Local Rules
Weather
Florida weather moves quickly, so give it a plan. A tent covers most of it, and a named backup spot covers the rest. Decide ahead of time where the ceremony goes if the sky turns, so nobody negotiates in the rain.
Neighbors
A heads-up a couple of weeks ahead, and an invitation to stop by for a drink, goes a long way. Plan the loudest moments, like the first dance and the toasts, for earlier in the evening, then move to quieter music as the night winds down.
Local rules and your license
Noise limits, tent and event permits and parking rules vary by city and county, so check with your local code office before you book anything. The marriage license itself isn't tied to a location, and the first question in our FAQ below covers it.
A Backyard Wedding We Photographed
In November 2025 we hosted a wedding at our own home in St. Augustine, and it remains one of our favorite days.
Naima & Avery — Backyard Wedding at Casa Futrell
Avery's dad is one of Rob's best friends, and we've watched Avery grow up. When Naima and Avery told us what they wanted (trees, nature, a dock over a pond, ducks and about fifty guests), we offered our own backyard. Close friends worked the day with us: Jon Noeth filmed it, and Chase and Parks DeLa Cruz live-streamed the ceremony for Naima's mother in Austria, who couldn't travel at the last minute.
The ceremony was outside under the trees. Family photos moved to the pond and the willows, and the evening ended in golden light before dinner. Heartfelt speeches led to a raw milk toast, a nod to the couple's love of it. Photographing it at home, surrounded by people we love, was a gift.
Naima & Avery's backyard wedding at Casa Futrell
Photographing Your Backyard Wedding
We're Rob and Jill, a husband-and-wife team in St. Augustine, and backyard weddings are some of our favorite days to photograph. They run on their own time, the people there know each other, and the setting always has a story behind it.
For a short ceremony with portraits, our elopement photography fits well: $650 for 60 minutes, or $1,000 for 2 hours. For a full backyard wedding, from getting ready through the dance floor, our wedding photography runs from $1,500 for 4 hours to $2,900 for 8 hours, and a two-photographer day is $3,400.
Planning in Jacksonville? Our Jacksonville wedding photography has no travel fee. Prices and what each package includes are on our wedding photography pricing page.
Related Wedding Guides
- Renting a house for the weekend instead? Read our Airbnb wedding venues guide.
- Keeping the guest list small? See micro weddings in St. Augustine.
- Comparing a backyard with a venue? Browse St. Augustine wedding venues or Jacksonville wedding venues.
- Want to see more of our work at home? View the Naima & Avery gallery.
Yes. A Florida marriage license from any county clerk can be used for a ceremony anywhere in the state, including your own yard. What changes from place to place are local rules on noise, tents and larger gatherings, so check with your city or county before you book. We're photographers, not lawyers, so confirm the details with your county clerk.
Backyard weddings are priced like our other weddings. Wedding coverage runs from $1,500 for 4 hours to $2,900 for 8 hours, and a two-photographer day is $3,400. For a short ceremony with portraits, a Quick Elopement is $650 and an Extended Elopement is $1,000.
It swings widely with the guest count, the food and the rentals, so we won't hand you a number we can't stand behind. The venue fee is the one line you skip, which frees budget for food, seating, lighting and photography coverage. Photography prices are in the answer above.
The lawn matters less than parking, restrooms and seating. We've photographed small gatherings in compact yards and a wedding of about fifty guests at our own home. Start from your guest count, then check parking, restrooms and seating against it.
A tent isn't required, but it gives you shade, rain cover and a place to hang lights. If you skip it, choose your backup spot ahead of time, such as the porch, the garage or a living room.
Most couples rent chairs, tables, linens, dinnerware, lighting, restrooms and a dance floor, and add extra power if the caterer or DJ needs it. A backyard gives you the space, and everything else is something you rent, hire or borrow.
We keep two: a simple one for guests and a detailed photography timeline that we build with you on a planning call. Our timeline generator gives you a starting schedule in about a minute.
Yes. Jacksonville has no travel fee. Amelia Island has a travel fee of $50-75. For anywhere else in Florida, ask us.
It depends on how much of the day you want photographed. If you'd like a short ceremony with portraits, an elopement package fits. If you want getting ready, the ceremony, dinner and dancing, choose wedding coverage.
Planning a Backyard Wedding in Florida?
We're Rob and Jill, a husband-and-wife photography team based in St. Augustine. Tell us about your yard and your date, and we'll tell you how we'd photograph it. St. Augustine Elopement Photographer -> St. Augustine Wedding Photographer ->
Questions? Contact us.