Tips for Hosting an Outdoor Wedding at Your House
Did you recently get engaged? Or perhaps you have a child, other family member, or a close friend planning to say, “I do” in the coming year or two?
If nuptials are coming up and you and your partner or another happy couple are keen to wed in the great outdoors, you might be planning to host the nuptials at home.
If so, remember that there are many facets to consider to ensure things run smoothly on the day. Here are some tips for success.
Choose an Appropriate Time of the Year
Start by finding a suitable time of year to hold the nuptials in the great outdoors. Note that while fresh snow can be romantic, outdoor weddings in the middle of winter can be not only hard for you and your guests to cope with, temperature-wise, but also more challenging to set up for a reception. You don’t want electrical gear or other things to become frozen or for other temperature-related issues to occur.
On the other hand, outdoor weddings in the middle of summer during rainy seasons or when it’s very hot and humid may also not be ideal. As such, it often pays to consider spring or fall as nice times of the year, although it depends on your location and the weather there.
Revamp the Space
One of the key things to spend time on is revamping your outdoor space so it looks as elegant and pretty as possible. You’ll need to pay attention to the lawn area by mowing and watering regularly, aerating the grass, and fertilizing it to help it become thick, lush, and green. Also, you may need to trim back overlong tree branches, hedges, shrubs, and the like or remove dead or oversized plants. If there isn’t much color in the yard, consider adding some beautiful, bright flowers that will bloom by the time the wedding date comes.
To get the backyard ready, remove old furniture, statues, play equipment, gardening gear, and other tools and bits and pieces that look rather unsightly and can act as tripping hazards. In addition, consider if you need to add permanent or perhaps just temporary landscaping to the yard to help it play host to many people and a marquee or dance floor.
Wooden planks or light pavers placed across grassy areas can help remove unstable surfaces and make it easier for everyone to walk around, especially those wearing high heels. Before the big day, you’ll also want to add some beautiful decorations to dress up the outdoor space and add to its ambiance.
Consider Practicalities
Numerous practicalities must be taken care of for any event, and outdoor weddings are no different. When hosting celebrations in a home’s yard, there can be more facets than usual to take care of, too. For example, ensure outdoor areas will have plenty of access to electricity, to set up lighting, sound equipment, heating or cooling units, and potentially cooking facilities in the yard. It pays to hire or buy some generators to ensure all your power needs will be met.
Also, it’s worth bringing in some portaloos to cater to bathroom requirements for the event, and you may need other plumbing work completed. Consider parking, too. With lots of guests arriving, parking may be limited and somewhat tricky. Talk to your neighbors about the influx of vehicles on the day, set up a valet parking service, or even potentially get everyone to meet at an ample public space and then bus them to the home from there.
It’s also worth talking to neighbors about the potential for noise on the day and how you plan to manage it so you are less likely to have noise complaints or a police visit to worry about on the special day. Another practicality to get sorted out is public liability insurance, just in case anyone hurts themselves on the premises during the event. You need plenty of seating and layered lighting, too, such as spotlights, overhead lights, fairy lights, etc.
Other tips for hosting an outdoor wedding at your home are to design a backup plan in case of weather or other issues, create designated zones for different wedding elements (e.g., dining, dancing, relaxing), and enlist some help to get everything organized so you don’t wear yourself out trying to do it all.
Hosting a wedding can be a big and daunting job, but if you keep all the factors above in mind, this should help you create a successful, happy event that is memorable for all the right reasons.
