Outdoor Weddings - Planning For the Weather

Image by Kay Gaensler via Flickr

It was so lovely waking up to a clear sunny day and when I looked outside the sky was very blue after all the rain and fog we’ve had lately. It got me thinking of what great weather it would be for all those brides planning an outdoor wedding with the grass looking so green and the air smelling fresh and clean and the beautiful blooms of flowers finally making an appearance.

Of all the wedding styles, outdoor weddings would have to be one of the trickiest due to the unpredictability of the weather, especially this year when we’ve seen so much unseasonal weather occurring all around the world. Outdoor weddings can range in size and formality from a casual backyard affair to a lavish marque in a botanic garden with full service. No matter what size or how formal you go for, you will still need to plan carefully to ensure it is a success. I’d suggest getting yourself a good wedding planning book to help you through the planning process so that no matter what the weather may do, you will have it covered.

I personally would loved to have deliberately planned my wedding as an outdoor event, but circumstances were that it happened all by accident that I ended up with my wedding ceremony taking place in a garden setting although the reception was indoors. It was just that I decided it would be easier to hold a wedding at a location that provided everything I needed so that transport wouldn’t be an issue for most people. So I was lucky enough to find a small convention centre that catered almost exclusively for weddings. They had a reception room, a garden for the ceremony and hotel-style accommodation with room service. They also provided all the decorations and the flowers as part of their service which didn’t cost any extra.

We had a lot of out of town guests, so this arrangement was very convenient for them as they didn’t have to worry about getting from the ceremony to the reception and getting back to their accommodation.

If you are planning on an outdoor wedding then there are a few general guidelines that you should keep in mind, such as:

The Weather

The weather is the number one concern when you are planning a wedding outdoors, so it’s important that you do a little research to improve your chances of the weather being favourable.

Check seasonal weather patterns in the location where you plan to get married and pick a month that has the lowest rainfall.  You can also look at long term weather patterns for a few months ahead to give you an idea of what to expect as the weather cycles change from time to time.

Backup Plan

No matter how carefully you pick the time of year, there is always a chance of bad weather unless of course you’re planning on holding it in the desert where it hasn’t rained in fifty years. Always have a backup plan, just in the event that the weather doesn’t perform to your expectations. Rain isn’t the only weather condition that can spoil an outdoor wedding, the wind can also ruin your day if it becomes more that just a slight breeze. Of course, if you live in an area that is prone to cold snaps then being outdoors will be very unpleasant.

There are several contingencies you could put in place as a backup, including hiring a marque with fully enclosed sides. You could just put up the marque roof if the day is pleasant and then if the weather turns then you could then put up the sides so that everything and everyone will be dry and out of the weather in no time at all.

The other plan would be to find an indoor location that you can get access to use for the day at short notice if you need to move your wedding indoors. Places like local halls, school halls, convention centers or indoor sports centers or anywhere that has an indoor area that’s  big enough to hold a wedding and that has adequate kitchen and toilet facilities. You would need to contact these places to check availability and then keep checking as your wedding gets closer.

The other option is to find someone you know, that has a large house or indoor area or even an enclosed entertainment area, who would be willing to let you use for the wedding.

Whatever style of outdoor wedding you are planning, just remember to plan it carefully and to incorporate a solid backup plan in case the weather turns out for the worst. You can always create an outdoor look to any interior so don’t fret if your heart desires an outdoor setting. After all, photographers and film makers have been creating outdoor scenes inside studios for generations and in the end it will be the photos and videos that we will be looking at to stir our memories when our own recollections start to fade.

Making Your Own Wedding Planning Workbook

There are many great wedding planning books on the market that include wedding planning workbooks to help you organise all your wedding plans, but you can easily create your own wedding planning workbook to keep all your wedding information and documents organised and which you can personalise to suit your particular needs.

A wedding planning book is good for people who are on a tight budget as it is filled with lots of ideas and tips on how to save you a ton of money, but some of the tools they include often require that you need to use the computer to store the information which isn’t always handy when you want the information at your fingertips, when you are out shopping for supplies and dealing with vendors. Here are the instructions on how to make your own personalised wedding planning workbook: '

Things you’ll Need:

• A Thick 3 Ring Hard-cover Binder
• Coloured Page Dividers
• Clear Plastic Sheet Protectors
• Loose-leaf Paper
• Glue
• Embellishments
• Hole Punch
• Scissors

 If you like you can personalise your guide by covering the front and back of the binder with pretty wedding paper or scrapbook paper then adding a title on the front and decorating it with things like pictures, stickers, ribbon or whatever you like.

Once you have finished, cut out some clear contact and cover the front and back of the binder to protect it from being damaged as you will be using it quite a lot over the next few months while you plan your wedding.

Instructions:

Page Dividers
Next, take out the page dividers. These will be used to separate the workbook into different sections to cover each area of your wedding.

Make each divider sheet a title page, give it a heading and then decorate how you want. Here is a list of useful headings you may want to include in your workbook:

• Calendar Checklists - keep a 12, 6 , 3 and 1 month, 2 and 1 week, 2 day & day before checklist
• Contact List - keep a list of all your contacts, vendors, celebrant, reception venue etc give it to someone to keep on the day just in case of emergencies and you need to contact people
• Budget - make two colums: 1 for estimated costs and the 2nd for what you spent
• Wedding Stationery - sample of the invitations and other stationery you want to use, price list, printers, guest list, postage etc
• Ceremony - style of ceremony, ceremony address, celebrant, music, flowers, decorations, wedding programs
• Reception - reception venue, reception address, sample menu plans, beverages, seating plan, table centerpieces, decorations, wedding favors, caterers, hire equipment
• Cake - wedding cake designs, baker, quotes &delivery costs & date, cake knife & server, cake topper
• Flowers - boquet designs, flowers for bridal party, ceremony & reception, florist, quotes & delivery costs.
• Bridal Attire - bridal boutique, fitting times, costs, headpiece & veil, shoes, undergarments, jewellery
• Bridal Party Attire - bridesmaids' dresses, flower girl dress, headpieces, jewellery, shoes
• Hair & Makeup - hair appointments, makeup artist appointments, beauty treatments
• Groom & Groomsmen's Attire - suits, shirts, ties, shoes, hire costs, fittings
• Photography - appointments, bookings, list of photos you want taken
• Videography - appointments, bookings, list of video shots you want taken
• Entertainment - appointments with band or DJ; bookings, list of music & requests, time.
• Transport - car hire, drivers, length of hire, pick-up timetable.
• Accommodation - out of town guests, bridal party, family & friends etc
• Honeymoon - destinations, transport, accommodation, travel documents, passports, spending money
• Extras - marriage license, rehearsals, bachelor & bachelorette parties, gifts for attendants etc

 You don't have to use every heading in your workbook just pick the ones that you think will be relevant to your wedding, you can omit or add headings as you need them. It's important that don't forget anything, so make sure that every area of your wedding, has a section where you can store information.

Now place the dividers into your workbook. Next, you want to add a budget page and a notes page to each section of your workbook. Give the pages a title and then insert a separate page into a sheet protector and file them into each section of the workbook.

Budget Page
To keep track of all your spending, update the budget information as you start spending the budget on different areas of your wedding. Keep a total budget spenditure under its own section and then for a quick reference make a breakdown list of what you spend that relates to each section of your wedding. For example, under the "Budget" you would write down the total cost of the bridal attire and then under "Bridal Attire", you would write an itemised list of how much you spent on each item of your bridal attire (eg. dress, shoes, veil, headpiece,jewellery, underwear etc).

Notes Page
You will want to keep a note page to write down important information such as names, dates, times, appointments, when things need to be paid, phone numbers, addresses and anything else that you need to keep a record of.

Clear Plastic Sheet Protectors

Have a few clear sheet covers in each section as well. These will come in handy for filing all the information you will collect including things like vendor's quotes, receipts, price lists, pictures, brochures, clippings from magazines, samples and any other related items.

This will help you to keep all the wedding related items together in one place and is small enough to allow you to take it with you when you are out and about. After your wedding, all the items that you have collected in your workbook will come in very useful as momemtos that you'll want to use when you put together your wedding album.

Tips: Here are some tips on how to get ideas and inspiration for creating your own wedding style, such as colour schemes, wedding themes, flowers, photography trends, cake trends and other elements:

Browse through magazines and websites on weddings, fashion, gardening, interior decorating etc Cut out or download clippings and keep in your workbook as a reference guide.

Always download a hard copy of any correspondence or receipts you receive online from vendors and keep them in your workbook for easy access.