Outdoor Celebration Tips
Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the beauty of a natural setting? At The Abbey Estate, we have five, fabulous acres, featuring canopied trees, sunset views, and a stunning pergola/stage. Mother nature can elevate your celebration and provide breath-taking photo ops! She can also be a temperamental hostess. Keep anxiety out of your celebration forecast by doing the following:
REVIEW YOUR “NON-VENUE” CELEBRATION REQUIREMENTS
(OPEN FIELD, BACKYARD, PUBLIC PARK, BEACH, ETC.)
Using a “non-venue” outdoor setting sounds simple and less expensive - and it might be - but make sure to do your homework. Do you need a permit? Will you need to rent (and be responsible for setting up and tearing down) chairs, tables, tents? Is there easy access to loading/unloading your supplies? Is there electricity for lighting, sound systems, food trucks, or catering prep? Do you have enough restrooms or will you need to rent portables? Is there parking nearby? Will guests with special needs be able to access the location? Will the guest area need to be pre-treated with insect repellents? Are there trash receptacles? Do you have people willing to do the clean-up? At the Abbey Estate, we receive several calls each year from distraught brides or hosts who thought they would be able to pull together a special outdoor celebration - only to find that the preparations required became too much. Or that a backyard wedding turned into an expensive home renovation that didn’t get completed on time.
OUTDOOR DECOR
DIY Brides might be surprised to learn that even a gentle breeze can topple your flower arrangements/vases and whisk away the cutest place settings. You will have more decorative success by trying the following:
Weight ALL vases and decorative containers with marbles/stones. Water alone will not keep your vase from falling over and will soak everything on the table when it tips.
Low-to-the-table arrangements are less likely to be up-ended by wind than tall, slender decor. Bonus: guests are not blocked by tall decor while trying to talk.
Signs, table numbers, photo frames, and lightweight easels are easy targets for a blustery day. Use wrought-iron stands, clips, or (if possible) tie-down or fasten larger signs, posters, photos to a permanent fixture.
Removable arches and pillars should be reinforced.
Table linens should be clipped or weighted.
Paper programs may need to be handed directly to guests instead of placing them on chairs or tables.
Use battery-operated candles instead of a real flame which will easily extinguish.
Practice before your event by placing decorative items on a table a few feet in front of an electric fan (at different speed settings) to simulate wind.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN
If the weather is unfit for an outdoor gathering (too cold, too hot, too much rain, snow, gale-force winds, lightning, severe weather, etc.) how will your celebration adjust? At The Abbey Estate, we have indoor options and a pre-event planning session which always includes the creation of a Plan B. An available indoor option (on-site or nearby) is ideal - but sometimes you can make less drastic accommodations to your outdoor space. A trusted venue may already have some of the following options available, but if you are going solo, this list may help:
TOO COLD? Prepare to provide space heaters, baskets of blankets, bonfire pits, hot drinks.
TOO HOT? Prepare to provide portable fans, air coolers, misters, hand-held fans, iced waters/drinks.
RAIN? Prepare to provide umbrellas for guests, tents, valet parking options.
WIND? Prepare to secure table linens with clips or weights, use flameless candles instead of real, make certain centerpieces are heavily weighted, arches and large signs are reinforced, place officiant script and vow notes in 3-ring binders so they don’t blow away.
SNOW? Prepare to provide removal services, ice treatment for solid surfaces.
LIGHTNING OR SEVERE WEATHER? Prepare to provide immediate shelter or instruct guests to depart the location.
