Growing up I didn’t dream about what kind of engagement ring I’d get someday, or even about the dress. Instead, I dreamed about one thing, other than my husband, of course. I wanted my wedding outside. Even more specifically, I always wanted it facing Lake Ontario (one of the Great Lakes in New York!) Thankfully, my husband agreed and I began to plan an outdoor wedding. Obviously getting married outdoors opens itself to a whole new set of problems but with proper planning, you can pull it off without leaving anyone in the cold (get it?)
How to Plan an Outdoor Wedding
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1.// Yes, We Need to Talk About the “Backup Plan”
I feel like this is the obvious elephant in the room. So obvious that you’re probably like “Why are you even mentioning this?”
I mention it because I’ve heard of so many people who plan outdoor weddings and say, “Well it better not rain or we’ll in big trouble! But we’re willing to chance it.”
For many of those people, God granted them a beautiful sunny day. And I’m happy for them. But you don’t want to be the one person who doesn’t have a backup, and your wedding was ruined.
Just ask Alanis.
Guys, it rained on my wedding day. And it was ironic. I really did think.
RELATED: Want to save money on your wedding too? Here are 10 Ways to Save $1,000 On Your Big Day.
2.// Think Like a Guest
If you went to an outdoor wedding what are some things you would like to see to protect you from the elements?
If your wedding is in the heat of the day it might be nice to provide fancy umbrellas for the guests to sit under, or even provide ponchos for each guest to cover themselves with. If it’s hot you might want to think about providing pretty paper fans for your guests.
If there is a chance your wedding might be cold for your guests, think about providing heating lamps or even cute blankets that can double as your wedding favor.
Also, I’ve heard of people passing our SPF and bug spray. Thoughtful.
3.// Give Your Guests a Heads Up
If your wedding is outdoors you will want to mention that in your invitation. That way people do not wear their formal dresses, but instead, something more fitting for the occasion. It also gives women a chance to wear flats or wedges to more easily walk on uneven or grassy terrain.
Another thoughtful thing to do is provide cheap flip-flops for those that end up wearing heels. I ended up wearing heel protects on my shoes to more easily walk around, another option to offer to your guests.
4.// Make Sure Your Dress/Bridesmaid Dresses Fit the Outdoors
I’ve seen a lot of women throw their wedding together with bits and pieces of what they like with no thought to the overall picture. My suggestion – for any wedding – is to come up with a theme and pick four colors that match that theme. It will make all your other decisions so much easier – trust me.
And if you have a wedding outdoors – Spoiler alert – part of your theme was already chosen for you. Now you don’t have to wear white overalls to match your outdoor theme, but it’s not necessarily the right place to pick a ballgown dress either. Believe me, I’ve seen it.
5.// Use Your Surroundings To Your Advantage!
Friends, if you are in a beautiful outdoor setting, use it to your advantage. Face the lake/mountain/river for your ceremony. Plan your hors d’oeuvres outside so people can enjoy it.
Set up a photo booth outside. While planning my wedding I wanted to hang picture frames from trees with the Lake in the background for cute “Instagram-ready” photos. We still ended up planning something cute inside, in case of rain though.
Set up lawn games like a giant Jenga set. How fun!
Yes, I planned to have beautiful lawn games but moved them indoors because of the rain. I don’t know about you when weddings are so awkward when you are just standing around talking to people. I love an activity to save me from boredom and people’s conversations. (I’m an introvert, forgive me.)
Guys, I even had dreams of offering boat rides during my wedding. I can still hear my husband’s reaction when I told him and his eyes just about fell out of his face. “Boat rides? This isn’t a carnival.”
But how fun would a paddle boat ride be at an outdoor wedding? Maybe it’s just me. Oh well. Speaking of outdoor weddings, check out this casual background wedding from Shifting Roots.
Lastly, think about creative ways to display drinks or food to match the surroundings. Put bottles of water and special fun drinks in a canoe or old large tin buckets.
6.// Think About What Could Go Wrong.
And try to prevent it! Offering your guests umbrellas/blankets/flip-flops fit under this category, as does having a backup. Other things to think through:
If your wedding is outdoors in the heat you should consider fondant so it doesn’t melt. Are there any issues with the season you picked? Who is going to move all the benches in, then out, then in again in case of rain (Thank you wedding guests and brother in law who did this for me!) What kind of sound system will you need outdoors? Etc etc.
7.// Be Prepared for Something to Go Wrong and Roll With It.
I like to end on the story of it raining on my wedding day because that is every brides’ nightmare but I lived to tell the tale. SOMETHING WILL GO WRONG. Something won’t be perfect. Remind yourself of that before the wedding so it doesn’t come as a shock.
8.// Then Once It Hits – Roll With It.
I briefly mentioned this above but we (well not me I was getting ready but someone) set up all the benches and decorations outside first. It rained. Some good Samaritans dried off the benched and moved them inside. I checked my phone and it looked like the rain may hold off a bit. They moved the benches outside again.
I’ve also seen some darn right cute photos of bridal parties with umbrellas and rain boots. I wish I would have thought of that (although up until the day of your wedding you are on your knees praying for sun!)
Our photographer, however, took some pretty unique photos in rain puddles, and on top of that, the clouds were amazing that day!
There is always a silver lining. And if there isn’t you shrug your shoulders and say, “the show must go on!”
In that case, sometimes you do have to plan an outdoor wedding indoors.
Oh, and when the wedding is over, here are 7 Places to Change Your Name After Getting Married. It took me almost two years to change everything over so hopefully, this helps you avoid many of the same hassles I did.
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Nicole Kauffman says
August 10, 2017 at 11:27 amGreat suggestions! Ran can be SUCH a stressful thing when it comes to your wedding day!
Jess says
August 10, 2017 at 11:31 amI love this!! Will definitely keep this in mind 🙂
Marissa says
August 10, 2017 at 2:07 pmWhat a good guide to keep in mind! Cute pictures too. 🙂
Jennifer Smith says
August 10, 2017 at 2:58 pmWe got so incredibly lucky with our outdoor wedding! It rained during set up but it cooled everything down just right. These are great tips!
Sarah says
August 10, 2017 at 4:11 pmOh that worked out perfectly, then!
Victoria with One Sharp Mama says
August 10, 2017 at 4:40 pmThis is such a great post. We also had an outdoor wedding and had a back up plan but luckily the weather held out for our day. I really think a lot of people overlook the fact that they need to think about the bridesmaid dress and being outdoors for the whole time. I know some people have these lavish ideas for their wedding but they don’t put everything into reality perspective so I think that is great that you brought that up.
Sarah says
August 10, 2017 at 10:11 pmYes! I’ve seen some very heavy, formal dresses at outdoor weddings.
Jordan | Read. Eat. Repeat. says
August 10, 2017 at 5:26 pmWe briefly considered an outdoor wedding because they really are beautiful, but we wanted to get married the first week of August and it would have been unbearably hot and humid then where we live. So we opted for a traditional church wedding and obviously it didn’t hurt us because we celebrated 8 years Tuesday
Sarah says
August 10, 2017 at 10:11 pmCongrats on 8 years!!
Alicia says
August 10, 2017 at 7:24 pmThis is great. I love the think like a guest part. My ceremony was planned for outside and I wanted there to be no mentions of rain on my big day. Then a hurricane happened to come along…I had a backup indoor plan, but I wanted so badly to have the ceremony outside. I waited until as late as I could to make the decision to move it inside.
Sarah says
August 10, 2017 at 10:12 pmA hurricane? That’s insane! Glad you had a backup
Andrea says
August 10, 2017 at 8:07 pmI think as long as the weather holds up….
Rachel R Ritlop says
August 10, 2017 at 8:14 pmaweee you looked beautiful and these tips are amazinggg!! We had lawn games too, and loved using the outdoor space to bring everything to life!
Felicia @ The Starving Chef says
August 10, 2017 at 11:51 pmGreat advice – I’m not quite in the wedding planning phase yet, but I definitely want my wedding to be outside if possible!
Ashley Millar says
August 11, 2017 at 12:25 amI’m the MOH for my best friend’s outdoor wedding in October- this is perfect! I love the idea of lawn games, I ma e-mailing her right now about this! BTW, your wedding looks beautiful!
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 11:22 amThank you to both! You’ll be a great MOH 🙂
Yolanda says
August 11, 2017 at 1:36 amYou had a beautiful wedding! We just got married last month and it was outside – which I always dreamed of too. Great suggestions here 🙂
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 11:22 amHopefully you had better weather! haha
Kristen says
August 11, 2017 at 2:46 amI’m glad that I’m not the only person who had rain on their wedding. I originally wanted mine outdoors but my Mom talked me out of it and in this one specific case I’m glad she did. Even though rain on my wedding day was not what I wanted, we did get some super cute pictures with umbrellas.
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 11:22 amLucky! I so wish we had done that
Lux G. says
August 11, 2017 at 10:05 amJust earlier I was reading through some boho wedding. Thanks for this informative article.
Coral says
August 11, 2017 at 12:15 pmI love the idea of outdoor weddings but it’s always a hit and miss with the weather… you make some great suggestions here!
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 1:52 pmFor sure. Can’t control that darn weather. haha
summer says
August 11, 2017 at 12:58 pmSo much goodness! Yep, I had our ceremony outside and it was the perfect day, praise God. But it took a lot of prep!
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 1:52 pmOh yes, always does! So glad you had a beautiful day!
Heather Rutledge says
August 11, 2017 at 3:31 pmI just became engaged a few months ago and we’re still deciding where in the world to get married, so this is really helpful to have because regardless of where we get married, if it’s outdoors I’ll need a good contingency plan in case of rain!
Sarah says
August 11, 2017 at 3:52 pmDefinitely. Good luck with your planning and congrats on the engagement!
Faye Thomas says
August 11, 2017 at 6:54 pmSuch an informative blog full of useful tips, I think the things you mention do get overlooked on the big day. Thanks for sharing!
Nicole says
August 12, 2017 at 12:05 amThe same thing happened at another wedding we went to. The rain stopped just long enough for the ceremony and then it went back to raining cats and dogs. I think it’s often more than luck.
Sarah says
August 12, 2017 at 11:26 amMe too 🙂
Rachel Ritlop says
August 12, 2017 at 1:58 amSuch beautiful pics! It’s stressful enough to plan a wedding in general, let alone an outdoor one. Great guide on how to plan one, love it!
Sarah Camille says
August 12, 2017 at 4:10 amI love your thoughts! I’m planning my wedding for the end of April and the ceremony and reception are planned to be outside, which really fits the love of the outdoors my fiance and I have. We are going to do lawn games too.. just crossing our fingers that we don’t have to use the indoor/backup plan!! 😀
Cheers, Sarah Camille // SCsScoop.com
Sarah says
August 12, 2017 at 11:26 amI hope you end up with a beautiful day! 🙂
Travelberries says
August 12, 2017 at 11:56 amAfter reading this, how come Alanis haven’t thought of a back up plan???!
Sarah says
August 12, 2017 at 2:50 pmhahaha I know, right??
Glenna says
August 12, 2017 at 4:54 pmOh I love this! I have always wanted an outdoor wedding! Thank you for sharing
Corey | The Nostalgia Diaries says
October 19, 2017 at 5:07 pmThese are great tips! Your wedding looks like it was just beautiful (even with the rain) and you looked absolutely stunning! 🙂