Outdoor Weddings — The Knot Community

Do i need to have chairs?

poolkat78 — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:33:52 +0000

We are having our ceremony in a gazebo at a park (out of town). We have about 250 pple attending. We are wanting to have about 20 chairs in the gazebo for immediate family and those who NEED to sit down. The rest we are wanting to stand around the gazebo.
I've been to 2 weddings where they were outdoors and chairs were not provided. Our ceremony will likely be about 10-15 mins long.
Should we be renting chairs??

Scared guests will be bored! Any unique ideas???

Francesvm — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:38:02 +0000

Hi ladies,

This is my first post here...My fiance and I were initially planning a big affair for our wedding but have recently decided to do a small 40 person wedding and afterwards host a catered lunch/dinner at my moms house.....my concern is that if we have all these people over for food/drinks, I just don't want them to be bored!

Any ideas of things/activities we could do to make the evening a little more exciting than just a BBQ???

Thanks!!!

cups?

MollySm — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:57:08 +0000

We are having an outdoor bbq wedding in my sister's meadow. We are renting water and wine glasses for the dinner tables, but then for cocktail hour, and the rest of the night we are planning on getting plastic (from smarty had a party).

It's a small wedding (about 55 grownups, and 11 young children). How many plastic cups should we get? I know people will use more than one, but I don't know how many per person.

Any thoughts?

Drink Slide Ice Sculpture

jules0505 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:26:46 +0000

The one thing my fiance has asked for during this whole planning process is a drink slide ice sculpture. However, our wedding is outside and I'm afraid that it may melt too quickly if the weather is warm. Our wedding is September 25. Does anyone have any experience with these?

Dance floor?

Brycedance — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:05:19 +0000

I'm having a tented wedding in VT - part of the tent will be on grass and part on a parking lot (packed dirt) - my FI feels that we don't need a dance floor but I think we
do - I don't want my guests to be uncomfortable - what do you think? Is there a way to get by without the added cost of a dance floor? Thanks in advance for thoughts and suggestions.

-Heather

Riverside Venue

kimbermin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Need a riverside venue in the Eugene, Oregon area...our venue just fell through=(

A Wedding Place

weddinggirl34 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:07:43 +0000

Hello! My wedding is outdoors and it is actually in my parents backyard where I spent my whole life! You may think it crazy but, they have a huge open backyard right on the river. I am really excited but, have alot of planning to do. So I really need some advice on how to make my wedding fantastic. Please give me some tips on how to make this the best wedding ever!

Help! I cannot get my Planning Bio link to work in my signature :(

Xan921 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:38:53 +0000

I have tried and tried to get my planning bio link to be in my signature, but every time I try it gives me an error. I've tried on my work computer and home computer thinking maybe that would help. I found the directions in the FAQ section, but I just can't get it to work. Any suggestions? Or, if anyone is willing, I could give you my name, password, and website and you could do it for me? Then afterwards I'd just change my password again. Any help would be really appreciated. I spent all this time setting up a planning website and now no one can see it

Outdoor Fall wedding near Adel, Iowa

atakmom — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:19:14 +0000

I am searching locations for an outdoor wedding in October 2011 near Adel, Iowa. I have only come up with 2 and there has to be more!! Please help???

Garden Venues near Grand Rapids, MI

KMLara — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:35:40 +0000

Hi everyone! I am looking for any suggestions for a venue that can offer a beautiful outdoor garden to be married in ideally with an inside area for the reception in the Grand Rapids, MI area.

What if it storms?

gonnabemrsh — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:58:37 +0000

Ok so I'm getting married at a relatives house, and her house isn't that big. We're planning on an outdoor wedding. In June. In Tennessee. In the evening. I'm fairly sure it'll be beautiful.

How do we plan for a backup? It's not like we can rent out a hall "just in case" or something. We're renting a tent already, but that isn't going to help if it's storming hard and/or the rain is blowing in, or the wind manages to pick the tent up and blow it away...so I'm looking for suggestions.

Also related somewhat, I don't know how to do music for the reception. I can't afford a band or a DJ, and I have no problem putting together a playlist and just having it on my iPod so someone can control it, but how/where to I get speakers to make this actually work? My mom said to use a boom box, but there's no way that'll be loud enough.

Baskets for parasols?

kaneki128 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:46:41 +0000

hello,

i am having an outdoor wedding and is having a hard time looking for baskets tall enough for my parasols. any suggestions?

please let me know if anyone is trying to sell any too!

thanks!

Wedding Colors

MKLEWIS2010 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:03:16 +0000

Hi Ladies,

I am planning my wedding on the beach, however I like all colors and I dont have a favorite color. Can you guys give me some ideas about some nice colors to use in August in Jamaica?

Thanks so much!!!

Disposable aisle runner?

kelly&wayne — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:34:14 +0000

I'm getting married on the grass by a lake (hopefully - weather permitting!). I just talked to a local party rental store and they rent disposable aisle runners for $50. They are 100 feet and made of thin white fabric. I'm going to be heading into the store next week to look at them, but I'm wondering what people think of them. Do you think our heels will go right through them? Is it worth it?

http://www.macfarlands.com/pr/pics28/482-0080.jpg

Dreams Resort in DR

CallaLily08 — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:54:33 +0000

Has anyone had a wedding at the dreams resort in La Romana, DR? My fiance and I are planning our wedding there, but aren't exactly sure what to expect since we just started. Any tips, suggestions, etc are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

ring bear

kellyray2007 — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:55:52 +0000

I am getting married at a park the ceremony and reception are being held outdoors. I dont have any kids and my fiance and I have a dog and i wanted to make her the ring bear but no one else seems to like the idea i thought people let there pets in the wedding all the time but my family hates the idea and thinks i will be a laughing stock. what do you guys think?

Winston Salem Outdoor Wedding

doxiegirl1 — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:03:13 +0000

I am searching for an outdoor Ceremony Site in or near Winston Salem. Does anyone know of any inexpensive but nice places?

Beach Wedding at dusk

adnjim2010 — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:44:09 +0000

We are getting married on the beach at dusk - just after sunset, and I am looking for any suggestions on lighting using basically candles, torches. I am especially looking for unique and unusual ideas.

small beach ceremony

dessy.williams — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:56:40 +0000

for as long as i can remember i've just wanted a small beach ceremony with about 30 people and then to just call it a day. my fiancee and i have decided to do this, but then thought about how we should do something after for our guests instead of just leaving...seems kind of awkward.

After talking with family and friends, a common suggestion is to have a fire on the beach with a little bit of cookout food so the people we are closest to could just enjoy each other's company for awhile, and then we would leave. I'm not up for the whole traditional reception so this really sounded like a great idea to me.

I'm just curious what all your thoughts are! Is this a good idea? Will guests like it? Or is it too different that it just will seem weird and breaking some kind of etiquette?

Unity Candles Outside

bebonomi — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:20:54 +0000

How do you feel about doing unity candles outside? I'm scared that they might blow out if there is too much wind so we were thinking of doing unity sand. Do you think the candles will blow out? If they do, is that a bad omen? lol

Men's attire question

camenae — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:15:31 +0000

We have been going back and forth on this topic and I'm not really sure what to do. All of the weddings I've ever been to have had the groom in a tux, but that's not the direction we want to take our wedding.

We're having an outdoor wedding (obviously) at a friend's house. I'm buying a dress from David's Bridal out of their "reception dress" section. Nothing too fancy but uber cute. Which would look better on my FH: suit or dress shirt, tie, and dress slacks? How do I make him look different from his best man? I'm envisioning a white dress shirt with a royal blue tie. I'm not entirely sold on the idea of a royal blue shirt with a white tie for his best man, so now I'm confused.

Sorry for rambling. Our wedding has been pushed up by 5 months due to my FH going into the Navy at the end of the year. So now we're kinda rushing around figuring things out...

Soundproofing a generator

elizabethann516 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:21:08 +0000

There's no electricity for our ceremony so I think I'm going to have to use a generator for our sound system. Anyone have any ideas to soundproof it?

Simple Summer Backyard Wedding a la Chic Provence

Kitgo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:27:39 +0000

A gorgeous small outdoor wedding where the bride buys tableware from Anthropologie for her dinner settings, then keeps 12 for herself and gives the other 12 to her attendants!! beautiful, personal and everyone wins!!

Thrifty centerpieces using vintage bottles and a variety of stems..stunning!

See more at http://chicprovence.blogspot.com/2010/07/simple-summer-backyard-wedding.html

Happy Summering!!

Kit

Two months to go!

Traceyrb — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:46:28 +0000

The problem I am having is this. For over a year and a half, I've planned our wedding. We are both originally from Ohio, but moved to Indiana, and planning on marrying in Tennessee. I wanted a special, secluded, intimate destination wedding. My late father loved TN, so naturally I dreamt of this beautiful place if it so existed, turned out, an English rose garden called Rosewood Gardens. For as long as we have chosen this place, I've also chosen my mother to accompany me towards my awaiting groom, Bryon. The problem is this, my only brother has expressed his views, he's asked/ rather stated that he wants to walk with me. He just told me yesterday that it is his place to walk me. The problem lies between what he is feeling and what I am wanting. When I first closed my eyes, I always envisioned my father walking with me, then I started to see that YES I could get married without my father being physically present, because I know he is going to be there with me in spirit. Then, I felt comfort with my mother, and I accepted that she would walk next to me, she represents my childhood, my beginnings, me before him and I. I don't want to hurt my brother, but I truly cannot see him walking with me, only my mom. I thought of him walking a short distance, but not sure... Help if any suggestions. Tracey

Vineyard worries

Future MrsAcklin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:19:08 +0000

We go to a very small vineyard everytime we go visit my fiancee's family. We've always talked about getting marreid there, but now that we're actually looking into it seriously, I'm panicing! Its an hour and a half outside of Dallas where we live, and its in a tiny tiny town. Its gorgeous and FREE ( yes... FREE!) When I contacted the owners about the possibility of a wedding in the vineyard, they said they had never done one, and were interested in allowing us to use the property. We are responsible for all set up/take down, they simply asked that we buy wine for the reception from them (obviously). They even offered to allow us to use their home.
Thats the part that makes me nervous, they're being so kind and open with their home and business with us, i feel guilty about basically taking over thier home and business for an entire day. we would have to keep all the food in their house since there is no other refigeration. I also feel bad for possiby asking guests to drive 1.5 hours away from civilization for a 4 hour event (several guests are coming from out of state).

Is a FREE venue worth the headache and hassle?

Lakeside Wedding in Michigan

StaceyP04 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:08:13 +0000

Hello,
I live in southeast MI and am looking for a lakeside resort,.. we want to be able to stay on the lake and get married there also,.. somewhere where all of our family can stay and we can have a big bonfire after the reception, we are going to make it a whole weekend thing,.. perhaps maybe somewhere that has cabins or condos,.. if anyone happens to know a good place to check out please let me know
Thanks

Chairs

AmyLeigh914 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:50:03 +0000

I'm having an outdoor wedding at my grandparents farm. So, it's not going to be fancy, but semi-formal. I'm considering renting white wooden chairs, but they're $3 a chair and the guest list is rounding up to be at 80 people. I was thinking about using those U-G-L-Y brown metal folding chairs (for FREE from church, but I can only get about 40) for the reception and maybe using the white ones for the ceremony? Does this sound okay?

Outdoor Wedding in Harrisburg area

klynnerogers — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:30:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm looking for ideas for an outdoor wedding in the Harrisburg area for July next year. We would like somewhere with a nice view, and semi-casual. Thinking of a simple yet elegent ceremony with a laid back reception. We really dont care or want anything special for the meal. Would be happy with a bbq style reception if possible. Unfortunately no family or friends have a large enough backyard or that would be perfect. Looking to have around 115 guests. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Please tell me I'm not the only bride...

Taramisue — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:56:15 +0000

wearing a ridiculously big and poofy dress at my beach wedding??!!

I LOVE my dress and I want to rock it, but I fear ppl will look at me like "wtf?"

Anyone else out there with me?

how garden-ey was your garden wedding?

frostedkels — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:27:02 +0000

my fiance and i are wanting to have a garden wedding. however, is it unreasonable to expect a garden wedding to take place in a place full of beautiful flowers if it is not hosted in someone's backyard?