• If you decide to have your wedding at midnight on New Year’s Day, after your ceremony you can have an awesome reception and continue bringing in the New year with your family and friends.
• You can save plenty on your catering bill, hence the fact that this ceremony will take place at 12am, you can go with Hor d’oeuvres or even do tapas still plates. It will be late but I am sure your wedding guest will appreciate the late night snack.
• How about a beach wedding? Yes, you may be afraid of the temps but you can rent portable heating units and have a phenomenal wedding on the beach.
• Bring in your Outdoor New Year’s wedding in with a bang and get some great fireworks to top off the night! Your guest will be amazed, just make sure you check the proper guidelines regarding fireworks because it varies from state to state.

Looking to plan a holiday outdoor wedding? If so, you just may run into the good and ugly of wedding planning. However, you can check out the Pro’s and Con’s of planning a holiday outdoor wedding and it can save you some time and headache.

Pros

Family/Traveling

We all know how troubling it can be for family and friends to take off work and travel to your wedding but if you plan a holiday wedding, it would be easier for your family to get more time off around the holidays so they can have more time to enjoy the festivities.

Decorations

Imagine having your beautiful outdoor wedding over the holidays and you can incorporate Christmas light as a part of your decorations. Just remember when you are dealing with lights, simple is always elegant.

Weather

Although depending on where you are in the world, cold weather can make your holiday outdoor wedding, extraordinary. The snow on the ground can add a beautiful back drop for your outdoor wedding as well as your outdoor pictures.

Venue Cost

During the holiday’s venue reps offer great deals because this is what we like to call the “off season” in the wedding world.

Now we have covered some upside of planning a holiday outdoor wedding but with upside there are always downsides too.

Cons

Extra Wedding Expenses

While you may get a venue that’s willing to give a phenomenal deal, outdoor holiday wedding could be a greater expense. You have to keep in mind that you have to keep your wedding guest warm, by providing a tent and portable heaters.

Holiday Family Gatherings

The holidays are a busy time and while your family may have time off work—making sure that your wedding date is not mixing in with the family holiday gatherings. Working with everyone’s schedules can be a bit hectic.

Plan B’s

Having a Plan B, just in case bad weather arises, snow storms, rain storm or even if it’s just too cold to have an outdoor wedding, can be a headache. Planning a wedding is tedious enough but having to plan a back up to, it becomes a bit much.

Yes, there are more Pros than Cons but you have to take your situation and select a wedding date according to what you and your family can handle. Just make sure whatever decision you choose, make sure you take everything into consideration and iron out all the possible or would be kinks so you can have a wonderful outdoor holiday wedding.

Time of Year

There are a few factors that go into this consideration. The first is temperature. You don’t want a day that is too hot, or a day that is too cold. You don’t want guests freezing and shivering during your ceremony, but you also don’t want them sweating the whole time either. In most climates spring and early fall are the best time to have you wedding, but depending on your location that can differ. If you are further north a summer wedding might be perfectly enjoyable, and if you’re further south a wedding in the later fall might be what you want. Also take into consideration the precipitation in your area. Although you certainly can’t control if it rains, in some places during some seasons it’s more likely than others. Become familiar with your local weather.

Location

There are many places that you can have an outdoor wedding, but make sure you pick a place that best accommodates your needs. While a backyard wedding might seem quaint, if you are planning on inviting hundreds of people it might not be realistic. There are many other lovely outdoor options if you do your research. For instance, your hometown might have a botanical garden or a city park that you could rent for a small fee that would work wonderfully. Many reception sites also offer outdoor locations on their premises, and they are prepared to handle outdoor weddings.

Always Have a Back-Up Plan

If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, no matter how much research you do and how well you plan, there is always a chance that mother nature might interfere in some way. Whether it is excessive heat, a thunderstorm, or even unexpected snow, make sure you have an alternative. The best alternative is to have an indoor location available. Perhaps it’s another property owned by the place that you are renting your outdoor space from. You could also go with tents for you wedding, which will cover you in case of rain. Just keep in mind that you’ll need big tents with plenty of space, because guests seated at the edge of the tents may just get a shower they don’t want if there’s wind that day.

Country-Style Wedding: What to Look For When Picking Out an Outdoor Venue

• Open Landscape: Look for a venue with a nice open landscape. It would be nice if you could have it in a park, on a ranch, on a farm or better yet in a relative’s backyard. The open landscape gives you room to create a country style wedding that fits your personality.
• Nice Huge Trees: Trees could be used to hang rustic signage or simply used as décor for your ceremony. Using nature to the best of your ability will help bring out that rustic country feel.
• A Farm House: Having your wedding in front of a farm house will make for great pictures. It will definitely incorporate the country-farm style appeal.

Accents That Bring Out Your Country Style Wedding

• Flowers: Sunflowers or Daisies are a great accent to a country style wedding. It’s a great way to add color and to add a hint of pizzazz.
• Wooden Signage: Making wooden signs adds a rustic feel to your ceremony. It also adds a DIY charm to your country style nuptials.
• Stacks of Hay: Accenting your ceremony with stacks of hay helps to lure your guest in with a farm-like style.
• Honey Jars: We can’t have a country style wedding and leave out the favors. You can let your guest take home their very own personalized jars of honey; this will add a country charm to your wedding reception.

1.    Simple and Memorable: Many weddings will be based on the foundation of the ceremony and not the  magnificence of the evening. Think about spending more of your budget on long-lasting memories rather than the appearance. Allot more of the money to go towards photography or videography and scale back on other things  such as extravagant floral arrangements. You could even consider a longer honeymoon stay and focus less on the reception. You will be thankful for the memories after it is all over!

2.    Home Sweet Home- Intimate and personal weddings in your backyard is  another top trend for 2010 brides. Having your outdoor wedding at home brings a sense of togetherness and it helps personalize the wedding experience.

3.    Skip The Fondant- Out with the fondant and in with the buttercream! Don’t worry about buttercream icing being too messy for your outdoor wedding because many skillful artist can apply the buttercream to look just as smooth as fondant. Another plus, cakes with buttercream icing tend to save some extra dollars in your pocket.

4.     Bring in the Favors- That’s right! Favors for outdoor weddings are a big hit! Personalized favors are appreciated and many of your wedding guest will be grateful to have a “thank you” trinket from you and the groom! Remember a small token as a “thank you” goes along way.

5.     Take Me Away- Destination Wedding are a big hit for future brides. With a destination wedding many couples including the bride and groom could use this as their great escape! When planning your wedding keep your options open for a destination wedding! Trust me, if you embark on this adventure it’s one you won’t regret!

6.    Simply Lovely Colors-The hot colors for 2010 outdoor weddings include oranges, vibrant pinks, yellows and greens. Metal colors are also a big hit: gold, silver, copper and pewter. And the color black is back—many brides are going with the black and white modern look and it is just fabulous!

7.    Going Green- Eco-conscience brides are popping up everywhere and it’s wonderful. Organic Outdoor Weddings are taking the wedding world by storm. Many brides-to-be are more aware of how your wedding necessities are made, the food that is served, how things are disposed, the lighting and where the event takes place. Being knowledgeable about the following can make you become a better eco-conscience bride!