That darn unpredicatable weather

somerlynn87

I would love to do an outdoor wedding, but the weather factor, makes me nervous. I know it would be ideal to get a back up indoor venue, but here is my perdicament.
If I were to get married outside, it would be a free venue. If I were to get a backup indoor venue I would have to pay a deposit (most likely non refundable). My question is, how common is it for brides to have an outdoor venue and purchase an indoor venue as a back up, and don't end up using the indoor venue?
My wedding is slated for late May and I am in Iowa, and in Iowa, the weather changes every 5 mins I swear.

bunni727

SInce your outdoor venue is free, I would go ahead and reserve the indoor space. Consider it as getting two venues for the price of one. 

We just used a public park with a picnic shelter for the reception. If the weather was bad, we would have had our ceremony in the reception space, cabaret style. Maybe something like  that's an option for you?

AddieCake

I agree with Bunni. Yes, it sucks to potentially "waste" money, but it would be better to be safe than sorry. It was misting the morning of our wedding, and we almost had to move it into the reception space. Fortunately, it let up enough in time for the ceremony. 

MobKaz

Are your indoor and outdoor venues at the same location?  If they are, then it would make sense to simply play it safe and reserve the indoor space as well.  The last thing you want to do the week before your wedding is waste time and stress obsessing on weatherchannel.com.

If you have an outdoor ceremony, perhaps the venue will allow you to put that deposit to use for other wedding related items, assuming your ceremony and reception are at the same location.

However, the way your post reads (to me) it almost sounds as if the two ceremony spaces are in different locations.  If that is the case, you will have to make a commitment at some point for the sake of the invitations.

MrsGandthebeag

We got married on a beach, but our reception was at a restaurant.  Had the weather been bad, we would've got married at the restaurant.  It was gray in the morning.  Luckily by the time we went to take our pics and have our ceremony the sun came out.  

libby2483

I would absolutely make sure you have an indoor back-up.  Trust me, knowing that you have a back-up plan will be well worth the money with all of the worry it will save you.  We got married outdoors, and it was a beautiful, mostly sunny, 75 degree day.  The week before it was over 100 degress.  A few days after, it poured rain.  The weather is so unpredictable that having a back-up is important.

annmarie714

Could you find a location that has both an outdoor and indoor space you could possibly use?  We did this and ended up moving it inside.  Due to them rearranging stuff, we had to make the decision by Wednesday for our Saturday wedding, but I never stressed because I knew I had that option.  It ended up raining on and off all day on our wedding day and overall, I actually liked our back up/indoor venue than I would have liked our outdoor venue.  Fate is a funny thing

skipitt1747

I think you will need a back up plan in IA.  We are getting married in CA but are having  a celebration afterwards near Cedar Rapids, in addition to the park I prefer we reserved party tents and an indoor location, we'd rather be safe than sorry.  What part of Iowa are you in?

leelabear

Have a tent as a back up. It might be cheaper and you can keep it in the same location. So your guests dont get confused about going to a new place.