In 2026, the average wedding costs $34,200. On the other hand, data shows that the average backyard wedding costs between $5,000 to $15,000. But cost savings are only one of the reasons more couples are opting for backyard wedding venues.

Many people have a strong emotional tie to their backyard of choice. It may be a family cottage or your parents’ house. Or maybe it’s your new home, and you want to set the tone for your new life there. But your perspective on your favorite place in the world may change when you start to look at it through their would-be guest’s eyes. They start to ask, “Is it me, or are the dandelions worse this year?”

But there’s no need to panic about the state of your lawn! Today, we’re going to explore how to plan a backyard wedding on the grass of your dreams and get your lawn in big day shape.

1. Start ASAP

When should you start preparing? The real answer is yesterday, but the realistic answer is 4-8 weeks away from the wedding date.

If you don’t have that much time, there is no reason to panic. You can get a remarkable amount done and see some fantastic before-and-after results in a few short weeks. Particularly if you bring in professional help. More on that in the next section.

2. Assess the Weed Damage

If you’re seeing dandelions across the yard, should you pull them by hand, or hit them with an over-the-counter weed-killer spray?

The answer: Neither of those things.

Hand-pulling is ineffective and can actually help spread the seeds. So, unless you want to spend more and more time every day pulling dandelions, we advise skipping it. Meanwhile, so-called weed-killing sprays don’t treat the root cause that allowed the weed to invade in the first place. And they can also damage your healthy turf.

The solution: Bring in the pros. You’re probably not sewing your own dress, baking your own cake, or taking your own photos. A professional lawn expert can help you design the perfect plan to attack your weeds and get your lawn looking as good as possible for the big day.

And you should definitely call Weed Man if you have a highly contagious and aggressive weed like crabgrass.

3. Step Up Your Yard Maintenance Game

Despite what the big boxes on the shelf of your hardware store may promise, thick and healthy turf doesn’t come in a bottle or a box. It comes from healthy cultural practices that include:

• Mowing to the perfect height: Use this guide to find your optimal height for your grass type.

• Fertilizing the right way: Use this guide to learn the best type of fertilizer and when to spread it.

• Watering the right amount: Use this guide to find your optimal amount and frequency for your grass type.

You should also consider getting a professional aeration, particularly if you’re on a tight deadline. Opening up the soil with aeration can help your watering, fertilizing, and overseeding efforts penetrate deeper into the soil.

Thick and healthy grass doesn’t just wow your guests and look great in pictures. It also chokes out weeds and unwanted pests naturally.

4. Fix the Bare or Brown Patches

If your lawn suffers from bare patches or sections of yellow/brown grass, your first instinct may be to simply replace it with sod. This is probably not your best option for a few reasons:

• It’s not easy, and it’s very labor-intensive

• It’s very expensive

• If you don’t address the conditions that ruined the old grass, the new sod will likely look just like it pretty soon

Once again, this is probably something best left to the pros. The first reason is that it’s really easy to misidentify the cause of your issues. For example, is the grass yellow because of pet urine, drought damage, or chinch bugs? All three of these problems have different solutions.

When you’re on a tight timeframe, you don’t have time for trial and error.

5. Disinvite the Mosquitos

Always disinvite guests who could make a scene. And nobody makes a scene like mosquitoes. It’s hard to enjoy the food or speeches if your guests are swatting and slapping.

The bad news is that mosquitoes are attracted to everything you will have in your backyard that night: Human bodies creating heat and carbon dioxide, while consuming food and alcohol.

The good news is that there are things you can do to drastically reduce the mosquito population in your yard, even in the evening peak bug times.

Our friends at Mosquito Hero can help you mosquito-proof your yard for your big day. And bonus, it can stay that way for the rest of the summer.

How to Help Your Lawn Bounce Back Afterward

After your big day, your guests may feel slightly worse for wear and dehydrated, and so will your lawn.

The fix for humans in this situation is Advil, Gatorade, and a nap. However, to help your lawn recover, you will want to:

• Remove the furniture and structures ASAP: The longer things like chairs, tables, speakers, podiums, or dancefloors stay on your lawn, the more damage they can do. Clear the area as soon as possible.

• Gently rake the area: Use a fan rake to clean up the smaller pieces of debris, while also lifting the flattened blades of grass.

• Water the lawn: You want to water it deeply to help it recover.

• Aerate the compacted soil: You may or may not have aerated your soil prior to the wedding. But you will definitely want to do so after a night of high foot traffic and possible chicken dances. Your lawn needs water and nutrients to bounce back, and compacted soil won’t absorb them as well.

• Fertilize and overseed: Depending on how much damage is done and how quickly you want to recover, you may want to consider a fertilization and overseeding treatment to bring it back to life. These treatments are particularly impactful if you open the soil up with an aeration first.

Of course, we can help you with that.

Let Us Give You One Less Thing to Worry About

A perfect day requires a perfect lawn, with no guesswork or chances taken. Trust Weed Man with your lawn makeover!

“I have never used Weed Man before to treat for mosquitos and I was skeptical! I live in a very bushy area and the mosquitoes are worse than bad! I was concerned it wasn't going to really do anything it was going to be expensive, and what about the other wildlife and vegetation? They answered all my questions, made it very easy and even worked around my schedule for special events! Cannot say enough good things about Weed Man.” - 5 Star Google Review

You can start right now by answering a few quick questions about your lawn.