All your Wedding needs
23 May 2008
Wedding ceremonies are held in any number of locations nowadays, not just in places of worship or family homes as they have been in the past. Some couples prefer the casual nature of an outdoors wedding, but it takes careful planning and consideration to ensure an outdoors wedding goes off without a hitch. The most challenging aspects of an outdoors wedding hinge around the vast differences in condition from day to day and from location to location. Being aware of the unique challenges your wedding ceremony and reception will face from an outdoor wedding is the first step to keeping it under control.
Beach weddings
Most advice about having a beach wedding revolves around one key factor: a view of the beach is a better idea than actually having a wedding on the beach. There are far too many things that can go wrong with a wedding on a beach unless the ceremony is simple and brief. Think about why you want a beach wedding. Is it to do with symbolism that is meaningful to you and your partner or is it to make the reception easier? You can have the best of both worlds by holding a lengthier ceremony nearby the beach and then moving the wedding party down to the beachfront for the reception.
Forest weddings
The main problem with a forest wedding is accessibility and privacy. A forest wedding can be very private, but this comes at the cost of accessibility to your guests. Easily accessible forest spots are far less likely to offer a private location for your ceremony. The proximity of wildlife could also pose problems, even though you may think it will entertain your guests. Wild animals can be cute, but they are also quite dangerous and are a likely avenue for a wedding disaster to occur.
Mountain weddings
Again, accessibility is a concern with a mountain wedding, but even more worrying is the safety aspect. You may wish to suggest to guests that children would be inappropriate at your wedding to avoid any mishaps to do with kids. It could also be an idea to restrict the flow of alcohol at your reception, as a risky location coupled with a few beers has the potential for mishap written all over it. Fog can also be a problem with mountains, as conditions change rapidly and unexpectedly once you reach a certain height. Unless you have booked in with a mountain resort, a mountain wedding may be too much of a risk to seriously consider.
How to cope with weather changes
As always, forward planning of contingencies is the best way to cope with unexpected weather changes on your wedding day. Even if your wedding is scheduled to be outdoors, you should tie the location to an indoors venue. Essentially, trying to save money by choosing an outdoor location will lead to disaster, but choosing an outdoors ceremony and reception as a primary goal with an indoor location for backup and the evening will mean you are well-prepared to avoid disaster.
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