What Should I Ask Before Booking an Outdoor Wedding?

Are you in the midst of deciding if you want to get married indoors or outdoors? There is an important list of questions that you need to speak with potential venues about before you make your final decision.

 

Can everything be held outside?

Do you want to have the ceremony and reception outside? Or just the ceremony? Make sure you ask and that the answer fits the vision you’re imagining in your head.

 

Is the space handicap accessible?

The inside of the venue may be handicap accessible, but is the outdoor space where the ceremony will be held also handicap accessible? This is an important question to ask if you have guests that require handicap accessibility or if your older relatives (grandparents, great aunts and uncles, etc.) struggle with stairs or uneven ground.

 

What happens if it rains?

You most definitely want to know if the venue has a rain plan. “It won’t rain” is not an acceptable answer to this question. Make sure you clearly understand where the ceremony will be moved to in case of poor weather conditions. If the ceremony and reception need to move indoors somewhere, make sure you like that space too.

 

What is the power situation?

If you plan on having your reception outside, you need to consider where the lighting, sound, and temperature control will come from. Does the venue have electricity or will you need to rely on generators? Find out what the venue already has on hand and what you will need to rent (like fans, air-conditioning, portable heaters).

 

Are there bathrooms?

This seems like a no-brainer. Obviously the venue has bathrooms! However, those bathrooms are inside. If your wedding is completely outside, you may need to rent bathrooms of some sort.

 

Is there a wedding event coordinator on staff?

You definitely need to know if there will be an event coordinator on staff to help you with some of the planning and to organize everything on the day of. Pulling off an outdoor wedding isn’t always a walk in the park, so having someone from the venue to assist is a great idea. Learn more about what a wedding event coordinator does here.

 

 

Do you still have a few questions? Get in touch with us.