Wonderful Wedding, Celebrating the Big Day at Home

So your daughter has decided to marry her childhood sweetheart. Its a time of great joy and excitement for any family. Then she tells you she and her fiancé want to celebrate the nuptials at home, in the intimacy of her own backyard. That decision means a great deal more work than you had planned on!

Whatever its challenges, an at-home wedding carries a warm ambiance all its own. What could be more personal on such a special day than celebrating with your family and closest friends at home? Its a unique, intimate atmosphere thats impossible to replicate in any reception hall. As you begin the planning process, here are a few ideas and recipes to consider. Its sure to be a wedding you'll never forget.

Preparing Your Home
Every wedding involves a great amount of preplanning, and a wedding at home involves a host of extra details to attend to. As you embark on your planning, there are a few things to consider. Take a good look around your party space and assess what you'll need to do to get ready:

Evaluate the available space in your house and yard. Are you planning on inviting 50? 100? Consider how many people you can comfortably entertain. If your wedding is in late spring or early summer, you may want to have the ceremony outdoors. you'll most likely want to use both your indoor and outdoor space to house guests for the reception, which will maximize the number of people you can invite. Consider rearranging furniture (or even removing it to storage) if you really need the extra room.

Don't forget about the weather.
Plan on renting a tent to protect your guests from an unexpected rain shower (or the bright sun). Arrange to have the tent set up two or three days before the wedding so that you can make any necessary adjustments and get chairs, tables, etc. set up in plenty of time.

Several weeks before your party, walk through your yard after a heavy rainfall or big storm. Note where puddles gather, how water runs off your roof, where tree branches droop, etc. That way, if youre faced with wet weather on the big day, you'll at least know which areas of the yard will need the most attention.

Water and mow your lawn no less than three days before the event. This will give it plenty of time to dry out. Dont forget to turn off timed in-ground sprinklers!

Mosquitoes and other pests are something you'll also have to think about. You may want to spray your yard ahead of time to eliminate them.

Where will you serve the food?
Will you have a buffet-style meal, a heavy appetizers roaming reception or a full sit-down meal? A full sit-down dinner will require more room for tables and chairs and more help to serve. Is your kitchen large enough to handle food storage and preparation for the number of guests youd like to invite and the type of meal you would like to serve? Many standard-sized refrigerators simply cant hold the amounts of food you'll require to feed a party of approximately 50 guests. You may need to rent refrigerators to help store food.

You'll need extra help for last-minute tasks such as food preparation, setting tables, serving and cleanup. If youre not hiring servers for these tasks, enlist the help of as many friends as you can. Give each one a specific duty so that nothing gets overlooked on the big day.

You may need to rent or borrow silverware. The same goes for tables and chairs, tablecloths and napkins. If youre planning a more causal wedding and you feel comfortable using them, consider paper products which will save you a great deal of work.

Stock up on plenty of hand soap, towels and bathroom tissue.

What is the parking situation in your neighborhood?
Will your guests be able to park their cars nearby? You may want to consider hiring a valet company to handle this duty.

If you are planning an evening wedding and some or all of the party will happen outdoors, you will need to make arrangements for proper lighting. If you plan on using candles, make sure they will be placed far away from anything flammable and keep a fire extinguisher at the ready.

Notify your neighbors well in advance of the party, so theyre not surprised or upset by the crowd and noise. Better yet invite them to enjoy the day with you!

Celebrate Your Big Day With Big Y!
Our party planning experts are ready to assist you with your catering needs. We offer an incredible variety of foods perfect for your celebration.

From Big Y's Colors of Summer magazine, June 2004