Planning an outdoor wedding? Here are some of our top floral tips for planning your florals so they can handle the elements as best as possible and create a successful celebration. From our past experience, it is common that most of the outdoor weddings have elements working against the vendors, but you’d never know because we always plan for worst case scenario. Having a good plan in place when planning an outdoor wedding will help to ensure for a great time with your guests.
Floral Tip I: Schedule a Later Ceremony
If you’re planning on having your ceremony outdoors, consider scheduling your ceremony later in the day. To help avoid direct sunlight and high heat temperatures, try to have your ceremony after 4 PM, if possible. Find a spot that may include shade and consider the position of the sun during your ceremony time. Direct or overhead sunlight makes for high contrast in photos and eye shielding in people – neither making for a great looks during portraits.
Floral Tip II: Always Have an Alternative Plan
The weather can sometimes be unpredictable and you don’t want to be stuck in a situation where you don’t have an alternative option for your outdoor wedding. It is important to have an agreed upon inclement weather plan in place with your florist, and other relevant vendors, with a firm time deadline in place to make that call. Various weather factors other than rain can impede the set up of your design outdoors. Consider the heat, ground conditions, age of your guests, wind, humidity, and the cold.
Floral Tip III: Consider The Florist’s Set Up Timeline
Our next top floral tip when having an outdoor wedding is to consider the set up time for your florist and how long your florals will be out in the sun or the heat. It is not ideal to place or install flowers outdoors in high sun or have them sit out in direct sun for too long. Even in a direct water source, flowers are fragile in direct sun and can wilt easily. When you are repurposing ceremony flowers into the reception, it is especially important to consider how they may look after having been outside for a couple hours.
Floral Tip IV: Tent Ceilings
Tent weddings are always so beautiful but you want to make sure you do them right! Clear-roof tents act like a greenhouse in direct sun. This means not only will your guests will be feeling the heat, but so will your florals! Consider a shady spot for this style of tent, add soft draping or order an event tent with a white cloth or plastic top. Our favourite style of tent is the beautiful sail cloth tents with wooden posts!
Floral Tip V: Keep Personal Flowers Hydrated
Personal florals, such as bouquets and boutonnières, are going to be highly photographed items! Keep your bouquets hydrated by only taking them out of their water source when absolutely needed. Keep other wearables, such as corsages or boutonnières, in the fridge until just before ceremony or photos.
We hope our top floral tips for having an outdoor wedding will help you plan a smooth celebration!
Photo Credits: Will Reid Photo, Brittany Williams Photography
