A Backyard Is a Venue. Kansas City's Backyard Wedding Photographer Says So.
A Backyard Is a Venue. Jamie + Brad Treated It Like One, Correctly.
Jamie + Brad’s intimate backyard wedding outside Lee’s Summit, Missouri, photographed by Stag & Bird, and why we’ll take a well-planned backyard wedding over a ballroom almost any day of the week.
At a glance Couple: Jamie + Brad.
Wedding style: Intimate backyard wedding with a 15-guest ceremony.
Reception: At Jamie’s sister’s home just outside Lee’s Summit, MO.
Day-of coordination: Eden, Wedding Elegance.
Photography: Court + Lauren of Stag & Bird Photography, Kansas City.
Signature detail: Tables decorated with personal keepsakes from the couple’s own home
Florals: Flutter Farms, Belton.
Picture it. You tell your aunt Suzy you’re getting married in your sister’s backyard. There’s a pause. A long one. Somewhere inside that pause she’s picturing folding chairs borrowed from the church basement, a cooler of Busch Light sweating on the patio, and somebody’s uncle running an orange extension cord across the lawn so the "DJ" can plug in.
Then Jamie and Brad went and did it, and nobody’s mother had a single thing to worry about.
Fifteen people. Every one of them mattered.
Jamie and Brad’s official ceremony had 15 guests. That’s it. No obligatory plus-ones, no coworker from three jobs ago, nobody standing in the back checking their phone. Just the people who belonged there, close enough to hear every word.
Then the party moved to Jamie’s sister’s home just outside Lee’s Summit, and the whole thing exhaled. Jamie and Brad wanted laid back, fun, beautiful and intimate. People say that a lot. Most of the time one of those four gets traded away by the end of the night. They kept all four.
How do you decorate a backyard wedding without it looking rented? Use your own house.
Lauren and I can't stop talking about it.
Instead of renting a hundred matching centerpieces from a warehouse, Jamie and Brad decorated their reception tables with the little things they’ve collected over their life together. The pieces that normally live on their shelves and windowsills and bookcases.
Every table had a story on it. Guests picked things up, asked about them, put them back. You can’t buy that from a rental catalog, and you definitely can’t fake it in a photo. When we were shooting details, we weren’t photographing décor. We were photographing a marriage that already had years on it.
If you’re planning an intimate backyard wedding, steal this idea. Personal keepsakes as table décor cost almost nothing, mean everything, and photograph better than anything you’ll find on a rental list.
Shout out to Eden at Wedding Elegance, who made it look easy (it was not easy)
Day-of coordination was handled by Eden at Wedding Elegance, and she’s a big reason this day felt so relaxed. A backyard wedding has every moving part a venue wedding has, minus the staff whose whole job is to handle it. Eden handled it. Jamie and Brad got to actually be at their own wedding, which is the entire point of hiring someone like her.
Court and Lo were behind the cameras for this one, and we’d do it again tomorrow.
Why Stag & Bird loves a backyard wedding (when somebody actually planned it)
Okay, heres where we have our big feelings:
A backyard wedding done with intention is one of our favorite things to photograph in Kansas City. It’s personal in a way a venue rarely is. The light is real, the space has history, the people are relaxed because half of them have eaten Thanksgiving dinner in that house.
A backyard wedding done on vibes alone is a different animal. Tables jammed against the vinyl siding. The ceremony facing straight into the sun at 4pm so everyone squints through the vows. A trash can and a kid’s bike in the background of your first kiss. Nobody knows where the bathroom line goes or who’s flipping the breaker when the string lights pop.
The difference between those two days is almost never budget. It’s planning.
Planning a backyard wedding in Kansas City? Let us help.
Stag & Bird has spent years working alongside wedding planners and coordinators across Kansas City, and we know who’s good at backyard and private-property weddings specifically. If you’re dreaming up a backyard wedding and don’t know where to start, we’ll connect you with the right planner for your day.
And when you book Stag & Bird as your wedding photographers, we’ll sit down with you during your planning process and talk layout. Where the sun will be during your ceremony. Which direction your aisle should face. Where to put the tables so the light hits faces instead of the back of the garage. What to move, hide or haul away before guests arrive. Where the dance floor lighting should go so your reception photos don’t look like a crime scene after dark.
That backyard layout consult is included when you book us. No add-on, no upsell. We just want the day to look as good on camera as it feels in person, and a lot of that gets decided weeks before we ever show up.
Backyard wedding FAQ
Do you photograph backyard weddings in Kansas City?Yes. Stag & Bird photographs backyard weddings, micro weddings and intimate weddings across the Kansas City metro, including Lee’s Summit, Belton, Overland Park and both sides of the state line, and we travel for weddings outside the area.
Do we need a wedding planner for a backyard wedding?We strongly recommend at least day-of coordination. A private home has none of the built-in staff a venue does, so someone needs to own the timeline, vendors and setup. Stag & Bird can connect you with Kansas City planners who specialize in backyard and private-property weddings.
Can our photographer help plan our backyard wedding layout?Yes. When you book Stag & Bird, a photography layout consult is included. We’ll walk through sun position, ceremony direction, table placement, backgrounds and reception lighting so your backyard photographs well.
What time of day is best for a backyard wedding ceremony?For most Kansas City backyards, a ceremony timed about one to two hours before sunset gives the softest, most flattering light. The exact time depends on your yard’s trees, buildings and which way the ceremony faces, which is something we figure out with you during your layout consult.
How do you make a backyard wedding feel elegant instead of thrown together?Hire a coordinator, plan the layout around the light, keep the guest list intentional, and decorate with things that mean something to you. Jamie and Brad used keepsakes from their own home as table décor, and it made the whole reception feel personal and polished.
How many guests can a backyard wedding hold?That depends on your space, parking, restrooms and local rules. Jamie and Brad kept their ceremony to 15 guests. Your planner can help you figure out what your property can realistically handle.
How much does a Kansas City backyard wedding photographer cost?Stag & Bird elopement coverage starts at $1,500 and wedding coverage starts around $4,500. Most of our wedding couples invest between $6,000 and $7,500, and we also offer wedding videography.
If you’ve got a backyard and a plan forming, come talk to us.
We are the Weirdos, Mister.-Court
Comments