Northern California Backyard Wedding
Coastal Views From a family estate
There’s a quiet kind of luxury in hosting a wedding at a family home. The kind that trades grand ballrooms for elegant tents dripping in flowers, and valet parking for cocktails served with an ocean view straight from your childhood. A wedding on family property isn’t necessarily about scaling back – it’s about refining what already matters. And for a day like that, documentary wedding photography is the perfect fit.
When the setting is deeply personal there’s no need to stage what’s already meaningful. A documentary approach honors the elegance of real moments: the way your dress brushes across the lawn, the clink of glasses as the sun sinks into a gold haze over the Pacific, your best friends trying valiantly to hold back tears. These are the details that make the day yours, and they deserve to be captured with subtlety and care.
Elevated doesn’t mean over done. It means thoughtful design, intimate energy, and a sense of place that’s impossible to replicate. Documentary photography preserves that with honesty and artistry. I truly want you to remember everything without missing anything.
Are you planning a backyard wedding in Northern California? Here are my tips…
Northern California’s landscapes (e.g., coastal cliffs, towering redwoods or rolling vineyards) will become a focal point for any wedding design. Strategize the ceremony and reception placement for optimal views, lighting, and guest comfort. Florals that incorporate seasonal specialities, local greenery, or wooden accents (hello driftwood sky door) can go a long way in transforming an ordinary lawn into a garden scape.
How to Plan Your California Backyard Wedding
Assess the available space. Consider a ceremony location with enough room for seated guests. Ensure there is space for both a cocktail and a dining area. Don’t forget a dance floor!
Pro-tip: if You are able, allow for an easily walkable 360 degree perimeter around the seated guests and the site of your vows. This ensures that your photographer and videographer can operate as unobtrusively as possible.
Hire A Northern California Wedding planner
A planner based in Humboldt County will be familiar with the unique qualities of our area including moody weather, long distances between amenities and seasonal goings ons. Since most couples planning destination weddings in Northern California are doing so from afar, I’m happy to provide recommendations.
How to Prepare for Weather For a NOrthern California Backyard Wedding
Please, please, please consider a tent rental. While the months of May through most of October tend to be fairly dry in Humboldt County, rain can make an appearance at any time of the year. Plan also for cool evening temperatures by utilizing space heaters and throw blankets. These are not the temperatures most folks associate with sunny California.
Pro-tip: don’t forget to consider the interior space of the tent on your decor list. An abundance of twinkle lights, soft draping and greenery will go a long way to stamp out any corporate golf tournament vibes.
What Permits are required for a Northern california backyard wedding?
Local noise and parking ordinances will need to be adhered to. Many neighborhoods limit noise above a conversational decibel level after 9 with some coastal neighborhoods putting the cut off point at 8. With this in mind, many couples opt to include an off site after party with guest transport as the end point to the festivities.
My Favorite local caterers for an Intimate Humboldt Wedding
Northern California offers incredible local, sustainable, farm to table catering options. Some of my personal favorite Humboldt caterers are Casandra Kelly Catering, Uniquely Yours and Brett Shuler Fine Catering.