Want an Outdoor Wedding? Make Sure You Consider these Important Details

We have an expression here in Texas that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes and it’ll change. Outdoor events, particularly outdoor weddings, are always a big risk. We’ve been very fortunate over the years to have some beautiful outdoor weddings with perfect weather. And we’ve had some weddings with some not-so-great weather for outdoors. It’s always a really big challenge and, honestly, an additional stressor to do your event outside, but it can really be worth it whenever it works out.

If you are considering having your wedding outside, here are some things to think through. If you are any of these types of brides, then you should really reconsider having an event outside.

Bride #1: “So, the venue we chose has this beautiful outdoor space that is ideally where we’d like everything to beheld because, honestly, the inside of this place, it’s pretty awful. I’m pretty sure that if I had to get married and the inside of this venue, my whole wedding day would be ruined.”

You should not do an outdoor wedding because inevitably you are going to be disappointed when you are considering a venue that has an outdoor space that you love and an indoor space that you absolutely hate. You are setting yourself up for not just disappointment, but complete regret over your venue selection. You have to be at least okay and accepting of how the space looks indoors in case you’re going to have to move inside.

Bride #2: “I’m having an outdoor wedding and one of the things I’m most excited about is the candles. I’m so excited because there’s going to be real candles on every single table. It’s going to be so pretty, especially when it gets dark out.”

You should not have an outdoor wedding because candles just don’t work outside. In order for candles to work, it has to be perfect temperature, where they’re not going to melt at all. I’ve had very hot days where real candles were used and literally all the wax turned into liquid and the candles could not stay lit because the wax liquefied and covered the wick and no candles could stay lit. And if there is even the slightest bit of wind, it will blow out the candles constantly all night long. Therefore, you really have to use LED candles. So, if you hate LED candles, you should not have an outdoor reception.

Bride #3: “I’m having an outdoor wedding and, of course, I have a budget and I’ve been able to stick to it, but I cannot go over. But it’s okay. We’re still within budget and we’ll have a beautiful outdoor wedding.”

You should not do an outdoor wedding because you are not thinking about the cost that it will take in order to tent your wedding area. If you have maxed your budget, you’re in for a really rude awakening when it comes time to price these things. Just a basic tent top with no sidewalls and no floor and no air conditioning or heating for say 150 person wedding can be $10,000 just for the tent top. Add the sidewalls, add the floor, another $10,000. Add another add heating and air conditioning and a generator, another $10,000. Before you know it, that tent has a starting price of $30,000 to it. It is not just a small addition to your budget. It’s a big one. Even if you have the ability just to move inside, did you have a plan for maybe additional lighting or decor in order to make that indoor space look really great? If you don’t have wiggle room in your budget, you should not do an outdoor wedding.

Bride #4: “I’m having an outdoor wedding, but I have room in my budget for a tent in case I need one. On the morning of the wedding or even the day before, I can add it. So, that can take care of any bad weather problems that I might have.”

You should not do an outdoor wedding because adding a tent is not something that is easy to do last minute. Remember, if you’re wanting to add a tent last minute, so dozens of other brides in your area that are also facing the same situation. And if you’re in a market with not a lot of rental companies, you’re in a really bad situation. If it rains before your wedding, even just like the day before, and that tent isn’t up ahead of time to cover it, the ground is going to be total mush. Putting a tent over mushy, muddy ground is not going to allow it to dry out. So, the timing is really important. Tenting has multiple components to it, involves permitting, can involve the fire marshal, can involve getting water for weighing down the poles etc. None of these things can just be added on the fly a couple days before. Usually, this is like a week to two weeks before of planning with the least amount of time. It’s not an easy thing just to add on even if you have the budget to do it. Thus, if you don’t have the time to allow yourself to add this, you should not do an outdoor wedding.

Bride #5: “For my outdoor ceremony, we’ll just move it inside if the weather doesn’t permit because, you know, Texas, right? It could rain, it could have soggy grass, there could be mud, it could be 100° or it could be 30°. But the reception space is already going to be set up beautifully. And I really love that design. So, we’ll just move it inside.”

You should not have an outdoor wedding because you haven’t really thought through what it’s going to look like inside your venue when you move inside. Is there a possibility to have the room totally set up for ceremony? Chairs and rows just like you would have outside? No tables in sight, nothing behind your altar? If so, then move inside, no big deal. But many venues do not have the ability to do this. A lot of times the guests have to sit at their tables for the ceremony because there’s no other place to put the tables or the venue solution is just to push the tables to the side. Therefore, in the room you see a bunch of tables shoved to the side. What if you have a band? That’s usually the center point of your room and the most logical place to put your altar if you have to move the altar inside. Is the band going to be the backdrop of your altar if you have to move inside? Most likely yes. Do you have room in your budget to add something to cover the band, like draping or boxwood walls? Maybe not.

These are things you have to think through when you think it’ll just be so easy to transition inside in the case of inclement weather.

by Meredith Commender, CSEP