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When Vogue asked the world’s top wedding planners what trends they predict for 2025, there was one almost unanimous answer: backyard weddings. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many couples felt the urge to throw destination events to celebrate the world opening up again. Yet, a few years later, more and more people have an urge to return home again.
Why? Part of it is because of planning—it’s a lot easier to orchestrate a wedding in the place where you grew up than in a foreign country, of course. Then there’s the guest experience: destination weddings require a significant time and financial commitment from loved ones. Yet the main factor is an emotional one: people want to get married in a place that feels meaningful to them rather than someplace 6,000 miles away.
So, as inspiration for any 2025 brides, Vogue decided to compile our favorite backyard weddings from the archives. As the saying goes: home is where the heart is.
Photo: Twah Dougherty1/14Stephanie Nass and David Ulevitch
“I had always dreamt of getting married at my childhood home in Westchester, New York, as it is such a tranquil and beautiful setting,” chef Stephanie Nass said of her summer wedding for 30 people. She even baked her own cake, which doubled as table decor.
Photo: Samm Blake2/14Quinn Jackson and Dexter Zimet
“We toured properties there but everything kept pulling us back to my family’s home—a place where every celebration had taken place over the years,” Quinn Jackson said of her Southampton wedding, for which she wore Vera Wang. The ceremony and reception took place in her backyard, with cocktails served by their pool.
Photo: Paul Perelka3/14Henrietta Rix and Ronan Keenan
Henrietta Rix’s reception was an informal yet classic English garden party at her family house. Henrietta’s mother had worked on the florals, hedges, and landscape for a year prior to the wedding and adorned the grounds with urns sourced from antique fairs around the United Kingdom.
Photo: Corbin Gurkin4/14Chelsea Grain and Amile Jefferson
“When my parents built our house Ferrylawn 10 years ago, even though they had no idea who I’d marry or when, they designed it with a future wedding in mind,” Chelsea Grain said of her Martha’s Vineyard wedding in her backyard. “So this was truly the wedding of our dreams.”
Photo: Lucy Birkhead Photography5/14Lesea Bourke and Andrew Berry
Lesea Bourke and Andrew Berry wed at the home of the bride’s grandparents. “The ceremony was held in the backyard of their home,” Lesea said. “It has an Italian facade so we used that for the overall aesthetic of the weekend.”
Corbin Gurkin6/14Alexandria van Starrenburg and James ‘“Bud” Vallely
Alexandria van Starrenburg and James ‘“Bud” Vallely had a delphinium-lined aisle at their Bedford wedding at the bride's family home. “Having grown up in Bedford, I knew I wanted to get married there and have a backyard-style wedding,” Alexandria said.
Photo: Norman & Blake7/14Charlie Puth and Brooke Sansone
Charlie Puth and Brooke Sansone were married in Charlie’s parents’ driveway in front of a olive tree. Afterwards, they enjoyed a cocktail hour on a pool patio for cocktail hour and a reception in a white tent on the grounds.
Photo: Micaiah Carter8/14Elaine Welteroth and Jonathan Singletary
For city dwellers, look no further than Elaine Welteroth for at-home wedding inspiration. The former editor-in-chief of Teen Replica Hermes Bag Reviews married on her Brooklyn stoop. “For New Yorkers without rooftop access, a backyard, or a weekend home upstate to escape to, a stoop becomes your coveted slice of outdoor space—your one refuge for fresh air and sunlight,” Elaine said. “Whenever we need to clear our heads and get out of the house, we sit—or dance—on our stoop together.”
Photo: Collin Stark9/14Ryan Bingham and Hassie Harrison
From the moment Ryan Bingham and Hassie Harrison started planning their wedding, they knew they wanted to have the ceremony and reception at Hassie’s family home in Dallas. “The atmosphere was so relaxed and fun that it completely eased any nerves I had,” Hassie says.
Photo: Jose Villa10/14Kat Dennings and Andrew W.K
Kat Dennings and Andrew W.K’s wedding was held at their home in Los Angeles. They considered throwing a big, traditional wedding, “but in the end, the kitchen engagement moment kept calling back to us,” Dennings said. “We realized that a small home wedding was too cozy to resist. Plus, all our stuff was there so we wouldn’t have to pack anything.”
Photo by Allan Zepeda Photography11/14Samantha Zaitz and Benjamin Rudin
Samantha Zaitz and Benjamin Rudin wed in the bride’s family backyard in East Hampton. The dress code for their of 20 guests was “Hamptons garden party chic"—which meant no ties and no formal suits. “My dad was a big fan of this ‘casual’ dress code,” Samantha said.
Photo: Collins Nai12/14Sarah Michler and Henry Rubin
“I thought perhaps a small wedding with only a few family and friends might be even more meaningful than the large wedding we had always envisioned,” Sarah Michler said of her October 2020 wedding at home in Connecticut.
Photo: Hannah Alyssa13/14Mariana “Mini” Hay and Stephen Walker Avant II
“I landed on one long table with an assortment of silver pieces filled with flowers that remind me so much of my childhood and the natural beauty of Charleston,” Mini Hay said of her wedding reception at her Charleston home. “Honeysuckle, green blueberries, ferns, I loved it!”
Photo: Harper Smith / Courtesy of The Ceremonial Collective14/14Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma
Hilary Duff married singer and record producer Matthew Koma at an intimate wedding ceremony held in the front yard of their L.A. home. “Our wedding [wasn’t] over-the-top ‘wedding-y’—it’s more understated and for me, that’s more powerful,” she said.
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