Choosing an outdoor venue can provide a wonderful backdrop for the day you and your husband-to-be exchange vows. However, whether it's a grand mountain view or a quaint English garden, it's important to remember this: your guests love you, but they probably won't be too keen on licking sweat beads off their upper lip for an entire three to four hours. Even if it's a beautiful 65 degrees Fahrenheit in June, when you're in the afternoon sun, you can start to feel like a baked potato rather quickly. Here are a few ways to keep your event eco-friendly, while keeping your guests cool and happy.
One, provide guests with recyclable fans that also work as programs. Popsicle sticks are a great way to turn any program into a makeshift fan, while ribbon and multiple sheets work well for long programs. Use 100% recycled paper if possible and make sure it's either white or ivory, as it is easily recycled and most sought after at recycling facilities. After the wedding, make sure guests leave their fans so you can recycle them later.
Two, keep people hydrated. Stay away from plastic water bottles and instead offer ice cold glasses of water and/or lemonade, tea, or juice. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to forget the little things. If you plan on having a cocktail hour, just make sure water is available in addition to alcohol or plan on setting up a table where it's offered.
Three, if it's not apparent that you're having an outdoor wedding on your invitation, give guests a heads up by passing the word around beforehand. Some guests might appreciate this and will dress accordingly. It can be considered tacky to put dress code information on the invitation itself, so you could also direct guests to your wedding website, which would explain more about your outdoor venue in detail.
Photo by Jesse Leake, found via Snippet and Ink
5 comments:
Great suggestions!
XO
SHS
Miss Crab Cake from Weddingbee posted a great article about infusion jars, which you can fill with water or ice tea combined with different fruits - loved the idea.
Thanks for this! Any suggestions for outdoor weddings in the cooler months (my ceremony is outdoors at the beginning of Spring)? We were planning on space heaters and a warning on our website to bring a sweater, but how else to keep guests warm?
A word about those invitations--we often recommend making the outdoor location clear when our customers order for outdoor events(we're stationers as well as bloggers!). You can add simple language in the location line such as "In the gardens of Palmer Mansion" or "On the shores of Lake Catawba" to add poetry and clarity.
Firefly - thank you for the info!
A - That's a great idea! I'll have to do some research and write a post closer to the fall about that.
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