When you look through Bridal Magazines you will see stunning pictures of perfect outdoor weddings where everyone is radiant in a gorgeous, sunny venue. These pictures are designed to be romantic and have inspired many couples to have their ceremony in the great outdoors.  Having officated many more outdoor wedding than indoor, I can tell you from experience that I have never particiapted in any outdoor wedding that even remotely resembled those lovely Bridal Magazine weddings. Not that they weren't all special and beautiful, they were. But outdoor weddings have their own unique challenges that you must consider before you commit to stepping outside.

The first challenge is the obvious one, the weather. Mother Nature is notoriously uncooperative and mischievious in many parts of the country. If you want to be safer, choose a well established destintation venue in the Carribean or Hawaii were the weather patterns are more stable. But if you are choosing to have your wedding state-side, be prepared for adventure. You may need to account for rain, wind, fog, heat, and humidity. All of these problems can be solved but you want to think them through before they occur, not on the spot. Do your research and have a back-up plan.  For Colorado, I usually recommend that people use either a tent or have an alterternate indoor venue available. During the last wedding I officiated at, the rain held off until the final moments of the ceremony but poured on the outdoor backyard reception. However, they had a backup plan in place and the reception was quickly moved indoors without a hitch.

The second challenge to consider is the accessiblity of your wedding site. If you are choosing an official wedding venue the owners will have attented to that issue. If you are choosing a state park or a favorite hill top or beach you will want to consider you guest list. Weddings are usually a gathering of many ages of people some of whom are able bodied and some of whom are not. You want to assess whether this beautiful site will exclude the elderly or health compromised members of your families and how much upset and hurt that may cause. One couple in California solved that problem by having the wedding on the bluff overlooking their favorite beach rather than on the beach itself. The climb down to that particular beach would have been too difficult for the grandmothers of both the bride and groom and their presence was far more important than the setting.

The third challenge to consider is sound. Believe me nothing is more frustrating for  wedding guests than to attend a ceremony that they can not hear. If you are not in an official wedding venue, you will need to provide the sound system yourselves. Above all , do not try and do an outdoor wedding unmiked--the stress of tying to speak loudly enough to be heard is more than you will want to deal with on your wedding day. Trust me on this one. I highly recommend using batteried amplifiers and microphones for locations where there is no electricity. You may have to search a bit, but some music stores do rent them. Make sure you have good mikes and test, test, test during the rehearsal to account for traffic noises, airplanes, wind, waves and any other sounds that are typical to your site. Even with mikes, you may all have to speak louder than you are used to so make sure to practice and have frequent sound checks before your wedding day.

After considering these challenges your heart feels unchanged than congratulations, an outdoor wedding is perfect for you. Enjoy your special day and let the challenges add to the adventure you are beginning.