The backyard wedding catering checklist: what your caterer needs to pull it off.
Backyard weddings look effortless in photos and are the hardest venues to cater. Here's the exact checklist we walk every Phoenix and San Diego backyard couple through before we sign a contract.
Why backyard weddings are harder than venue weddings
A venue has a working kitchen, three-phase power, ice machines, and a loading dock. A backyard has a garden hose, a 20-amp GFCI, and one narrow gate.
Every backyard wedding we cater — from Paradise Valley estates to Rancho Santa Fe compounds — starts with a site walk. What follows is the checklist we bring on that walk.
Access and load-in
Can a 16-foot box truck reach within 100 feet of the cook site? If not, plan on 90 extra minutes of hand-carrying and add two staff.
Where is the closest hard-surface path? Grass is fine for guests, brutal for a loaded hotel box on wheels.
What time does the neighborhood HOA restrict amplified sound and vehicle idling? Cook-site setup often needs to start earlier than the ceremony would suggest.
Power, water, and waste
Minimum for a wood-fired grill and warming boxes: two dedicated 20-amp circuits, one within 50 feet of the cook site. Sharing with the DJ trips breakers on the toast.
Potable water within 75 feet, and a dumpable gray-water plan. We bring collapsible tanks; the yard still needs a legal drain.
Waste: a dedicated dumpster or two 96-gallon carts for 150+ guests. Kitchen trash fills faster than guest trash by a factor of three.
Cook site and shade
A 20x20 flat area for the grill, prep tables, and warming boxes. It cannot be the ceremony backdrop.
Shade for the cook site if the event is between 11am and 5pm in Phoenix, or after 1pm in San Diego. A 10x20 pop-up runs $180 and saves a $3,000 protein.
Guest count math for backyard weddings
12 square feet per standing guest, 18 for seated, 25 with a dance floor. A 3,000 sq ft usable yard comfortably hosts 130 seated with dancing.
One restroom per 40 guests. Almost every backyard wedding needs at least one luxury restroom trailer — plan $1,800 to $3,500 depending on guest count.
The permits nobody mentions
Many Phoenix and San Diego cities require a special-event permit for backyard weddings over 100 guests, and some require a health-department food-service permit for on-site cooking. We handle the food permit; the event permit is on the couple.
Rancho Santa Fe, Paradise Valley, and parts of North Scottsdale enforce this aggressively. Ask before you set a date.
Get a backyard wedding quote
Tell us your address, guest count, and date. We schedule a free site walk within a week, and send a fully itemized backyard wedding catering quote — grill, staff, rentals, permits — usually within 4 hours Mon-Fri after the walk.
