Wedding guests scattered about during a drinks reception

5 Great Reasons You Should Have Your Wedding at Home

There Are So Many Reasons to Have Your Wedding at Home

If you’re at the beginning of your wedding planning journey, chances are you’re already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wedding venues of all shapes, sizes and styles in your area. There are so many different options to explore, from a destination wedding to your local church and everything in between, but what happens when nothing feels quite right for you?

If you don’t have any personal connections to a particular wedding venue or location then why not consider a wedding at home instead?

If you want a relaxed untraditional wedding day in a comfortable and familiar place, having your wedding at home is the perfect solution. Getting married somewhere that you’re emotionally connected to is priceless because every moment you spend there afterwards will remind you of the best day of your life.

Fun Wedding Photography

Hey, I’m Jenna and I’m a wedding photographer in the Yorkshire area. I’m all about capturing fun and colourful photos of couples on their wedding day!

You can see my work throughout this page. If you’d like to see more, check out my Portfolio or find out more about my style of wedding photography on my Info & FAQs page.

PORTFOLIO
Portrait of Jenna Kathleen, Yorkshire wedding photographer

Are Weddings at Home the New Luxury?

It’s safe to say that smaller weddings in a more intimate setting have increased in popularity here in the UK, especially since the pandemic.

As we were forced to downscale everything about our wedding plans, the positives that came out of that time were realising what was really that important – our close family and friends.

Weddings at home are not so much about the ‘look’. There’s no big wedding venue to fill with people you barely know and no extravagant design. Instead, the focus is on you and your favourite people coming together to celebrate and have a good time.

What could be better than that?

Marquee in a back garden wedding at sunset

In my opinion as a documentary wedding photographer – nothing compares to the photos you’ll get from a DIY wedding at home. Find out why below!

The Documentary Photography Style Is Perfect for an At-Home Wedding

I was lucky enough to photograph a few Yorkshire weddings at home last year in 2023, and by far my favourite thing about them is the freedom of creativity it gave me when capturing them. There’s no set way to do things, no strict timeline, no official rules to follow, and this lends itself well to my relaxed style of photography.

Wedding reception in garden at home

Documentary wedding photography is all about moments. It’s about photographing exactly what’s happening in front of you, but in a unique way that best serves the story. It can be literal, creative, abstract, and emotional, but it’s never planned or posed. It’s so exciting to turn up to a wedding and have no idea what’s going to happen, or indeed what wedding photos I’ll end up with.

The documentary style of wedding photography is perfect for a relaxed outdoor wedding at home.

5 Reasons to Have Your Wedding at Home

If you’re still on the fence about an at-home wedding, here are 5 main reasons why I think they’re well worth considering.

  1. Your photos will be more meaningful as the focus will be on you and your wedding guests without distraction.
  2. Your wedding at home won’t be constrained by rules enforced by wedding venues and officiants.
  3. You can make your wedding day as personal, fun and non-traditional as you like!
  4. You can save on venue costs and instead allocate money to the things that matter to you the most. This could be delicious food and drinks, entertainment, photography (cough), and even your honeymoon.
  5. You’ll feel a deeper personal connection having your intimate wedding at home.
  6. *BONUS REASON* – Canine guests are welcome!
Bride and her dog at home on wedding morning

Practical Information for Your Wedding at Home

  • The current law in England means that you’ll still need to have a short legal ceremony to get your marriage licence. This can be done with just 2 witnesses at your local register office. If you’d like to know more, then check out my Yorkshire Registry Office Wedding page.
  • Make sure you have arranged parking space or transport for your guests.
  • Let guests know in advance to be prepared for the weather and to bring practical shoes if necessary.
  • If you’re having an outdoor ceremony, make sure to have a plan B or lots of umbrellas on hand.
  • Let your neighbours know in advance to avoid any conflict, especially if you’re planning on loud music at night.
  • Make sure your toilets are easy to access and if you have more than 30 people on your guest list, I’d recommend hiring a portable unit.
  • Hire, borrow and thrift furniture to make sure everyone has a chair to sit on!
  • Food trucks are your friend for an at-home wedding! You can also ask guests to contribute with drinks and snacks, or even a bake-off style dessert table.
  • Consider lighting for when it gets dark. You can add fairy lights to a marquee or back garden which will also look great in your photographs.
  • Make sure there’s a suitable surface if you’re having a dance floor or first dance.
Grandma sat holding a drink with drinks surrounding her

Photos of At-Home Weddings in Yorkshire

Here are a few of my favourites from last year’s weddings at home, all of which took place in the back garden of their respective family home.

I have amazing memories from each of these weddings, which could not have been more different from one another. One was very much an intimate celebration, whilst the others had a larger wedding party. One had their wedding reception at a village hall, the others in a marquee on family land. There were handmade floral arrangements, quirky furniture, DIY decor and thoughtful touches galore.

So, if you want to throw traditional out of the window for your own wedding, and replace it with something unique to you and your partner that focuses more on your connections, there’s nothing more meaningful than a wedding at home. Would you agree?

At Home Weddings in Full on the Blog

You can see lots more from these weddings by clicking on the blog posts below.

If you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding at home, I’d love to hear more! You can get in touch via my contact page. I can’t wait to see what you have in store!

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