5 Ideas for an Outdoor Wedding

Wedding Flowers

11 Oct

After the hot and hazy summer we’ve just had here, I’m already looking forward to next summer’s wedding themes and outdoor events. If you’re currently planning an outdoor festival wedding or a summer wedding in the countryside then I’ve put together 5 ideas to help inspire you in the planning process. Below are the 5 ideas to inspire your big outdoor celebration and help your weekend wedding take shape. I was inspired when I got to put together the flowers for a photoshoot that took place at the Fiesta Fields Polo field. All the wedding suppliers who took part put together a festival themed weekend long wedding, packed full of British countryside activities and full of boho style decorations. Crammed to the brim with inspiration for a weekend full of celebrations, outdoor fun and a beautiful sunset wedding ceremony. All of the wedding suppliers are listed at the bottom with links to their websites.

1. Have lots of smaller bell tens, marquees and places to sit, so people can spend time in each one and there’s a different feel to each space. It gives a similar feel to having different rooms in a wedding venue like a country house. You’ve got your dance floor full of everyone having a good time and then you’ve got smaller bell tents for having some down time in. If you’re wedding is lasting the whole weekend then it’s a great idea to have spaces where people can explore and have a good chin wag with friends they haven’t seen for a while. You’ll also get lovely photo opportunities of groups of people together in these spaces and having catch ups in more snug surroundings. When you’re planning the layout of your marquee or tents, think about facing them where the sunset will be, because you’ll have a gorgeous view at the end of the day. Another outdoor space you could create is an area with an outdoor bar. This one photographed called The Vintage Bar Box looks beautiful with the copper details. If you’ve got the bar outside it’s another great social space and the perfect photo opportunity to capture your guests enjoying themselves. You get some really stunning pictures of people holding their cocktails.

An outdoor cinema space is also a good idea for kids on the day of the wedding or for you to sit with friends the night before the party begins. If you love Friday night film nights as a couple then why not incorporate it into your wedding weekend, to sum the two of you up perfectly.

2. Hire a hot tub. Because, why not? It’s something that everyone will love, particularly after having a drink. It bonds people together, you can have a laugh, and everyone will be talking about ‘the wedding they went to with a hot tub’ for years afterwards. It’s a snug warm place to look at the stars with a drink in hand. Just make sure you tell everyone to bring a towel and a swimming cosie! Wild Sky hot tubs provided the hot tub at the weekend wedding photoshoot. The water was so warm and steaming in the sunset. We got to see how it was heated with a wood fueled fire round the back of the tub and it was beautifully designed.

3. The Food. Don’t you find that the best weddings and parties you’ve been to are the ones where everyone’s been kept fed throughout the day? Delicious ideas for food for an outdoor wedding are meat and cheese platter boards for sharing, this helps you bond with people you don’t know so well. I always find that sharing food with people helps you connect with them that little bit more. Donuts are a great wedding food because they look stunning and are fun to eat and everyone loves a donut. Tasty little cakes to nibble on, match perfectly with a glass of prosecco or go beautifully with a pitstop cup of tea.

An outdoor pizza oven is a great sociable food idea. It’s got the added entertainment factor of queuing up and having a chat whilst you watch your pizza getting made. Then have it straight hot from the oven all steaming and piping hot. As we all know, food always tastes even more delicious when you eat it outside. An ice-cream van is also a fabulous edition to wedding food, the van can arrive later in the day when everyone fancies a sugar fix, they bring back memories of childhood and you can order your favourites.

4. Keeping the flowers relaxed and colourful for your outdoor wedding will add to your relaxed festival theme. Link in with the outdoors and connect with the natural surroundings by using seasonal flowers and colours. In the flowers here I used peonies, ranunculus, spray roses, snap dragons and eucalyptus. You’ve got lots of space to work with for an outdoor wedding so a big floral structure like an archway of flowers would be a beautiful floral focal point. Your guests will be able to take loads of photos under the archway too.

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To add a bohemian and relaxed look to your wedding, a flower crown is a great idea. Instantly adding relaxed glamour to your wedding day, a flower headdress accompanies you all day and will be in all of the photos of you. Change your look from day into night by slipping a flower crown on your head and wearing a beautiful warm jacket.

5. Keep everyone warm and comfy. To help you with this one, make sure some of your marquees can be shut so the atmosphere can get all cosy once the sun’s gone down. Provide flip flops for people to dance in and walk around the grass on. Piles of snug blankets are always popular so people can sit out looking at the stars, talking late into the night.

An outdoor festival style wedding is such a fun way to celebrate your big day and a longer weekend celebration means you can spend time with all your wedding guests for longer. Including lots of fun places to sit, dance, chat and drink will give you ‘rooms’ to keep your guests entertained in all wedding long. Tasty food throughout the day brings the excitement of delicious food to try and makes eating much more sociable. And remember, people will talk about the ‘hot tub wedding’ for years to come! As long as you’re prepared for the possibility of a slightly chilly English summer evening, it’ll be the weekend wedding event to remember.

If you’d like to see more of these weekend wedding photos, we were featured in Margot’s Wedding and you can read more here from pages 20-23.