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ForBrides

February 10, 2022

Planning Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

Planning A Outdoor Wedding Ceremony – Fargo, ND

Have you always dream of the perfect outdoor wedding ceremony? Maybe you dream of holding the hands of your future spouse, sun shining through trees, wind lightly blowing your hair, on the perfect summer day. Outdoor wedding ceremonies are beautiful for so many reasons, but they also come with some extra planning! From unknown weather, to last minute changes, there are a few things you have to keep in mind with an outdoor wedding ceremony!

Unknown Weather – The biggest thing to think about when planning an outdoor wedding is the potential for bad weather. That might mean rain, storms, heat, cold, etc. Weather can be very unpredictable in the Fargo-Moorhead area! No matter what happens, wedding photographers can easily adapt and still take amazing photos. However, the ceremony is a little trickier. You don’t want everyone sitting out in the pouring rain, or your grandparents waiting in the heat. Make sure if you plan an outdoor wedding that you have an indoor plan. I love weddings that have outdoor ceremonies and indoor receptions, especially for this reason! Worst case scenario, you can always move inside the reception space for the ceremony. If you are having everything outside, make sure you still have a plan for bad weather, as well as an easy way to communicate with your guests and vendors!
Comfort for your Guests – Even the shortest wedding ceremony can still mean you guests are still outside for at least 30 minutes, so it is important that they are comfortable! The easiest way to keep your guests comfortable is your choice of chairs! Make sure the chairs are comfortable, easy to dry off if it rains beforehand, and won’t get too hot sitting in the sun! I was once at a 95 degree wedding and the metal ceremony chairs sat out in the sun for hours before the guest arrived! The guests had to awkwardly stand during the ceremony or sit on jackets and sweaters. Another way to keep your guests comfortable is planning for the weather. If it is going to be hot, offer hand held fans and water. If it is going to be cold, consider putting out baskets of blankets or offer hot chocolate to keep your guests warm!
Perfect Setting – You may tour a venue, or walk around your family farm, and see the perfect spot to getting married. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when finding the perfect setting! First of all, you will want to think about where the sun will be. You don’t want to have the sun in your eyes the entire ceremony, or have the sun blinding your guests! Secondly, you don’t want too many distractions behind the alter because that is the area most of your photos will show. For example, don’t have your tractors out in the distance, or a building behind you. Picking an area with a beautiful backdrop for the alter will make all the difference for the wedding photos! Lastly, consider how far of a walk it is from the cars to the ceremony site. You don’t want elderly guests having to walk a long ways to get to the ceremony! If the ceremony is further away, consider renting a golf cart or something similar to help any guests who have trouble walking get to the ceremony site easier.
Amenities – There is a lot to consider when you think of ceremony site amenities! One of the biggest, and easy to overlook, amenity is electricity! You will need power for a microphone, speakers, music, and lights. Having power at the ceremony will help make sure everyone can hear! If you are planning an all outdoor wedding, another amenity is bathrooms. You want to keep your guests comfortable and make sure there is access to bathrooms. These things can be easy to overlook, but will make a big different on your wedding day.
Back-up Plan – I mentioned it before, but make sure you have a backup plan for your outdoor ceremony! If the weather is bad, where will the ceremony be? How much rain is too much rain? My ceremony venue asked us this early on and they knew that unless it was pouring rain, we still planned to get married outside. If a drizzle is too much for you, make sure that is clear to everyone so they know when to move things inside. If things do get moved inside, who will coordinate things? How will everything get moved? How will the guests find out where to go? If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, sit down and make a simple and clear plan for when to use your backup plan and how it will work. That way you aren’t panicking to figure it out on your wedding day!