Tips for An Outside Wedding

I’ve been asked to plan several outside events. Given that we have no control over mother nature, it’s a grand idea to have a back up plan. With that being said, I’ve listed some tips that hopefully will be taken into consideration for any type of outside event.

• Choose an outdoor location that also has an indoor facility. Choose a  venue that has a designated area to host your nuptials as well as a ballroom that you can reserve in the event it storms on your celebration. For the most part, my outdoor wedding clients have hosted just their ceremony and maybe cocktail hour outside, but held the reception indoors. This is ideal, but if you wish to host your entire event outdoors then another option, if your outdoor wedding site does not have an indoor facility, is to reserve a nearby chapel. Some chapels do have
  both ceremony and reception facilities available. This will cost you some extra money, but it is well worth it if you want the festivities to continue, that is if it is safe to continue.

• Monitor the weather forecast the week of your wedding. If you have chosen an outdoor wedding location that has an indoor facility and the site manager calls you up and tells you that it is going to storm and ask if you would like to go ahead and set everything up inside, then do so. Especially, if you can see the storm coming with your bare eyes and the meteorologists has predicted in his or her forecast that there is a high percentage that it is going to rain. There is no need to inconvenience your guests, because you are hoping that the storm will miraculously move in the opposite direction. You are not that special.

• Send out rain cards with your invitations. First up, your guests should be aware that your wedding will be taking place outdoors. In addition to this, you need to let them know of your backup plan in the event that inclement weather occurs. This is especially important if your outdoor wedding site does not have any indoor facilities that can accommodate you and your guests and you have arranged for an alternate location. Rain cards are an enclosure that you can include in your invitation set and they are the best way to inform your guests of your backup plan should it rain. In this way, they will know ahead of time where to go if it rains as opposed to having to call and or wander around trying to figure out where to go.

• Take precautions even if you are having a tent wedding. Tent weddings can be really nice, but you still need to be prepared ahead of time should it rain or storm. Tents for the most part serve their purpose of providing shade from the sun and shelter in case it rains. In addition, they are pretty sturdy and actually have to be inspected upon setup to make sure they are in compliance with your city’s wind and fire codes as mentioned previously. But, what if heavy rain occurs and you do not have at least flooring? Well, the ground will soak even if you have a tent. So, my advice here is to consider at the very least adding flooring for the entire dimension of the tent if your budget permits you to do so. Imagine having to walk around in wet and muddy shoes (and feet).