Having an outdoor wedding reception can be a challenge. The biggest challenge comes with the weather. Since you usually book your wedding location at least several months in advance you have no way of knowing what the weather will be on that day. This being the case, it is very important to take the time to plan well in advance. Below you will find a simple guide that will walk you through planning an outdoor wedding reception. If you have any additional suggestions you can add them to the comment list below the article.
The first thing you will need to do when having an outdoor reception is to plan on renting a tent for the area. A tent is always a good idea for an outdoor wedding. You don’t need to have an elaborate tent, but something simple that will keep any bad weather from ruining your day. Once you have your tents ordered you will need to start thinking about decorations.
For the tables you will want to have nice and simple decorations. Flowers often make the best centerpieces. Use a clear vase to hold the flowers. To decorate the bottom of your vase you can very easily put marbles, or flower petals in the bottom and put the flowers on top. You can also use rocks that show your wedding colors and put this in the bottom of the vase. This will add a nice touch to your tables. Use white table clothes which will provide a nice backdrop for your centerpieces. For the napkins you should use a contrasting color, and cloth napkins. For example if your colors are lavender and crème you will want to have lavender napkins, and crème or white table cloths.
An arch is a nice touch to an outdoor wedding. This will provide you with a place to stand and exchange vows. You can decorate the arch with your favorite flowers. Be sure to use silk flowers for your arch. You will find that the silk flowers tend to hold up better even if it rains. You can also wrap the arch in white Tulle to give it an even more elegant look. The chairs should be plastic without cushions. You can tie Tulle to each of the chairs and place a small bow on the back or a simple flower tied through the tulle. This will add a nice touch to the chairs. Or if you prefer you can have all white chairs and just leave them like that. It may be a good idea to have the guests already at the tables they will be eating at. This way no one has to move. You can place the isle for the bride right down the middle of the seating area. Have the same amount of tables on each side of the isle. Use a white runner, and be sure to tack down the ends using yard stakes, which can be found at your local home depot store. This will make help to ensure that your isle says in place. You should not lay out the runner until right before the bride walks out.
For your party favors you will want to make sure that you don’t choose chocolate if you are having your wedding on a warm summer day. Try using a party favor like a picture frame that can be kept a lot longer.
If your reception is going to go into the evening hours you will need to make sure that you have plenty of lighting. Wrap around decorative lights can be found at any arts and crafts store. These lights can be easily wrapped around the poles of your tent. They can also be placed on your archway to light it up. Some nice hanging lights may also be a nice idea. You can find several of these for an affordable price at your local Wal-Mart or Target store. They can be hung near the edges of the tent. If the tent can not support the weight of the lights you can use poles to hang the lights on. Small lanterns are best and will add a nice touch to the wedding area.
When it comes to the food you will want to make sure that everything stays well covered to prevent any bugs or flies from getting into the food. Burners and racks will be needed to keep the food warm. If you are hiring a caterer, you will not have to worry about this.
As for the music you will want to hire a DJ. Place the DJ under the tent and make sure their equipment is not near the edges of the tent. If it rains you will need to make sure that their equipment is well protected. It would be a good idea to provide a table for your DJ so that none of their equipment has to be on the ground.
In order for your guest to enjoy dancing you can rent a small dance floor, which will be placed in the center of the tent. The dance floor does not have to cover the entire area. It just needs to be large enough to hold a few guests, so that they can dance.
Your wait staff should be dressed appropriately, but comfortably. Just because it is an outdoor wedding you don’t want them to be sloppy. White shirts, with black pants and black vests usually are best for your wait staff when outdoors. You don’t want them to wear jackets during the summer months, since they will be extremely hot and uncomfortable. I also think that it is a good idea to have the wait staff wear white gloves, especially when they are serving the guests.
When your guests arrive they will need to know where to sit. I have often found it to be a good idea to have a table with place cards and table numbers. You can have small roses attached to the cards for each guest. Red roses attached to the cards can be for family, pink or white roses attached to the cards can be for friends. It adds a nice extra touch to the décor of the table.
Last but not least is the wedding cake table. This table should be in a nice central location where it can be displayed for all to see. The table should have beautiful decorations all around. You can try using white tulle and flowers to decorate your cake table. A white linen table cloth will complete the look.
Remember when planning an outdoor wedding you’ll need to prepare for the elements as well. If you will be having your wedding on grass you should make sure that the location you are renting from sprays the area down the day before the wedding. This will help to keep bugs away from your guests and your food.
