Should we risk an outdoor wedding?

For many couples, an outdoor ceremony is their preferred option and it often adds a nicely relaxed air to the proceedings. If you're in the grounds of a hotel, the venue may arrange to have seating and even a red carpet to create an aisle, but quite often the guests will simply stand in informal groups instead (perhps with a few seats for elderly guests). An outdoor wedding always carries a risk though - what do you do if the weather is bad? You might be lucky and get a day like this at Shieldaig Lodge in Gairloch a few years ago:


We certainly needed the sunscreen that day and midge repellent comes in pretty handy in certain parts of Scotland (north and west mainly) and certain times of the year (summer months) too! The following wedding of Kelly and John at the Roman Camp in Callander was another lovely day and the sun sparkling off the water gave the whole wedding a magical quality.


This wedding was also videoed by James at Strageworx Productions and if you follow this link, you can see a web version of Kelly and John's DVD: http://www.strangeworx.com/kellyandjohn/

Of course, you might get a day like this when Monica and Andy got married at the lochside at Glen Finglas in August 2007:


Or even like this one at Leckmelm Gardens in Ullapool that brought a whole new meaning to the expression 'white wedding'! It was freezing, but great fun!


So, if you're considering an outdoor wedding, the following might be worth bearing in mind:

• Have a good contingency plan - a nice indoor space that could be used for the ceremony if the weather is really bad
  
• If you're still keen to have the ceremony outside, consider a more sheltered spot, under some trees perhaps
• You could just go for it regardless - and warn your guests to bring their waterproofs, brollies, sensible shoes and thermals!
• You could delay the ceremony slightly in case the weather improves - this might be possible if your guests and your Celebrant are willing

Whatever you do, warn the Registrar that the location may be subject to a last minute change and ask their advice. It is vital that the wedding takes place on the date and in the location shown on the Marriage Schedule. It's also important to ensure that the Schedule doesn't get wet or damaged in any way, so ensure that it's properly protected if you're outside.

Even this week when it was really cold and windy, I conducted an outdoor wedding for Paul and Karen on the stunningly beautiful Inchcailloch Island on Loch Lomond. This was the lovely wedding party on the summit (what a view!), but it was much too windy to conduct the ceremony there, so we retreated to the more sheltered beach on the other side of the island. And we managed to conduct the ceremony just before the first day trippers arrived with their picnics and BBQ stuff! It was a lovely wedding - relaxed and intimate, with only their friends (who acted as witnesses), their little girls, me and the photographers (Willie and Cara McGlaughlin) present.