The joys of an outdoor wedding
Loch Fyne, Scotland - picture postcard wedding venue
Covid has brought some silver linings to life. Creative thinking around weddings is one of them. Many couples are opting for smaller, more intimate gatherings. Some are opting for fresh air and the great outdoors instead of a traditional hotel wedding venue.
The benefits of an outdoor wedding
There are so many benefits of choosing to marry en plein air.
There’s no over-inflated wedding venue cost
There are no timing restrictions and no need to be marshalled from room to room
The toast after the ceremony is at cost, no venue prices or corkage
There’s no greater florist than nature, no more skilful room designer - and no need for a theme for the wedding.
Making the space special
The natural beauty of Scotland’s gorgeous scenery… loch, beach, shoreline, clifftop, forest - means you don’t have to work hard for the setting to be breathtaking. A few simple additions - borrowing from the surrounds - will provide the little bit of staging you need. It doesn’t take much:
Bring a couple fold-up or garden chairs - helpful if there are expectant or breastfeeding women, any wobbly kids or adults, anyone who might need a moment. Even just a couple chairs help frame the space and suggest orientation for the ceremony.
I always carry a lovely ceremonial scarf - scarlet with gold threads and tassels- helpful to drape over a rock or tree stump to mark out a special space. For this ceremony, I wrapped it round my blotter to improvise a table top on a rock for signing the Marriage Schedule.
Use found objects - twigs, shells, pine cones, stones - create a circle to stand in, build a cairn at the centre of your circle. For this one, we used stones and mussel shells as place-markers for the couple and celebrant to stand (keeping them in sight of the camera for streaming live).
A few picnic rugs or blankets make the place yours with a bit of a festival vibe.
Respect and protect the environment
If you are using our delicately balanced wilderness as the backdrop for a wedding or funeral, do respect the environment.
Leave only footprints
Make sure confetti is eco-friendly … petals are best, old fashioned rice works
Park up safely without damaging the verges and any planting
Let local neighbours know what you’re planning if you’re right on their doorstep, just as a courtesy. They don’t ‘own’ their surrounds but they live there. Brian and Margaret, the locals at this wedding, couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming. They brought down garden chairs to the Lochside. They let people use the loo (and kept track with a Covid visitors guide, just in case).
Book your celebrant before the venue
In my experience, couple almost always come to me after they’ve secured the venue and therefore fixed their date. And inevitably, already committed thousands.
If only couples would start with the celebrant!
The celebrant has no vested interest in securing your business for a room, suite of rooms, overnight accommodation, hospitality package… drinks, food, toast, more food later.
We will ask what you want, try to understand what matters to you and help you get what you need. If that’s a gorgeous wedding venue and a traditional lunch/dinner and all the trappings, absolutely lovely. If that’s your living room, bedside or lochside, also lovely. My role is to support you.
One of the loveliest weddings I’ve been to had only 5 of us in the family’s home.
So get what you need. Chat to your celebrant first.
