The Ultimate Guide To Planning An Outdoor Wedding

There’s something so romantic and memorable about outdoor weddings. Whether it’s in your own garden, a rented venue or even on the beach, you’ll want to make sure that your guests leave with unforgettable memories.

Why will including a folding marquee in your plans add that additional wow factor to your setup? Though there can be many more, here are 8 reasons for you to look at:

 Formal or Informal?

An outdoor wedding allows you to decide the atmosphere you want to create. When you hold a ceremony in a church, or a reception in a hotel, the venue itself will have expectations about how your guests dress or behave.

With an outdoor wedding, you are free to decide—is it going to a very formal ‘dressy’ occasion? Or do you want a more relaxed and intimate feel for your day? By choosing an outdoor location with a folding marquee, you can use your surroundings as well as your own sense of creativity to set the ideal tone.

Multiple Uses

  • For the Ceremony

The best way to set the tone for your celebrations is via the design of your marquee, and your choice of decorations. You can use a small folding marquee without walls as the focal point for your ceremony.

With a large number of guests, there’s no need to seat them in endless rows. It will provide an excellent view from all four sides so you can arrange the seats in such a way that everyone is close to the bride and groom, and create a really intimate feeling!

The only limit to how you can decorate a folding marquee is your imagination! Visualise the frame wreathed with seasonal flowers, and sheer fabric blowing gently in the breeze. Or use a larger marquee with walls to create a cosier ambience, protected from the elements.

  • For the Reception

A folding marquee is a great choice for your bar, buffet, or sit-down meal. With walls and windows, it creates an airy yet well-defined space for your guests to sit and enjoy their meals and speeches. How big will it need it to be? For example, a 4m x 8m marquee can comfortably accommodate up to 64 people standing for drinks and snacks, or up to 48 when seated.

Bless the Weather

  • Rainy days

While you may love the idea of holding your wedding outdoors, the one thing we have to take into account in Australia is our weather patterns. Forecasts are rarely accurate more than a couple of days ahead. If you don’t want your ceremony to be ruined and your guests soaked by a sudden downpour, it’s only sensible to plan in advance. A folding marquee will allow your party to take shelter under its roof until it’s possible to venture out again.

  • Sun Shelter

On the other hand, if your wedding is in summer, you won’t want to leave your guests out in the heat of the sun for too long, as they will soon become uncomfortable. Let them retreat to the cool shade of your folding marquee to relax or take some refreshments, and they’ll enjoy the day’s celebrations even more.

Choose Your Timing

Your folding wedding marquee can adapt to the changing time of year, and even the time of day.

On beautiful spring and summer days, your folding marquee can stay open so that guests aren’t separated from the natural surroundings. As the temperature drops, add walls for protection against the elements while maintaining an airy and informal feel.

  • Morning or Evening?

Will your wedding be held early in the day, or last long into the night? Your marquee may be transformed from a champagne and snacks reception to a lunch buffet, to a formal sit-down dinner, and finally to a dance-floor. With a folding marquee, these changes are easy, as walls can be added and removed, and a floor laid down with minimum effort.

Make the Most of Nature

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Couples typically choose a beautiful location for their outdoor wedding, and it’s important to make the most of your surroundings to create that special magic! A folding wedding marquee without walls can integrate your theme and decorations with the nature around you. Use seasonal flowers and plants from the garden as decoration. Not only will this create a harmonious effect, but you’ll save money on bought-in floral arrangements!

Photo Opportunities

Once you’ve decided to use a small folding gazebo for the ceremony, and hit upon on the theme for your decorations, think about the location. It’s going to make a fabulous frame for your wedding photos, so choose the most stunning backdrop you can find. Also, think about where the sun will be at the time you’ll be taking photos, and select the best angle.

Value for Money

Today, an average wedding in Australia costs AUD$32,940, although most couples set their budget much lower, at around AUD$23,000, when they start their planning. It’s important to save wherever possible without losing the magic of the special day. It’s another reason why choosing an outdoor venue and using one or more folding marquees makes great sense.

 Easy to Use

Folding marquees are so easy to use! No special expertise or tools are needed, so they can be setup and folded away in minutes. If you decide the location isn’t right and want to move your marquee to get a better backdrop, it couldn’t be easier! 

So, an outdoor folding marquee has so many benefits that it is really a ‘must-have’ for an outdoor wedding.

The only caveat pros make is that you should make sure the one you go for has high quality, as cutting corners could lead to disaster. Make sure whichever folding marquee you choose has a stable, lightweight aluminium frame and is properly weighted down. Also ensure that whatever fabric is used to cover your marquee has an SPF of 50+ and is drip-proof!

As long as you bear these points in mind, use a folding marquee and take your outdoor wedding to the next level!

Julie Higgins
Author
Julie is a Staff Writer at momooze.com. She has been working in publishing houses before joining the editorial team at momooze. Julie's love and passion are topics around beauty, lifestyle, hair and nails.

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