The Outdoor Wedding Planning Guide
Ah, to be in the great outdoors is a wonderful thing, especially when celebrating a special event such as a wedding. When one thinks of an outdoor wedding, a couple of things may spring to mind – a soft breeze, blue sky, natural odors of shrubbery and perhaps even the open sea. However romantic that sounds, the reality can be considerably different as a lot can happen when celebrating in the open air.
Detailing everything from the development of a rain strategy plan to making sure that your location is really the best option for you, the following is a quick outdoor wedding planning guide.
Consider the pros and cons of your chosen location
Whether you’ve chosen to celebrate your nuptial in Heaton House Farm in the English countryside or on a private island in the Caribbean, you must explore the pros and cons of your decision. Each outdoor wedding choice will have its own upsides and downsides, but let’s take a beach wedding as an example of what to look out for when doing this.
Pros of a beach wedding – When planned correctly and executed without a hiccup, a beach wedding can be picture perfect. Just close your eyes and imagine the sound of gently lapping waves crawling up the white sandy beach. Feel the warm breeze in your hair and the rays of the sun on your back; need we say more about the pros of a beach wedding? I think not.
Cons – Anything more than a gentle sea breeze will mean that you’ll have to go to great lengths to secure all fixtures of your ceremony, from the chairs and the candles to the tent and perhaps even your veil. Even though it plays a determining role in the success of an event in all outdoor venues, it seems to be that little bit more crucial when it comes to beach weddings. Imagine your guests getting soaked to the skin, the blustery air turning your hair into a birds nest and your wedding flowers ending up in the ocean…I think you get the idea of how important these consideration are.
Keep extra costs in mind
Just because you’re having your wedding outside, it does not mean that everything will be free. To stay on budget and ensure that all your expenses are accounted for, ask yourself the following:
- Is there a fee to use the location for a wedding celebration? Perhaps you’ll be required to give a donation?
- How remote is your chosen location? Will you have to pay a lot for the delivery of all your wedding supplies to the area?
- Will you need to have a valet parking service available on the day? If the nearest parking lot is miles away, you might have no other option.
Have a Plan B as backup
The last think that you’ll want to do when planning a wedding is to…well, plan two weddings. However, when organising an event that vastly depends on the mood of Mother Nature, a backup plan is essential. When formulating this plan, be sure to think of the ‘worst case scenario’ kind of things and consider what would be the best course of action should these occur. And, as is the case with planning an outdoor wedding in any location – whether that be a farmyard, lakeside, on the beach or in a cave – the earlier you formulate this backup strategy, the better.
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