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Friday, April 27, 2012
Tips for Outdoor Weddings
Outdoor weddings are all the rage these days and I would be the last one to try to discourage couples from having them. The outdoor wedding season is just about upon us again and in fact I have already performed an outdoor wedding on Apr 4th. Some of the most beautiful and memorable weddings I have officiated have been outdoors and some of my worst memories have been outdoor weddings.
There are many advantages to having your wedding ceremony outdoors. Not the least of the advantages is this. You won’t find anything more breath taking than a beautiful bride all in white being escorted down a long path, across a beautiful white bridge and up the aisle between two sections of white covered chairs towards a superbly decorated Gazebo at the front. And if it is all topped off by an absolutely beautiful day and a stringed quartet playing, what could be better. Pictures taken on a scenic golf course or with nature as your backdrop can’t be beat. There are many reasons to have an outdoor wedding, these are just a few.
One of my bad memories of an outdoor wedding is getting to it, driving up a main road in Oshawa with about 6 inches of water running downstream towards me. That day the gale like winds and rain totally removed a reception tent and landed it a couple of fields over. We did find about a 15 minute window in which the chairs were dried off and the wedding took place to be following quickly by another gusher. Strangely enough though rain has not been the worst thing that could happen to an outdoor wedding in my opinion. If you have ever sat through the blazing hot sun for a half hour ceremony you will know what I mean. You can move inside when it rains but there is not much your guests can do but endure the heat.
Here are some tips that might help if you are planning an outdoor wedding.
1. Look for an outdoor venue that is well shaded. This will even protect you during a light rain shower.
2. Consider getting married in May, September or October, the coolest months for outdoor weddings.
3. Look for a Venue that has a nice indoor rain alternative. Don’t settle for anything less than a space you would be happy to have your wedding in, rain or shine.
4. Make sure you see your rain alternative before you sign the deal.
5. If the weather is hot, hand out small umbrellas to your guests and have lots of cold bottled water available on ice.
These are just a few of the things that might help to make your day memorable in a good way, not in a negative way. All the best to you as you plan your day.
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Great Suggestions Norman ! Another Great Tip to share is to make sure you have a water Bottle for you and your Guest at the ceremony , especially if it's a very hot day. Also when you go to do your Rehearsal , grab the Mp3 songs from the DJ , and play them when you and your Wedding party are Walking to the Alter , this way you will know how much time you have .
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw the title of this post I started to giggle.......
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely amazing how high winds, hail, and mass amounts of rain that can flood your yard in about 5 min make for a very interesting day.
believe it or not, we managed to salvage 1 tent and still have it to this day :)
I cannot thank you enough for what you endured for us that day. As I stood in my window watching our motorcycles get pounded with hail my heart started to sink. ( which I have some good pics of the size of hail stones and the river that was my driveway just prior if you would like me to share them with you LOL) But we were lucky that the weather cleared up just long enough for the ceremony (like someone was watching over us).
That was the best day to the beginning of a great unity for the rest of my life with my best friend.
A second venue is a great option.....period!!!. WE were searching for anywhere the day before as I had a feeling that the weather would not co-operate as the east coast was getting pounded by a hurricane which always makes for bad weather for our area. And obviously, as you know, that is impossible!!!.
We found out how much our friends love us that day by how they tried to "hold down the fort" as the second wave of rotten weather blasted thru. We had a lot of very wet guests, and also some that were on their motorcycles in that hail, but also some that didn't show. Luckily it all turned out in the end to be a very beautiful sunny day.
But in the long and short of it all.....yes, we may have been lucky, but it is a VERY good idea to have another option at hand as the stress of rotten weather does not help the brides nerves!.
Our day made another couple that you wed have a second venue as they were an October wedding (ours was August)and there was actually a thunderstorm go thru the outdoor venue during the time the ceremony was booked for. (Due to possible bad weather for that day they had gone with venue #2) The bride was disappointed to not have it outdoors at first but was more than happy in the end that they had shelter.
WE are so thankful and appreciative of all you did to help us make that day the best. And it will be talked about for years!!!!
Best regards
Mr. & Mrs Mitchell :)