With spring well and truly sprung and the sunshine making a welcome appearance, it’s inevitable that thoughts turn to outdoor wedding planning. Springtime is an excellent time of year that provides lots of scope for bringing everything it offers into your wedding.
Brits seem to embrace the sunshine like few other people. That makes it an ideal candidate for a double celebration. Your wedding and the end of winter!
With the huge advances in the wedding industry over the past 10 years, it’s now possible to have just about anything you like for your big day. It’s also possible to use inspiration from elsewhere and mix and match themes and styles to make a fantastic wedding day.
We’re going to use all that freedom to give you some great tips for your outdoor wedding.
Ensure your venue is suitable
Not all wedding venues have usable outdoor space. Some share land with other businesses, others, aren’t always ready for spring and others still just don’t have the outdoor space to use.
If you want some of your wedding day outside, check your wedding or reception venue has usable outdoor space and that it will be exclusively for your use. All responsible venues will provide full details on what you will be able to do and what you won’t at your initial meeting. Use that to your advantage.
Use theming
Most wedding themes can be tweaked to work outside as well as in. Two up-to-date ones that seem to go well with an outside theme are shabby chic and vintage. The scope of either is huge and allows a lot of freedom to decorate and use your imagination when putting together your scheme for the day.
You can use mix and match tables and chairs, bunting, use polished buckets to hold flowers, mason jars to hold candles, painted vases for table centrepieces, the list goes on and on.
Use props
Most good wedding venues will have a range of props for you to use for your outdoor wedding. Otherwise, you can hire said props from a range of wedding or movie suppliers.
Consider free-standing candelabra, flowerpots, urns, fountains, arbours, marquees, those mason jars with candles and stylish additions to either mark the boundary of where you want your guests to go, or line the path they take to get there. Outdoor candles are excellent too, especially when the sun goes down.
While it sounds a lot of work, it’s not really, and the effect can be amazing.
Flowers
The liberal use of seasonal flower arrangements can really make an outdoor wedding. They are excellent as props to decorate the area, work well as table centrepieces and of course, as bouquets for the wedding party.
The trend with flowers right now is for simple arrangements with a riot of colour. Some brides like a single main colour theme with a bright contrast colour while others go for a mix of colours that reflect and complement their wedding theme. Either can look great when done right.
Flowers and the explosion of new life are what spring and summer are all about, so implementing them into your outdoor wedding theme is a great way to bring everyone closer to nature and give them something else to admire once they have seen your dress!
Have a plan B
Wedding planning is all about planning for the ideal while also having a backup should something happen. Planning an outdoor wedding is exactly the same. As we all know, the British weather is a law unto itself and can be unpredictable at best, so make sure you plan for the worst.
It pays to discuss a contingency with your wedding venue and have a marquee or large room available for your use should the weather not cooperate. Ideally, the marquee or room would open onto the outdoor space you’re using so guests can float in or out as their mood takes them.
It might also be useful to have a range of umbrellas around too for it anyone wants to be outside and stay dry.
Outdoor weddings can be a lot of fun, bring the entire proceeding closer to nature and offer a romantic setting for your big day. Plan it well and it could make your wedding extra memorable for all the right reasons!