Outdoor Wedding Tips

Through my many years working in the wedding industry, I have noticed more and more couples having outdoor weddings. An outdoor wedding can be magical. Especially if all of the elements are perfect from the sun shinning, stars at night, fresh air and the beautiful sounds of nature.

Outdoor weddings are a hot trend that can’t be ignored. With that said, I thought I would share some outdoor wedding tips from my experiences in providing my services in many different outdoor settings.

Plan your expenses far in advance before sending your invitations 

It is often assumed that having an outdoor wedding will save you money. Indeed this is often true, but is not always the case. One thing that is often overlooked is the expense of preparing the property for the wedding. Furthermore, I have seen it where not even half of the guests attend an event than was expected. With that said, be sure to get an RSVP count to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Make sure your vendors are insured

Which vendors you may ask? ALL of them! Possible damage to their equipment or your property may occur and you MUST protect yourself. Unexpected events are much more likely to occur at a self-hosted outdoor wedding, because banquet halls were designed from the start to host many vendors and guests. Your property will be modified to host the wedding at a later date than which you purchased or rented it. I will always remember pushing my DJ gear up a HUGE wet grassy hill on a dolly praying and praying I didn’t slip. I don’t think I’d be here today righting this blog if I did!!!

Inclimate weather clauses in contracts

Inclimate weather clauses are obviously more applicable for an outdoor wedding. Every vendor drafts their contracts in a way that makes the most sense for them and their clients, so I’m not referring so much to a right or wrong way to write up a contract. However, I can’t stress enough they must have a cancellation clause in their contract that is clear and easy to understand.

Access to Power

This is the most overlooked factor in hosting a wedding outdoors. It is important to ask ALL of your wedding vendors needing power, how much power they need, if they have the proper extension cords and if they have a backup generator. Some may charge a small extra fee to bring a generator, but it is imperative to always have at least two backup generators on hand whether they are owned by the host or vendors. Always remember, no power no party. The important thing is to always plan ahead and have adequate power that is accessible in place.

Portable bathrooms

This one is pretty straightforward. If you are hosting a backyard wedding, nobody wants possibly hundreds of people walking through their house potentially damaging their property, also tracking in dirt and mud. Furthermore, you may also need portable bathrooms if you are renting public outdoor space as well. Portable bathrooms can be expensive so be sure to shop around EARLY.

Set up as early as possible

Two things are for sure when hosting any event. It will almost always cost more than planned and take longer to set everything up even if you hire everything out to vendors. There will always be unforeseen circumstances that occur at every event. It could be bad weather, added time to set up power supplies, poor driving access causing vendors having to walk their equipment across miles of land barefoot in the snow (ok maybe not that bad). You name it, it could happen, so be sure to plan extra set up time accordingly for an outdoor wedding.

Dance floor or No Dance floor

Renting a standard 12′ x12′ dance floor usually costs around $200 to $300. If you have it in your budget, I advise renting one. It will look great and actually ties everything together in the dedicated dancing area. It also simply tells people where to dance. I have DJ’d outdoor weddings without a dance floor and I can tell you it is much easier to build the momentum of the dancers when they are not scattered about in different places. Not to mention it saves the lawn too!! So if possible, be sure to bring everybody together with a dance floor!