An outdoor wedding is the dream of many spouses and the ceremony is the focal moment. If you want to say yes to a lawn, however, there are a few more elements to consider very carefully!
When you think of an outdoor wedding, everyone immediately thinks of the arrangements. And in fact some time ago I dedicated a video to how to set up a wedding ceremony that takes place outside.
Today, however, I want to dedicate myself to the organizational peculiarities that distinguish the celebration of an outdoor wedding compared to one that takes place within 4 walls.
And they are all things that you will absolutely have to take into consideration, if it is this type of ritual that you are thinking about… I have identified 6 of them.
1. BEWARE OF THE SUN
When planning an outdoor wedding, whether it is a ceremony or a reception, the sun is one of the most important elements to consider.
Where is it located? Where does it set? Where will you be at the time of the ritual? And above all, where will the shadow be?
You can’t risk cooking your guests!
The risk, as I already mentioned in the video on the operational inspection, is that you plan wonderful setups, the beautiful nave with perfectly aligned chairs, expecting breathtaking geometrically flawless photos, but you end up with images in which people are all crowded together in the shade, leaving the seats free in the sun.
If the aisle of your outdoor wedding is half in the sun and half in the shade, this is the result you will get. So don’t forget to evaluate it in time!
2. THE ENEMY OF THE OUTDOOR WEDDING? THE WIND!
If you think that the real enemy of an outdoor wedding is the rain, you are very wrong.
The wind is the most subtle, because it will make you doubt until the last second: are we going in or out?
The rain is clear after all: it’s raining, we’re inside; It’s not raining, we’re outside. The wind doesn’t.
Don’t underestimate it and remember that the wind is really annoying.
So it’s better to take shelter inside even if it’s sunny, rather than find yourself in surreal situations with gusts that make the chairs fall, the floral arrangements, which don’t allow the bride to have even the slightest photo with her beautiful veil stretched out or that will leave your guests in the dust.
In these cases you need the ability to say no to the outdoor wedding you’ve always dreamed of.
3. THE WEATHER OF THE PREVIOUS DAYS
An outdoor wedding must also be perfect for your guests, you certainly can’t make them walk in the mud or make them sink with their chairs!
It is not only the weather of the day that dictates the law, therefore, but also any rainfall from the previous days.
The risk is the same as point 2: a wonderful sun is shining outside and you find yourself closed between 4 walls. It’s nervous, I know, but the well-being of your guests is what will make your party a success.
Keep this in mind and you’ll see that it will be a wonderful party!
4. DOES AMPLIFIING AN OUTDOOR WEDDING NECESSARY?
It’s something that no one ever thinks about, but if you organize an outdoor wedding, especially the ceremony, and maybe you’ve chosen soft music played acoustically, i.e. without amplification, those celebrating won’t have a microphone.
The spouses themselves will not be able to exchange vows at the microphone.
Is it that serious? Well … yes. Very.
If you are not in a very cozy garden with very few guests chosen for an intimate wedding, can I assume that you will find yourself in a large garden with at least eighty guests?
And if you don’t speak into the microphone how will they hear you? There’s a lot of emotion at the moment of exchanging promises, don’t you think you’ll be able to say them out loud?
The microphone is needed. Is critical! So, think about it for some time…
5. WHO ARRANGES THE SESSIONS?
Here is another technical aspect, too often overlooked.
In an outdoor wedding, and in this case too I am referring to the ritual, who arranges the seats perfectly aligned?
At the reception the problem does not arise: there is a caterer who takes care of the entire setup for lunch or dinner and will obviously also take care of the chairs.
If you are in a location that usually organizes on-site ceremonies, it will probably be equipped to do so.
But if you have chosen a location that rarely hosts them, which is not a municipal house, so there is no relevant Municipality to manage the ceremony, and perhaps you have rented some splendid chairs, know that the renter will unload them in one place and they will remain there.
You absolutely must appoint someone to arrange them as you have decided. The florist, the location manager, the caterer.
Anyone can place them, but if you don’t specifically ask them to, they won’t know to do so.
In the best case scenario, someone more willing will take the initiative, but without knowing exactly how you want them and probably will not have the time or the desire to properly align them.
Does this seem silly or unimportant to you? Look at the most beautiful photographs of outdoor wedding ceremonies and tell me honestly if the alignment of the chairs is not essential!
6. AND THE RICE THROW?
I already know that this will seem silly to you, but you must know that if at the end of an outdoor wedding there is no person in charge of launching the rice, this will not happen!
Trust me, it has happened many times that I have had to run and tell the guests to take the rice, which I had carefully arranged on the chairs, and toss it as the bride and groom passed along the aisle.
This happens because, when a wedding takes place indoors, at the end of the ceremony, the most logical thing is for the guests to go out to wait for the bride and groom. Out there they find rice, in cones, boxes, bags and automatically take them to throw the rice when they come out.
When a wedding takes place outdoors, the guests generally remain in their seats even while the bride and groom sign the documents or perhaps move from the chairs but remain there scattered on the lawn, they do not go down the aisle.
And when the bride and groom have finished taking the usual photos, no one is there waiting for them with rice in hand.
You need someone to manage the moment, because if they aren’t trained they won’t launch it! Hire a trusted person and you won’t regret it!!!
If you have thought about an outdoor wedding, take advantage of these 6 tips that I consider tricks of the trade gained from many years of experience.
AUTHOR: Roberta Patanè
