• Let your guests know in the invitation that it’s an outdoor reception, so they can dress appropriately.
• Enclose maps in your invitations, so guests can find their way.
• Make sure you have adequate bathroom facilities. If the outdoor reception is at home, you might want to consider renting a portable latrine. Many rental places have wedding models, complete with a flush toilet and sink.
• Make sure the site has access to electricity.
• The general rule of thumb for a sit-down reception is to allow for 15 square feet per guest. Do the math, and make sure your tent is big enough.
• If you are having the outdoor reception at a private residence, find out ahead of time where the tent will be placed. That way when you are doing your spring/summer planting, you can choose flowers in your wedding colours and plant them near the tent.
• Offer parking that is close by – it’s a wedding not a hike.
• Let neighbors know you are having an outdoor reception ahead of time so they won’t be outside with lawnmowers and leafblowers.
• Make sure your wedding site is in an area that won’t get muddy or flood if it rains.
• Have mosquito spray handy. Citronella candles are not enough if mosquitoes decide to crash your party.

Photo: Hideaway Country Inn, Bucyrus, Ohio

An outdoor reception can be pure bliss. After all, what better backdrop than Mother Nature?

But celebrating outdoors is not for everyone.

An outdoor reception generally takes more planning than an indoor reception, and it can be just as expensive – sometimes costing even more.

Because brides and grooms are at the mercy of the elements, they’re also a bigger risk. Mother Nature can be glorious, but she is often unpredictable – and unkind. She won’t hesitate to offer up a deluge during the most delightful of days.

For that reason, outdoor weddings are not for worry warts. Wedding planning can be stressful enough, without having to worry about the weather.

Despite the risks and careful planning required, there are oodles of couples that wouldn’t have their wedding any other way. They’d much rather feel the cushioning of cool grass beneath their feet, than the hard floor of a church or rented hall on their wedding day.

For these couples, deciding on an outdoor reception location is at the top of the ‘to do list’. While some opt to have their weddings in their own backyards, others celebrate in vineyards, forests, beaches or public parks. There’s also the option of having the reception outdoors at a bed and breakfast.

Lea-Ann Suzor, who owns a tent rental company in Windsor, Ontario, Canada says many couples choose to have their outdoor receptions at their parents’ homes – or their own.

“I think people have spent a lot of time and effort on their yards. People are proud of their homes and they like to have their weddings at home so they can showcase their properties,” she says.

Outdoor receptions don’t have to play by all the rules. Some couples opt for champagne brunches, afternoon parties, or cocktail receptions instead of the formal dinner reception.

“We’ve had them go from a casual lobster bake, where guests wore shorts and sandals, to the very formal – with flooring, carpeting and elaborate floral displays,” says Suzor.

Suzor recalls another recent wedding where games, streamers, clowns and balloons were part of the festivities.

“It was almost like a fair. It was pretty and colorful,” says Suzor, pointing out that nearly a third of the wedding guests were children.

One formal option is the cocktail party, says Suzor, who points out that more and more couples are choosing this style of reception.

“A popular thing that I’ve seen recently is more stand-up, cocktail receptions where they have the butler pass around appetizers and wandering minstrel bands in an afternoon or early evening setting,” she says.

Whether a couple opts for a barbecue, or something more formal, an outdoor reception usually requires lots of planning.

“It’s definitely more work,” says Suzor.

And it can be more expensive than one indoors – especially if a couple wants the works (dance floor, lighting, air conditioning, and décor done by a professional).

Photo: Susan Adler Photography