WW - Outdoor Weddings, Hot or Not?

Heeeeyyyy blog world! Before I start this post today, I would like to give a hugeeeee "HAVE FUN!" to my partner-in-crime & bride-to-be, Kristin, who is on her way to VEGAS today!! I am so sad that I can't be there with her, but I know she's in good hands with some great gals! Cheers, pretty girl!

Today I wanted to talk about my wedding personally and the pros & cons of having an outdoor wedding. Hopefully, if you are thinking about doing it, this will give you a little guidance as to if you have made the right choice or not. SO, here we go!

First of all, when I decided in my head that Brandon is the person I wanted to marry (ha!), I started (secretly) planning my wedding in his parent's backyard. It's huge. It's isolated. It's got a bar. It's got a pool (that can be turned into a fountain). It's everything that is perfect for an outdoor wedding. My thoughts on this were confirmed when I actually went to a wedding in their backyard in July of 2011. I loved everything about Nick & Alexia's wedding (Nick is the son of one of Brandon's dad's best friends...follow that?) and knew that I wanted that exact same outdoor, laid-back, home feel. So, when Brandon proposed 2 days after Nick & Alexia's wedding (on the 4th of July, IN HIS PARENT'S BACKYARD!!), I knew I had to get married there too. But then, came planning a WHOLE outdoor wedding...and that, ya'll, is not easy.

Let's get this out of the way quick- The Cons of an Outdoor Wedding:

1. Weather. Obviously, right!? Trust me, the Farmer's Almanac can't predict your weather a year or however long out, as bad as you want it to. When Nick & Alexia got married in the Rosengren backyard (on July 2nd) there was a freak hail storm that randomly came out of NOwhere. And though it didn't last, it caused some drama (glass lights that were hanging over the pool broke into the pool, cars had some minor damage, the tent almost blew over...) but, also some REALLY great stories. For our wedding (July 14th), it was HOTHOTHOT with not a change of rain. During our ceremony (in the open, non-shaded area), people were dipping their hand into our water buckets for relief. My point to all of this? Be prepared. For whatever. I had rain boots waiting in case for rain. We had discussed back up plans in case it rained so that we had places for all of our guests. You just need to trust that you can handle it. Because you can and you will when it comes down to it!

 *you really never know when it's going to storm in MI*

*see that hail in the background?! and everyone is still having a blast!* 

2. You will not save money. If I had a dollar for every time I heard, "Oh you're having it in the backyard?! That will definitely save you money!" I'd probably have about $32. You. won't. save. money. Sorry, but you won't. You have to buy a tent, tables, chairs, tablecloths, dance floor, porta potties, catering, dumpster, ice, a large cooler.... annnnd I'm sure the list goes on. You just don't realize how convenient that it is to have a wedding in a location that specializes in weddings until you aren't doing that. If your dream is to have an outdoor wedding, it's totally do-able, as long as you are prepared for the attention to detail and have the finances to support this decision (THANK YOU BILL & DAWN HORNER for allowing this to happen for me! and BRUCE & TERRY ROSENGREN! My parents & parent-in-laws are all so dang awesome. Lucky girl, I am!)

3. You need a lot of space. If you are doing a backyard wedding (and not a wedding somewhere with an outside that already has everything figured out) you need to plan to have a ton of space. We had a space where we got married. We had the biggest tent I've ever seen in my life for the reception and under that we had a dance floor and a small bar. We set up a separate tent for the food. We had a separate area for the potties. And another area for a bar. And an area for the parking lot (that was actually the neighbor's house...) All in all, you just have to be prepared to have a ton of space. Be creative with how you work it! It can totally be done, as long as you are prepared for it!

 *tents on tents on tents*

*yep, you need to get a dumpster. and it's cool when you're dumpster is brand new because you can climb in it*

And now...The Pros to an Outdoor Wedding!

1. The possibilities are endless. You don't have wallpaper you have to deal with. You don't have pictures you have to work around. You have literally a blank canvas (unless you are using a predetermined outdoor space that is often used for weddings). You pick the colors. You decide what you want where. You determine the whole entire feel. That was my #1 sell to having an outdoor wedding. We entertained the idea of an indoor, looking at two local venues, but I was always finding something wrong with them. After pricing out a couple of things and realizing the outdoor wedding could work, my creative juices got flowin, and I turned a big back yard into a beautiful (well, I thought anyways) ceremony/reception spot.

*i (along with a lot of help!) turned a whole bunch of acres into my dream wedding venue*

2. You determine what food/drinks you serve. This was also a big plus for me! We weren't tied down to any one menu, chef, or bar options. We picked our own chef and since it was someone that I knew well, I could work with him to create the perfect menu. We also stocked our own bar. Bruce did a lot of research and I think I'll talk about stocking your own bar in another blog post because that gets complicated! Needless to say, we made some last minute trips to the liquor store that weekend.

*this isn't even all of it ... seriously.*

3. You call the shots. Since this was in Brandon's parents backyard, we were allowed to do a couple of things you don't normally do. A) People played flip cup at my wedding. B) We set out yard games for people to pass time with...I heard that bean bags got pretty heated. C) We asked our DJ to stay an extra hour since we had no time limit to adhere to. And he did and it was awesome. D) People went swimming at our wedding. Yep, at a point, people just went swimming in the pool. Even my dad jumped in! And all of these things that happened make for the best stories and memories that I wouldn't change for the world.

*looking out of the tent to the other half of the party going on at the bar/photo booth area. roooowdy. (Lisa Villella, thank you for this perf action shot!)*

So, all in all, I hope you haven't been scared from doing the outdoor thing. It's a task. It's a lot. It's amazing. I wouldn't have changed my day for the world. But then again, to me as a bride, that is all I could ask for. When it comes down to it, make sure that your venue fits you and that you love every part of it. I can assure you that if that's the case...you really will have your very best day. Xo, E

*no matter where you get married ... it is this moment, when you walk down the aisle and realize that you are starting the most amazing forever after, that means everything.* 

this photo & ceremony photo courtesy of the ever so talented Studio 6.23