The best rule for an outdoor wedding is no surprises. Expect the unexpected, plan ahead, and don’t forget these three essential items for any outdoor wedding.
The backlog of weddings postponed due to the pandemic will take a few years to work through. It’s not too soon to start planning an outdoor wedding for next year or even 2024. When you start planning yours, don’t neglect these three essential items for any outdoor wedding.
A Venue With a Plan B
It’s a given that weather is the wild card for an outdoor wedding. Wind, rain, lightning, or frost could all derail the best-laid plans. Choose a venue that offers a quick escape to an indoor space or a wedding tent or shelter that can safely withstand wind and weather.
Items To Make Guests Comfortable
While an outdoor setting creates a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony and reception, consider your guests’ comfort. You should space out chairs enough so that people don’t feel crowded. Also, choose a style with feet that are less likely to sink into damp ground.
Work with your venue to minimize pests in the most non-toxic way available. For example, they should keep the grass mowed low and use pesticide- and chemical-free mosquito traps. Your tent should have insect screening that lets breezes in while keeping bugs out. Additionally, cover food with caterer’s food canopies or guards.
If your outdoor wedding site doesn’t have restroom facilities (or if it does, but they are a bit too rustic for a black-tie event), rent a portable restroom trailer. Inside, these look and work like hotel or restaurant restrooms, featuring individual stalls, mirrors, and running water. Don’t forget to have your florist make bud vases for the sink counters. Ensure you look into a few companies to find the right portable restroom services for you.
Dance Floor, Bandstand, and Power
This puts us over three essential items for any outdoor wedding, but these final items work together to make your event memorable. There’s the first dance to your song, dancing with your parents, and then the band takes over to get everyone out on the floor. Your dance floor should cover damp grass with a sturdy surface that’s not too slippery.
Elevating the band on a platform, even just a few inches off the floor, makes them visible to your guests and helps them see how things are going on the dance floor so that they can change up the playlist if necessary. Ask your band what kind of equipment they’ll be bringing and what kind of power they’ll need, or put them in touch with your venue or wedding planner to work out the details. You should also involve your tent rental company and cover all cords and cables to avoid tripping hazards.
There’s so much to think about when planning an outdoor wedding! A professional wedding planner or venue concierge has been through it all many times before and can help you work through the best way to make your day as special as it can be.
