The seasons offer such beauty for many different reasons. The spring offers a feeling of a new beginning with its pastel florals and budding trees. Summertime bursts with life and greenery. Fall serves up more earthy, brassy tones and cooler breezes. No matter your wedding date, you can take advantage of the benefits and unique features of the season and have an alfresco wedding ceremony.
Read on for our top tips to plan the perfect outdoor ceremony.
1. Notify Guests Early
When you send your guests the save the date, make sure to notify them that the ceremony will be outdoors. This will give them ample amount of time to plan ahead for your big day! They will be able to choose a weather appropriate outfit so they’re not too hot or cold. Ladies may opt for wedge heels in lieu of stilettos to avoid sinking in the grass. Some may come prepared with shawls if the weather takes a cool turn.
2. Signage
Providing clear signage for your outdoor ceremony is considerate for your guests. Help guide them through the venue property showing them where to go from where they park to your ceremony, how to get to the reception space, the bathrooms, and even the bar.
3. Seating
Making grandma stand during your entire ceremony may not be ideal for her. Offering guests a place to sit for your ceremony is a nice accommodation. Plus, having comfortable seating available will allow your guests to focus on you and your ceremony!
You can rent chairs and arrange them in straight rows or a semicircle style facing your arbor. You could also get creative and have wood benches, church-style pews, or hay bales covered in blankets. Have fun with it!
4. Avoid Unwanted Guests
Make sure you won’t have any uninvited pests crashing your ceremony. Consider hiring an exterminator to treat the ceremony space a couple days beforehand. That will leave enough time so the chemicals dissipate well before your guests arrive.
As another option, you can place tiki lanterns or citronella candles around the area to deter bugs from getting near your guests.
5. Guest Comfort
If you’re having your ceremony during the daytime on a warm or hot summer day, you may want to provide shade for your guests to help keep them cool and comfortable.
You could also provide other amenities to help with the heat like water bottles to keep hydrated or paper fans. Looks like rain or colder weather on your wedding day? Provide umbrellas for your guests to shield from raindrops and blankets to keep warm during early spring or late fall ceremonies.
6. Set The Mood
If you’re having an evening ceremony or reception, be prepared for the sun to set and then light up the night! Hang drapery with lighting across your guest seating to create a magical ambiance for your guests while helping them see! Add up lighting to surrounding trees or buildings nearby. Don’t forget decorative lighting ideas that make for a magical atmosphere! Hang glass votives from tree branches, add lanterns leading down the aisle, and hang lights from your arbor to light up your ceremony backdrop.
It’s important to illuminate the ceremony space, the reception space and even the walkways so guests can easily find the path to the bar or the bathroom.
Check with your venue on whether they have electricity outside for your lighting. If they don’t have electricity available, you will want to rent a generator for your lights. A generator can also help power a DJ or live band if you’re having music outdoors!
7. Have a Backup Plan
As if planning a wedding isn’t stressful enough, we’re about to tell you to have an alternative plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. The old saying “Failing to plan is planning to fail” is true when it comes to weddings. It’s much better to have a backup plan and never need to use it than to be unprepared and have no plan at all. Be ready for rain or shine and transition both your ceremony and guests seamlessly to an indoor ceremony space.
At Green Acres Event Center, we have a stunning outdoor ceremony space that is beneath a canopy of trees with Staring Lake Park as a backdrop. This outdoor space is lush and green and makes for the most beautiful location for your outdoor ceremony.
Our elegant Chiavari chairs provide comfortable seating so your guests can relax and enjoy watching you exchange your vows. From planning the lighting to the signage, we will work with you throughout the planning process to ensure that your vision is turned into a reality!
The best part? We have a bad weather backup plan built right in! We can plan to have your ceremony at our outdoor space but if weather doesn’t cooperate, we can easily and seamlessly move your ceremony inside our barn. With the gothic arch shaped roof and crystal chandeliers, our indoor ceremony space will be a breathtaking plan B.
Contact us at Green Acres Event Center to get started planning your ideal outdoor wedding ceremony!
