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.

Fun Facts About Weddings

I was surfing the web the other day and came across these fun facts about where some of our traditions came from. I thought you would enjoy me sharing them with you.

Bouquet
For ancient Greeks and Romans, the bouquet was a pungent mix of garlic and herbs or grains. The garlic was supposed to ward off evil spirits and the herbs or grains were to insure a fruitful union. In ancient Poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride's bouquet kept her temper sweet.

Cake
The wedding cake has always played an important part in the wedding. Ancient Romans broke a cake over the bride's head to symbolize fertility or abundance. Many other cultures dropped wheat, flour or cake on the bride's head, and then ate the crumbs for good luck. The early British baked baskets of dry crackers and every guest took one home after the wedding. In medieval times, guests brought small cakes and piled them on a table. The bride and groom then attempted to kiss over the cakes. Eventually, a young baker decided to put all the cakes together and cover them with frosting, thus the tiered wedding cake was born.

Dress
Traditionally, brides did not wear white wedding gowns. Through the 18th century, most brides just wore their Sunday best to their wedding. Red was a favorite during the Middle Ages in Europe. Other colors were worn for symbolic reasons: blue meant constancy and green meant youth. As years passed, white was worn as a symbol of purity. Today, white merely symbolizes the wedding and is worn by any bride, no matter if it is their second marriage.

Honeymoon
The first weddings comprised of a groom taking his bride by capture. He would take her somewhere hidden away so her relatives and villagers couldn't find them. There they stayed for one moon phase and drank mead, a wine make from honey, to make them more amorous. Thus, the word "honeymoon" was born. Today, the honeymoon is the time when the couple can get away for awhile.

Kiss
The first kiss a bride and groom share at the close of the ceremony has carried special significance through the centuries. Many cultures believed that the couple exchanged spirits with their breath and part of their souls were exchanged as well.

Ring
The wedding ring has traditionally been worn on the third finger of the left hand because it was believed that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart. The third finger of the left hand has become the customary wedding-ring finger for all English-speaking cultures.

Throwing Rice
One of the oldest wedding traditions, the custom of throwing rice, originated with the ancient Hindus and Chinese. In these cultures, rice is the symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. Tossing it after the ceremony was believed to bestow fertility upon the bride and groom. Eating rice and other grains was thought to guarantee health, wealth and happiness for the newlyweds. Today, rice tossing is being replaced by the more ecologically friendly birdseed tossing, because uncooked rice is damaging to birds who eat it off the church lawn.

Veil
Mystique and romance has surrounded the veil for more than one thousand years. Originally, the veil is thought to have been used to hide the bride from abductors, just as the similar dress of her bridesmaids was meant to do. But a more romantic interpretation evolved later which believed that concealment (as the bride's face beneath a veil) rendered what was hidden more valuable. Another early interpretation of the veil was that it symbolized youth and virginity.

Norm Martin
Martin Wedding Officiants

Resolutions

Well, here we are in mid-January and most of us have already broken our new year’s resolutions. That’s why I personally don’t make them any longer. Do you know what the top ten New Year’s resolutions are? Take a look and see if yours is on the list.

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Get in shape
3. Lose weight
4. Quit Smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit Drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organized

These are all very honourable resolutions. If we could keep them all we would be much better people, much healthier and certainly model citizens. The truth though is that we are human beings and human beings are not perfect. I try to follow the rule of moderation and avoid the excesses in life although my wife and my doctor would tell you that #3 is a must for me in 2012.

One of the things that I am trying to learn is to not make my goals so unreachable. If we could learn to live one day at a time and at the end of each day look back and assess our day in terms of what we are trying to achieve, we would be far better off. If I didn’t do so well today, I’ll try even harder tomorrow.

You know what? Marriage is really a resolution only a lifetime resolution. If we could just learn to take one day at a time and at the end of each day look back and ask ourselves the question. What could I have done better today? I’m talking about taking an honest look at ourselves. In every criticism of your spouse, I believe there is an element of truth no matter how much it hurts to hear it. Consider at the end of the day what your spouse has said and see if maybe there is something there that you could work on. That’s how marriages last. Have a wonderful 2012.

Rev. Norman M. Martin
Martin Wedding Officiants