WaW Wedding Tip Sheet: Anatomy of an Outdoor Wedding

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Out-of-Town weddings have become popular — in fact, too popular, that suppliers are so used to flying in and out of Manila or going on long drives week in and week out.

What does it take to mount one?

Let’s focus on out-of-town garden weddings.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://weddingsatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AnatomyofanOutdoorVenue4.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]The ideal timeline would look like this:

Friday Check-in at the Preps Venue

Saturday Big Day:

6:00 AM – Wake-up and shower, have breakfast

8:00 AM – Start of make-up and hair (Usually there are more people for make-up during out of town events, this assumes bride + 4 to 5 ladies & 1 make-up artist + 1 hair stylist.)

10:30 AM – Arrival of photo and video teams (detail shots using paraphernalia in the bride’s room)

11:00 AM – Lunch delivery, distribution, and actual eating time for all (Count heads very well and order extra packs for unexpected heads; it might not be easy to order from a fast food outlet.)

11:30 AM – Dress up of all those included in the groom’s pictorial; lunch time of the bride

12:00 NN – Groom’s pictorial along with his side (including dress up & detail shots)

1:00 PM – Everyone should be finished with make-up, ladies & gentlemen are dressing up to join the bride’s side pictorials

1:30 PM – Bride’s pictorial along with her family and entourage (including dress up and leeway for sewing the gown and what-have-you)

3:00 PM – Travel to the area of the ceremony (Usually roads are narrower and bumpier so even if the venue is near, it’s good to allot some time for hitches along the way or for the slowness of the car/buggy due to the uneven terrain.)

3:30 PM – Invitation time for a garden wedding

4:00 PM – Line up and marching time, ceremony starts right after

5:30 PM – End of group pictorials, recessional; couple pictorials should start immediately to capture the sun’s rays

6:30 PM – Start of programme

7:00 PM – Dinner

8:30 PM – End of formal programme and start of party time (Still not so bad for those who will go back to Manila right after the out-of-town event.)

Note: Even if it ends a bit later given that the programme may not start at 6:30 PM due to the number of possible areas for in-between pictorials, the guests will most likely be willing to stay since Sunday is a non-working day/no-school day anyway. A Sunday out-of-town wedding might be a bit more difficult since guests might choose to go but leave early or not to go at all in order to rest and be ready for the work/school week ahead.

Of course, Sundays have less traffic so it’s a good idea as well. One just has to be more conscious about following the timeline and ending early enough to give people time to travel back.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://weddingsatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/AnatomyofanOutdoorVenue2.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]What are the look-out points?

1. Because you will be at the mercy of the elements, please check on the following:

a) a Plan B covered area in case it rains — with air conditioning units please, or…

b) have stand-by tents (some tent companies have stand-by rates which are lower than their regular rates)

Said tents or the area where the event will be held should have cooling fans around, so people won’t be too uncomfortable.

It will not be easy to follow the timeline if the people doing set-up are held up by dark clouds and the chance of rain or if rain suddenly falls and almost everything gets wet right away. Sometimes, there are no droplets, it comes down in torrents right away.

Some caterers or chair providers and stylists might also charge for double set-up since their people will not just be tired in the usual sense — they will be terribly tired with all the carrying they will have to do to remove the items that are exposed to rain and return them when the sun comes out again.

Tip: It usually rains in May. March and April seem to be safer when it comes to having sunny weather all throughout. Of course, there’s climate change and all the hullabaloo it brings.

2. Make sure your invitation helps people understand what they ought to wear. I’ve seen ladies come in stilettos thinking that the area would be cemented and covered, only to find out too late they would need to walk on a grassy area wearing stilettos. Think of how many times their heels will sink into the soil. Not a pretty sight plus their heels might get damaged.

Do a thorough check of who is coming. Attrition rates usually increase with venue distance, unless you are providing vans or means of transport.

3. Give detailed maps to guests with instructions on how they will get to your venue/s. That way, no one will complain about getting lost. If you can put up signs, better. Such signs are good for venues which are pretty far from the main road. Remember, it might be the first time for your guests to go to your venue/s, and their cellular phone signals may fluctuate; thus, preventing them from calling or sending an SMS to you and your coordinator just to clarify if they are still going the right way.

If you got a van for them, please make sure the van driver knows where to go. That way, no one will be late for your ceremony.

4. Your gown, the groom’s attire, and your entourage attire should match the venue and its nuances. Your designer will most likely design something else for you if you were to have the event in a hotel compared to having it close to nature. Less bling, no ruffles, tried and tested cuts, and designs that don’t have too many layers would be best for you and your entourage. An outdoor ceremony is also the best excuse you could have for using a birdcage veil or a shorter one, since a long veil might fly off or get caught on brambles. Your groom might be better off with a less formal top since the heat might be too much if he’d wear the usual 3-piece suit.

Yes, you might end up spending less for your clothes since you don’t need as many layers and you definitely don’t need a lot of beadwork as well. Oh, and don’t forget to purchase shoes that match the terrain.

5. Due to the number of hours required for travel and the length of time before dinner, the couple should provide a hearty lunch for all those present at the preps venue — suppliers, parents, family members, entourage, etc. Be sure about the head count since it will not be easy to look for a quick fix due to the distance of fast-food outlets.

Also the couple should provide cocktail food items that will tide guests over. Imagine that they didn’t have much time for lunch just so they will be on time and they didn’t have snacks as well since your ceremony is in the middle of the usual merienda hours. This will also ensure that guests will not complain of hunger and cut short your in-between pictorials as bride and groom.

Have dinner for your suppliers as well. Just as your guests will travel a long time to get home, so will your suppliers.

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6. Have useful giveaways — fans, umbrellas, sunscreen, mosquito repellants, and slippers. People will surely use them. The coins and paper bills they will give in exchange for the slippers could be given to a nearby church. {Why coins? We, Filipinos, have a little superstitious belief that prevents us from giving away footwear, unless the recipient “pays” for it, even with a peso.}

Giving away fans and umbrellas makes it possible for people to endure going to the ceremony area even if it’s still a bit sunny, i.e. the assembly period and marching period between 3:30 and 4:15 PM.

If you’d rather not get a tent, you can also use the umbrella giveaway as a “safety net” in case it suddenly rains in the middle of the ceremony. It helps you have peace of mind that guests would be fine no matter what climate change throws your way.

7. The officiant must not be late. Garden weddings are usually mounted because the bride and groom would like to have nature and sunset shots. If the officiant is late or takes too long with his message, most likely, the bride and groom will just look wistfully at the sunset — no actual couple shots will be taken.

One option to have safety shots is to have a first look* type of pictorial or to have pictorials the previous day — assuming the photo and video teams agreed to come in earlier. The latter will entail extra expense though due to additional labor as well as accommodations.

*First look refers to having pictorials together even before the ceremony time. This one is done by the bride and groom in order to have more photos at the chosen venue instead of the time-bound pictorials between the ceremony and reception.

8. The relatives must be advised that the pictorials will follow the set number of photos — even if there is no church structure. This will ensure as well that the couple will have the couple pictorials needed at a point when darkness has not set in. After all, the couple can’t start the ceremony earlier as well since it would still be too warm. There will still be time to take more photos with groups of relatives in the reception area, but the sun has a time limit. Usually because there’s no church structure, relatives add additional groups — cousins of the bride from her mother’s side, cousins from the father’s side, all nephews and nieces, etc. This wreaks havoc on the timeline which allots only 30 minutes for pictorials after the ceremony.

9. Because out of town gardens have preparations, ceremony, and reception venues in one big compound, it is easy for entourage members to dress up and change before the program. If you’re a stickler for the uniformity of their entourage dresses, tell them to dress up after their parade/entrance.

10. Fireworks for outdoor events are great — one can have them set off at the end of the first dance or upon the couple’s grand entrance. After all, guests don’t need to move from their seats to see the lights show in the sky. One can’t have such with indoor receptions.

Incidentally, you will also have more buffet options — including on-the-spot cooking since you are outdoors. You can also have a lechon baka with the full roasting oven simply because you have enough space for it.

We had a Filipino fiesta themed wedding before, and we were able to bring in a man selling isaw only because the cocktails happened to be situated in the garden.

11. Get photo and video teams who can create their onsite AVPs pretty quickly. That way, there will no need to stretch the programme just to wait for them to finish. Stretching the programme will cause it to end later; thus, some guests might leave before the onsite AVPs are shown.

Note: If your reception is over brunch or lunch, or if you will start around 5 PM, you might want to consider getting LCD TVs or an LED wall so that you can really see what is being shown on screen. The sunlight will overpower even your 5,000-ANSI lumens projector and screen combo. This happens even with indoor venues that have glass wall.

12. You might not need a mobile bar or a full band for the after party as well given the long drive home. Thus, you may channel your savings to a coffee bar for them to have coffee before going home. Or you may get caterers who offer coffee service already.

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Bottomline: Will you save because you’re using a garden venue? Not really, the savings you will have from having simpler attire designs, avoiding having a mobile bar and full band, and paying for a venue without air conditioning will be balanced off by having to provide air coolers, tents, and out of town fees.

Needless to say, out-of-town weddings are more difficult to mount. Thus, if you have the budget to hire suppliers who know the venue or the over-all area and have much experience with handling out-of-town events, go for them. The wisdom they’ve gained from experience will be useful in the long run, especially in handling problems that might crop up when you’re close to or you’re in the middle of your big day.

Special thanks to Drs. Allan and Hannah Corpuz whose photos are in this article. Thank you as well to their photo team led by Alex Ruelo.

 

Read more of Darlene Tan-Salazar’s’ Wedding Tip Sheet articles at www.weddingsatwork.com/category/waw-wedding-tip-sheet/.

Read:

Part 1 – Anatomy of a Morning Wedding

Part 2 – Anatomy of an Afternoon Wedding

Part 3 – Anatomy of an Evening Wedding

[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_block_grid type=”two-up”][cs_block_grid_item title=”Block Grid Item 1″]About Darlene Tan-Salazar, W@W Supplier of Year (2015): Darlene started out as a Planner/Coordinator of Perfect 10 Weddings. Since she needed more time for family matters, she opted to focus on emceeing, and has since started “The Wedding Tip Sheet“, a Facebook page that tackles the practical points in planning a wedding.[/cs_block_grid_item][cs_block_grid_item title=”Block Grid Item 2″][/cs_block_grid_item][/cs_block_grid][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]