There are hundreds of choices when it comes to your wedding venues, but if you’ve had your heart set on having your celebration outdoors, here are the things that you’ll have to deal with on your big day—and how to cope with them.
6 Things You Should Know About Outdoor Weddings
It might rain. You may have planned your wedding down to its last detail, but if you don’t have a backup plan for just in case it rains, you’ll have to deal with the stress of it on the day itself. Save yourself from freaking out on your wedding day by creating a “rainy day” plan with your wedding planner. They will help you deal with getting a backup venue just in case, and will coordinate with the suppliers to be ready for the weather. Talk to your fiancée if you have the budget to provide umbrellas for your guests to borrow to use to get to the venue, or perhaps you can get affordable but stylish ones that can also serve as your wedding tokens.
Get a good sound system. It’s harder to hear what’s going on when you’re out in the open air, especially when you’re in a busy area. Ask your wedding planner to check the sound system beforehand, to make sure that it’s not too loud to disturb others, but your guests won’t need to strain themselves to hear whoever is talking.
The sun might shine a little too brightly. Maybe you were praying for really good weather that it went all the way and everyone will end up sweating in his or her formal wear—you included. This is the problem with some garden or beach weddings, especially at the height of summer. Ask your venue if you can rent out outdoor fans, or perhaps you can give out paper or handheld, battery operated fans as your wedding tokens—so useful, too!
You have to do crowd control. No one likes a photobomber, especially when your wedding photos should all come out perfect. But if you’re having your wedding in a big and busy beach resort or in a popular tourist spot, you might have to deal with a few vacationers (or animals) around your venue. Your wedding organizer will be able to help you with the crowd control, but worse comes to worst, come up with a back up plan with your photographer and videographer for them to either avoid the photobombers all together, or to find a way to work them into the shots, like they were supposed to be there.
Practice your grand entrance. A lush garden, white sand beach, or a romantic cobblestone street—all will look like the place of your dreams, but not very easy to walk on in 4-inch heels. If you’ll be holding your wedding outdoors, chances are, the ground you’ll walk on will be uneven, and will make it more of a challenge for you have that solemn, dramatic entrance that you had hoped. Practice your walk down the aisle in the shoes that you’ll be wearing for your wedding, so that you’ll know what to expect when the time comes. Hopefully, your guests will come in appropriate footwear, too.
Prepare to get down and dirty. If you’re wearing a floor-length wedding gown, you’ll have to be prepared to expose it to natural elements, such as sand, grass, water, or worse, mud when you’re outdoors. There are a couple of tricks to try to protect your dress, but it’s easier to take it to the dry cleaners the day after to get rid of it, ASAP. (Or you can spot clean it as soon as you take it off!)
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