Plan Your Wedding Outdoors
By Advisor. Filed in Jewish Dating |
Good organisation can take the stress out of organising a wedding. First you will need to select the all-important venue. You can easily search online for a venue and suitable shelter for your guests – maybe you will look for marquee hire London, marquee hire Hampshire, marquee hire Kent or something similar. Make sure you include geographical information in your search so that you get a fairly local company. A marquee, though expensive, can double as a ceremony venue, a shelter for guests and somewhere to dance late into the night. Make sure you confirm your rental date at least two weeks ahead of the wedding date.
Depending on where you choose as a venue you will need to find out whether you need permits, how long they will take to be approved and whether you will need to inform neighbours. Informing neighbours is as much for you as them - a neighbour mowing the lawn can ruin the day somewhat. You should also consider where your guests will be able to park and if you need to arrange some transport for any or all of the guests. For beach weddings you will need to check the tide times and access. Invites can also go out as soon as the venue is chosen. Include a map and make it clear that the event will be outside so that guests can wear suitable attire.
When you have chosen your venue and hired a marquee or something similar you will need to plan your decorations. Have fun with them and be really creative. Natural and found items such as pebbles, shells and driftwood can be used to designate different areas. Place names can be written on pebbles which the guests can take home as wedding favours. Tables and chairs will need to be rented or borrowed. It’s cheaper to set them up yourself but you will need to enlist a few willing volunteers. You could use hay bales as seating if they fit in with your decorating scheme. If you want music you will need to decide if you want a DJ, live music or a bit of both. They will need to be booked well in advance and you will need to confirm any special needs e.g. changing rooms, shelter, food, drink and electrical poins. For the ceremony, you may need to consider a sound system with a lapel microphone so that the person conducting the ceremony can be heard by all the guests. It’s surprising how much external noise can hamper the ability of your guests to properly hear what is going on. Think about whether you will need to adjust the temperature of your venue. Extremes of heat or cold will not be pleasant for you or your guests.
Lighting also needs to be thought about. Choose lighting that will create atmosphere but that will also give enough light so that guests can see easily. Electrical lights will need power so consider if you will need extension leads and if the sockets and leads are suitable for outdoor use. Canles can be great for lighting paths - try them in wighted apper bags and don’t forget the spares.
Your catering will need to be thought about well in advance. What will guests eat and drink? Who will pay for it? Who will prepare the drinks and food and where will it be cooked and served to guests? Will guests help themselves or will you need to book serving staff? Will you need to provide snacks in between meals? Do any guests have special dietary requirements and do you have enough non-alcoholic beverages? Check well in advance whether you will need an alcohol licence. Food can be themed, formal, casual, sit-down or buffet. If guesta re bringing food to the wedding, make sure that everyone doesn’t bring the same items. If there is a long time with guests doing nothing or long periods between food then you will definitely need free flowing snacks. Bar bills can be kept down if need be. You should decide what you are going to ask your guests to pay for such as after dinner drinks. As a note, champagne for the toast is usually free to guests. Buying alcohol from a wholesaler will help keep costs down. Also look out for deals in the months leading up to your wedding date. As the wedding date comes closer, keep an eye on what the weather is doing. Inclement weather, rain and too much sun can all cause problems. The ideal weather conditions will be slightly overcast (to avoid squinting, glare on the photos and sunstroke).
A splash of rain needn’t be the end of your outdoor plans. Provide big umbrellas thet you have decorated with waterproof pensfor your guests. Duck boards are a good idea to use as path as they stop your guests getting stuck in muddy grass!
Sunblock will be useful if the day turns out to be really sunny and a wrap will be useful for if it gets cooler. Unforseen circumstances such as bad weather can ruin your plan A so you should make a plan B too. The best idea is to make a list of potential problems and address each one.
If you do need your plan B, you need to be sure who will make the decision to switch plans, how will you tell everyone and how you will move them all? Weather can change quickly a plan change can happen at very short notice.
However you go about your plans, creating a well thought about ‘to do’ list will ensure you don’t overlook anything important and that everything gets done on time. Make sure the plans are within budget and easy enough to arrange. Most importantly don’t foget to enjoy the build up to your big day! When the organising is done there’s nothing more to do than sit back and hope all goes to plan and that you wedding is all you ever dreamed of.
