Outdoor Wedding and Reception

How cold does it usually get there in February? If it's really cold, blankets and hot chocolate are not enough to keep guests comfortable for a whole ceremony and reception, especially if you have guests traveling from places that have different weather. If you do decide to have it outside, make sure you let guests know ahead of time so they can dress appropriately. And have a good indoor backup plan for bad weather.

One suggestion would be to rent outdoor heaters, if it gets chilly there at night. Another suggestion would be to have a clear tent (so you can still see your beautiful string lights and maintain that romantic outdoor ambiance) reserved in the case of rain.

View Quoted Comment That's perfect, thank you!

View Quoted Comment The average is 70 but it can get down to the mid 50's at night. I haven't picked the time for the ceremony but I am thinking 2. I also have some outdoor heaters that I plan to stagger between the tables. We will also have a tent. I am looking to find a clear tent so you can see the lights in the trees.
Definitely makes sense to let them know ahead of time. I will put an insert in with the invitations.
I am going to arrange lounge seating inside as well. It is a private residence. The whole back side of the house has roof to floor windows so if anyone is sitting inside they won't miss anything.Thanks for the tips!

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Agreed. We're doing an outdoor ceremony and reception and have reserved some heaters with our tent (PA in two weeks). Checking the Farmer's Almanac can give you a sense of the forecast too.

Also consider: providing heel tip covers to guests, or clearly encouraging them to wear a comfortable shoe that won't sink into the ground; whether you have any guests who rely on a walker or wheelchair or cannot walk long distances or navigate unpaved terrain; providing packets of hand and foot warmers that can be slipped into pockets or shoes and last about 4 hours; and definitely offering a soup course.

View Quoted Comment Great, thank you. Those are great! We will definitely use your suggestions!

Clear tents help generate heat 👍 I had the opposite (very hot time of year) so tent company recommended white tents better for keeping temperatures down. With ours, keeping our centerpieces low, having heavy picture frames as our table numbers/names, taping things down helped with the wind. ❤️

A hot chocolate and coffee station sounds like a great idea. What about a portable fire pit? You can utilize it for s’mores as well so double the use.

View Quoted Comment I was thinking about that too! I will definitely be adding that. I'm sure it would be a huge hit. Thanks!

View Quoted Comment No problem. I actually own one and everyone loves it lol. You can even get extra long skewers so your guest don’t have to be super close to the fire.

View Quoted Comment Okay great! We are doing low centerpieces too and keeping them simple. That's a good idea with the table numbers and making sure to tape things down. Thank you! 💗

View Quoted Comment That would be perfect! We will definitely do that. Plus it would be great to put in your backyard after! Thanks again 😊

Sounds beautiful! You never know about the weather, just remember what we went through last February in snowpacolpyse! What are the odds that would happen again though. All the ideas on here are great. We're planning an outdoor ceremony in March 2022 near Austin. I was thinking about getting some clear umbrellas in bulk in case it starts to rain. I'm worried about the ground being wet so I'm putting on our website to wear shoes appropriate for the ground if it gets wet.

Our wedding was and reception was both outside. Our reception was in an open faced barn, so there was overhead coverage, but the sides were open. We got married at a vineyard, so the tasting room was our backup plan if the weather did not cooperate.

I would make sure you have tents available as your back up weather plan. Also, heaters. They are fairly inexpensive to rent and will be worth it if it is cold. Are there bathrooms close by for guests?

Heating stations, tents, blankets, hot cocoa/coffee stations, and fire pit would be helpful. One of my friends had a wedding up in the mountains and it was outdoors. It was nice weather when the sun was up, but once it went down it was pretty cold. I had a heavy jacket on for most of the night, but the tents did help keep the heat in and it wasn't too cold. They also did provide blankets as well.

Are you allowed to do a fire pit? I want a s’more station.

I would see if you could do portable heaters

The place that rents the tents and lights will have heaters too! But If you’re doing daytime and it’s 70 degrees I think you probably won’t need them BUT- you know, never can be too sure. I attended a backyard wedding with a tent in the north in late October and I think there were only two heaters ans it was fine!

View Quoted Comment Yes we do plan to have tents and heaters. And yes there are 3 restrooms available for guests. We are going to have signs to all 3. 😊

View Quoted Comment Yes we are allowed to have a fire pit. We are definitely doing a s'mores station! 😊