After being cooped up in the house for most of 2020, and with many couples wanting to allow for social distancing at their wedding, planning an outdoor wedding is a very popular trend this year. Many wedding planning tasks are the same for both indoor and outdoor events but there are a few extra things to keep in mind when you host a celebration outside. Today, WhereBridesGo.com is featuring a few of those extra items that you may need to consider.
Have a Backup Plan for Inclement Weather
This is possibly the most important task to tackle for an outdoor wedding, yet also a plan that you hope you will not need to implement! The outdoor wedding that the two of you have in mind most likely takes place on a nice, sunny day.
If Mother Nature decides differently, having a backup plan assures that your special day can still happen without much, if any, delay to the original schedule. Have plans in place for the chance of rain, high winds, excessive heat, or any other type of weather that will mess with your original plans or make it uncomfortable for you and your wedding guests to be outside.
Consider Renting a Tent
Renting a tent will keep everyone dry on a damp day and provide shade from the sun on a hot one. Even if the weather is absolutely perfect, a nice tent can add a touch of elegance to the celebration.
Keep in mind, a tent rental is a decision you will have to fit into your budget and decide on early because if you wait too close to the wedding day, your local rental company may have them all rented out on your date.
Plan Décor Around Nature
Look for an outdoor area that is already mostly "decorated" by nature with gorgeous greenery and beautiful flowers. This will let you spend less out of your budget on the decorations you need to purchase. For the wedding decorations that you do end up adding to the natural beauty, make sure that they blend nicely into the surroundings that are already there.
Replace What's Missing
In addition to adding shelter with a tent if there is no covered area at your wedding site, there are a few other things that an indoor venue would have that the outdoors might be missing. One of these is enough restrooms for the amount of guests you have invited. You may need to rent a few portable restrooms for the day.
Electricity is another item that will be needed. Even if there are outlets at the wedding site, you will want to double-check that there is enough power for everything you need to plug in, like the lighting, the DJ or band's equipment, tools for the caterers, etc...If the wedding is taking place in a public area, be aware of the types of background noises that could interrupt the ceremony. You may also need to plug in a microphone so everyone can hear your vows better. For places with limited parking, you may need to arrange for guests to be transported from a special parking area.
Get Necessary Permits
When you get married outdoors, in addition to the marriage license there may be other permits that will be necessary. If it is a wedding venue that performs outdoor events regularly, they should have all of that taken care of but still, it's better to ask them and know for sure. Otherwise, find out from the city you are getting married in if special permits or plans will be needed for things like guest parking, liquor laws, and noise ordinances.
Keep Pests Away
Bugs, spiders, and other creatures live outside, so there is a very good chance that they may try to crash your wedding. Find out if the area will be sprayed for pests before your wedding. You may also want to provide a few bottles of bug spray for guests to use. A station set up with bottles of that as well as extras like sunscreen, fans, or even sunglasses is a thoughtful, and sometimes necessary, addition to an outdoor wedding.
Create a Wedding Website
Outdoor weddings are more likely to have last-minute changes come up than an indoor wedding (although those can have them too!) Having a wedding website makes it easy to let everyone know all at once about any changes to the original plans.
This is also the perfect place to give directions to the venue, information about parking, details about proper wedding attire, and more. Having all of those details in one easily accessible place will save you from answering a lot of phone calls from confused guests!
The tips above will hopefully help to make your outdoor wedding run smoothly. Next week, our online wedding store's blog will have 6 Extra Tips for Planning a Backyard Wedding. Until then, head on over to WhereBridesGo.com to find lots of useful wedding accessories that are perfect for bringing your wedding dreams to reality.
~The WhereBridesGo.com Team
Post by Deanna Powell, Certified Bridal Consultant