Backyard Wedding Catering
Intimate Weddings, Micro Weddings & Estate Receptions
Backyard weddings and intimate home-based weddings are their own service category. Smaller than venue weddings, more personal in feel, and they live or die on the food. A reception at a country club gets graded on the venue. A reception at the family backyard gets graded on the menu.
Chef Matts Culinary Creations runs chef and catering services for backyard and intimate weddings across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. The work is calibrated to the home, the wedding party, and the format.
Why a Private Chef Instead of a Caterer?
Traditional wedding caterers are built for volume. They prep food in a commercial kitchen, transport it in warming trays, and serve it buffet-style to hundreds of guests. That model works for large-format weddings — but if you're planning an intimate celebration, you deserve something better.
A private chef cooks everything on-site, in real time. The seared scallops hit the plate moments after leaving the pan. The risotto is stirred to order. The filet is rested and sliced with precision. Your guests don't just eat a meal — they experience it.
Dietary Expertise for Every Guest
Weddings bring together people with different dietary needs — and Chef Matt handles all of them with care. As someone with celiac disease, he understands what it means to cook around restrictions without compromising on flavor. Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan, keto, paleo — every plate is thoughtfully crafted so every guest at your table feels considered, not accommodated.
When Backyard Wedding Service Fits
- Intimate weddings of twenty to one hundred guests held at a family home, vacation rental, or private estate
- Microweddings (under thirty) hosted at private residences
- Vow-renewal celebrations and second-marriage gatherings
- Wedding rehearsal dinners hosted at home
- Engagement parties that double as wedding announcements
Above one hundred guests, the format becomes traditional wedding catering rather than chef service. We coordinate through trusted partners for those events.
Service Formats
Coursed plated dinner. Most formal format. Three or four courses served plated to each guest. Requires the most service staff and the most logistical planning. Best for guest counts of twenty to fifty.
Family-style service. Platters and shared dishes to the table. More casual but composed. Often the right format for sixty to one hundred guests.
Station and grazing reception. Multiple food stations through a longer reception window. Best for receptions where seated dinner isn't planned, or as a pre-dinner reception before a plated meal.
Hybrid coursed. Passed cocktail-hour appetizers, family-style or plated dinner service, dessert and coffee station to close. The most common format we run.
What's Included
- Pre-event consultation with the couple (or their planner)
- Full menu calibration across cocktail hour, dinner, dessert
- Sourcing — produce, proteins, seafood, dairy, dessert components
- On-site preparation and full service execution
- Service staff (itemized — backyard weddings need more staff than dinner parties due to longer service windows)
- Setup of cooking, plating, and service stations
- Coordination with the wedding planner, day-of coordinator, or family member running logistics
- Cleanup during and after service
What's not included: rentals (tents, tables, chairs, linens, dinnerware, glassware — coordinated through trusted rental partners), bartending (recommended providers available), floral, music, and the rest of the wedding-day infrastructure.
Sample Wedding Menus
- Coastal coursed dinner. Passed canapés cocktail hour, oyster bar, plated coursed dinner (crudo course, hand-cut pasta, dry-aged beef or whole fish, citrus tart).
- Family-style summer wedding. Passed cocktail-hour bites, family-style dinner (charcuterie boards to the table, platters of grilled proteins, seasonal vegetables, salads), dessert station.
- Garden cocktail reception. Two-hour cocktail reception with passed canapés and multiple stations (raw bar, charcuterie, carving station, dessert).
Menus are custom. Family traditions, cultural elements, dietary requirements across guests, and the couple's personal preferences all shape the final menu.
Ideal For
Micro Weddings
Microweddings under thirty hosted at private residences.
Backyard Ceremonies
Intimate weddings of twenty to one hundred guests at a family home or vacation rental.
Estate Receptions
Private estates and gardens that deserve more than catering-truck service.
Rehearsal Dinners
Wedding rehearsal dinners hosted at home, the night before the ceremony.
Vow Renewals
Vow-renewal celebrations and second-marriage gatherings.
Engagement Parties
Engagement parties that double as wedding announcements.
How It Works
- 1
Share Your Vision
Tell Chef Matt about your wedding — the venue, guest count, theme, and any personal touches.
- 2
Tasting & Menu Design
Chef Matt creates a custom wedding menu and offers an optional tasting so you can try each dish before the big day.
- 3
Logistics & Planning
Chef Matt coordinates with your venue, timeline, and vendors. From rehearsal dinners to day-of service, every logistical detail is handled.
- 4
Day-of Cooking & Service
Chef Matt and his team arrive early, cook everything on-site, and serve each course with care.
- 5
Complete Cleanup
Chef Matt handles every dish and leaves your space spotless. You focus on being married.
What Our Clients Say
"We hired Chef Matt for a birthday dinner party, and the entire experience exceeded every expectation. The menu was absolutely phenomenal - beautifully presented, perfectly seasoned and full of thoughtful touches."
Heather Rehfuss
via Google
"Chef Matt provided an amazing buffet for our Christmas party this year. We had 55+ people who were all raving about the delicious food."
Dean R.
via Yelp
"We hired Chef Matt for a bachelor party dinner of 10. The meal was excellent - the guys are still talking about it."
D K
via Google
Meet Your Personal Chef
- 18+ years professional kitchen experience
- Executive Chef by age 22
- Academy of Culinary Arts graduate
- USPCA member
- Specialized in dietary-aware cooking
Chef Matt brings restaurant-quality dining directly to your home. Every meal is crafted around your preferences, dietary needs, and lifestyle — sourced with intention and cooked with precision.
Learn More About Chef MattWhere We Serve
Chef Matt provides intimate wedding catering throughout South Jersey — backyard weddings in Cherry Hill, estate receptions in Haddonfield, rehearsal dinners in Moorestown, and micro weddings across Burlington and Camden counties.
The Jersey Shore is a natural setting for intimate weddings — beach house ceremonies in Cape May, estate weddings in Avalon and Stone Harbor, and vacation rental receptions in LBI and Ocean City. Across the bridge, the Philadelphia Main Line offers beautiful private homes and gardens. We also handle coastal estates throughout Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Book Backyard Wedding Catering With Chef Matts
Bringing a chef into your home should feel calm, considered, and personal — not transactional. Every booking with Chef Matts Culinary Creations starts with a real conversation about your household: how many people you're feeding, the dietary preferences and restrictions involved, the kitchen we'll be working in, and the kind of experience you want to create. From there, Chef Matt builds a custom menu and confirms every detail in writing well before the date.
The service itself is fully turnkey. We handle planning, seasonal sourcing, in-home cooking, plating or portioning, and a complete kitchen cleanup before we leave. With more than eighteen years in professional kitchens — including time as an executive chef by age twenty-two and ongoing membership in the United States Personal Chef Association — Chef Matt brings restaurant-level technique into homes across South Jersey, the Jersey Shore, the Philadelphia Main Line, and South Carolina's Grand Strand.
Ready to Get Started?
Fill out our short availability form — no obligation, no pressure. We'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Check AvailabilityExplore Our Other Services
Private Dinner Parties
Multi-course coursed dinners and family-style service.
Cocktail Party Chef
Passed hors d'oeuvres for cocktail hour or standalone receptions.
Private Brunch Chef
Post-wedding brunch and bridal brunch service.
Special Occasion Chef
Anniversaries, milestones, and celebration dinners.