Outdoor Wedding - What Time of Day?

Guests: Most outdoor weddings will take place between 10:00am to after 9:00pm in the evening. Will there be shade provided by trees and shrubbery? Or will you need to consider a tent to keep your guest comfortable? Some facilities will have an extra building or barn that could provide shade to those who would rather not be out in the direct sun.

Also, will your guest be heading to a hotel or trying to catch that plane to get home. Will having the wedding in the evening make it difficult for them on their return home, or does that really matter?

Food and Beverages: These items will need special attention. If you hire a caterer they will take care of these details. However, if you are trying to save money by doing things on your own you'll need to address the issue of making sure everything is kept from spoiling. You definitely do not want your guest getting food poisoning. Even on hot summer nights ice will melt quickly. Be sure there is enough on hand.

People will also drink more beverages if it's hot out. We had round metal tubs situated around the yard filled with ice. In these we had bottled water, bottled coffee drinks and juice boxes for the children. If your guest will be doing any kind of dancing this too will increase beverage consumption.

Bugs: We found that the bees and bugs were worse during mid-day weddings than during an evening wedding. If it gets too late though, depending where you live, the mosquitos start to come out. Since it's an outside wedding it might be nice to have a basket under the cake table with bee sting supplies and mosquito spray in it.

Flowers: This is a biggie! Some flowers just do not do well in the heat. Be sure and ask your florist about this. You don't want your flowers wilted before you get to walk down the aisle.

My daughters had pictures taken before the wedding so the flowers were out in the heat for a long time. We were prepared though and they were beautiful through the whole event.

You can always try and put the bouquets back in the water containers in between the pictures and ceremony. But taking off boutonnieres and putting them back on would be a hassle, so choose wisely.

Outdoor weddings are my favorite! Just plan ahead and think through that "what time of day" question and what it means in your situation.

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