Your wedding is undoubtedly the best day of your life. From start to finish, these memories will be treasured forever, told and retold to the generations that proceed you. Although not all weddings are made equal, with an outdoor wedding requiring a little more planning and forethought prior to your day. To conquer all the trials and tribulations of an impending outdoor wedding, we have categorised all the things worth considering before you set the date.
Weather
It’s the one word a bride will not utter, but the weather is an important issue that needs to be discussed sooner rather than later. With great wedding marquee hire in Melbourne, there is no need to fear the elements. In fact, the open style of a marquee will create a nice intimacy between your guests and will open you up to many more reception locations and ideas that bricks and mortar would not allow for. All reputable wedding operators will insist on a wet weather backup, so go one step ahead and make your only plan weather-proof so that you don’t need to compromise on your big day.
The right lighting
How is it that all the most critical elements are the ones we take for granted? Outdoor event lighting is a key example of this, and your options will be reduced when you choose to have an outdoor wedding. Harsh floodlights and unflattering fluoros will not do you or your guests any favours and will be even more ill-received as the night rages on and the light-to-dark contrast heightens the sharpness. Opting for festoon lights and soft glows will ease your wedding reception into the evening, and complement your photos beautifully. They also look far less obtrusive than stand lighting that can get in the way, instead of winding around infrastructure and laying on your wedding tables.
A complementary palette
Deciding on your wedding colour palette is one of the first things you tick off the list, and if you’re being honest then you probably arrived at this point some time ago. It might be worth doing a reassessment of your colour palette when you decide on your outdoor venue. The time of year and surrounding seasonal blooms might influence your decision. Choosing something that complements the colours around you will give your wedding design much more impact, rather than competing with all the natural beauty that has graced your venue. If you’re not sure where to start, contact your outdoor venue and see if they can share some photography of previous weddings of the same time of year so that you can get in the mindset and start conceptualising what colours you wish to play with.
Plan your layout
There is total freedom that comes with having an outdoor wedding, but sometimes that can be a little daunting. Indoor venues have established zones, seating areas, bathrooms and chill-out spaces. When you have an outdoor marquee wedding, it’s up to you to plan this layout. It helps to visit your outdoor venue more than once, as well as drawing out the layout so you can understand and avoid potential bottlenecks. Key considerations would be portaloos, appropriate seating-to-standing balance and dancefloor space. When devising your floor plan, put yourself in the shoes of every type of guests (kids, adults and grandparents) so that you round off the needs and expectations of everyone.
Planning an outdoor wedding is a lot of fun, but there is certainly more buy-in required than your typical indoor venue. The upside is that your wedding will be entirely unique and memorable, with the natural backdrop creating a relaxed and intimate affair.