Too cold?

MargeauxG

Hi, I'm hoping to have my 6 pm ceremony and reception (until midnight) completely outdoors at the botanical gardens.  The gardens have an indoor space that I can use as a backup.  I'm getting married on Saturday, and the forecasted weather is high of 70, low of 56.  I have 4 large heat lamps on hold to put around the outdoor reception space.

How chilly can it get before you would wish you were inside, given that there will be heat lamps, open bar & large meal to keep you warm and a 14 piece band to work up a sweat to?  I don't want to freeze my guests, but the outdoor space is fantastic.

Putting up a tent at the gardens was a minimum $15,000 fee, so we aren't going that route - because I thought it was insane.

banana468

It really depends on how well the heat lamps can keep up and it also depends on the person.

I'd actually talk to the venue to see what they recommend and what others have done in that situation.  At 56 degrees I won't  want to be outside but I don't know what kind of power the heat lamps have.

MeganAngela

I voted with below 60 because that is my personal taste and I get chilly easily.  HOWEVER, I'd still be an adult and bring a shawl or something, and I would hope that others would look at the weather and dress accordingly.  So, I feel like you should probably have heat lamps on standby just in case and hope that people will come prepared.  But, even with preparation, sometimes it just gets too cold.  Working with your guests to keep them comfortable and you comfortable is probably a good idea.  Besides, if there is a lot of dancing going on, they'll probably be glad that the low will be 56 because they'll get hot while busting some moves on the dance floor!

Plus, just because someone would wish they were inside below a certain temperature doesn't mean that they won't attend, and more than likely they'll be so caught up in the whole moment that, unless it just becomes frigid, they won't even notice the cold.

All just my opinion, but I think with the addition of heat lamps that everything should be just dandy!

[Deleted User]

I would think you would be fine for most of the reception. I doubt it will reach the low until the wee hours in the morning. I am not sure about the heat lamps thing - I have never dealt with anything like that.

baystateapple

I'm a bad person to ask because I'd take cold weather over warm any day of my life...but like PP said, I would check the weather and bring a wrap or something.  Do all of your guests know that it's an outdoor wedding?  Will they know to dress weather-appropriately?

aMrsin09

See, I'm the one that would assume a night-time outdoor wedding meant that it would be tented, not out under the stars.

How many people are you expecting?  How large is your space?  If the heat lamps are the size they use at ourdoor cafe's and bar, I don't think four will be enough.

MargeauxG

Thanks for the feedback.  I think we'll probably have the reception inside if it gets that cold and keep the ceremony and cocktail hour outside.  We're having 190 guests, so the space is pretty large.

However, in the past hour, weather.com has changed my wedding forecast from high 70/low 56 to high 89/low 67.  How is that even possible?  I need to stop looking at it - it's driving me nuts.

AmoroAgain

In my experience, heating lamps don't do that much.  Especially 4.  In Sweden right now, that's about what the weather is and the restaurants and bars that have seating outside have one heater for every 4 tables of 4, if that makes sense.  Not to mention, they also have something over the heaters to help force the hot air down.  Without a tent, or anything else, you'll be looking at a lot of that heat just going out into oblivion. 

I do agree that a $15,000 tent is ridiculous.

sarabellam

You also need to consider the age of your guests. Grandma on blood thinners is going to feel pretty uncomfortable outside.

marisah83

I'm not sure how much help the lamps will be if there is no tent to keep the heat inside.  We're having an outdoor wedding as well with temps also around 70/55, but we rented a tent (not for $15,000 though - that is crazy expensive), so hopefully we'll stay comfortable.  I hope the weather is a little bit warmer for you so you won't have to worry about any of this!

MISSCOURTNEY20

Living in Chicago, you know that the weather changes by the hour. LOL! I think that being by the lake will cause the temp to drop faster and as soon as the sun goes down, your guests will feel it. You have to think about the ones who won't be dancing and drinking. As long as the inside is an option, be open to it. Enjoy and have a great time. I would have never chosen to have an outdoor wedding in this city though. I am waaaay too much of a worry wort.

squirrly

I'd be cold at 65.  It was chilly with crazy wind gusts for our wedding.  We kept the ceremony outside, since it was less than 20 minutes, but moved the cocktail hour inside.  We had always planned for a tent for the reception, and since it was chilly & windy, they put the sides up on the tent the day before.  And, it's a darn good thing, too.  People would have been frozen without them.  Any heat from a heater would have escaped up, up and away.

If the updated forcast is what you end up having, I think you'll be ok, but you might want to spread by word of mouth for people to bring a sweater or shawl.  OR, get a few cheap ones to have on hand for people. 

http://peachcouture.com/2plyArt_pashmina.html
http://www.fashionunic.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=325

Now, those are NOT GENUINE MATERIALS.  But, a few $5 shawls might be worth having around, just in case.

ThePinkSuperhero

Those weather sites will flip-flop every other day.  For us, it was raining, it was sunny, it was raining, it was sunny.  Thank goodness it was actually sunny the day of!
I think providing a basket of shawls would be nice- those cheap "pashminas" are great!

mysticl

I have health issues and do not tolerate cold well.  For me to dress appropriatly for the weather to not affect me may mean that I am not dressed appropriatly for your wedding.  I would have to wear pants and I was always taught that women wear a dress or a skirt to a wedding.  So if you are of the same theory you might not like how I dressed. 

Calypso1977

65 is cold when you are just sitting there.  yes, many folks will dance, but not everyone will, and you will have several hours of eating, cake cutting, WP dances, etc. before the dance floor is open to all, where folks will be sitting and they will be cold.

tenofcups4me

That's a huge change in the forecast. If the new forecast is really right, you should be fine with doing it outside. If the old one is real, I'd do the ceremony outside but move the reception inside.

In my experience, heat lamps are great when you're standing RIGHT NEXT to them, but they wouldn't begin to have enough effect on the number of guests you're talking about.

Re dressing "appropriately" -- it makes sense in theory, but I'm not sure anyone would really dress for that kind of weather at the end of the summer. If your wedding is the typical kind that calls for a cocktail dress, at the end of summer I'm wearing a sleeveless or strapless dress. Sure, I'll bring a wrap of some kind,  but that's not going to be enough to keep me warm in 56 degrees unless I'm busting out an actual fall jacket. And who's going to realistically do that for a Labor Day weekend wedding?