Since we have successfully done our outdoor wedding, I am convinced that everyone can have a beautiful outdoor wedding. But I have to warn you, it’s a real pain if you are not prepared or you don’t have the crucial elements. I will share with you in the later part of this post.
Reciting wedding vow under a majestic tree or by the sea while the sun sets are uber-romantic. But are we prepared to pay the cost? Here’s my tips on how to do an outdoor wedding:
1. Location – Very crucial. Your venue sets the tone of the whole event. I always knew I wanted a garden wedding under a majestic tree. So when we scout for venue, I am constantly looking for the suitable tree. After hunting in 8 different spots, my heart wobbled when I found our tree in OMSQ.
Many people turned off after they visited OMSQ . It is very raw and challenging. On the other hand, it was the rawness of OMSQ that inspired my design sense.
So what type of outdoor bride are you? Beach, garden, half indoor half outdoor?
Restaurant with outdoor feel like Suburbia or Verve?
Two more important thing: Research and Recee (Location scout).
2. Coordinator / Organizer / Planner. After you have decided on the location, think of how you can make this outdoor wedding happened? Who will help you to do the decor? Most of the Singaporeans will think of utilizing their closest friends to help them, instead of hiring a professional planner or coordinator.
After my own wedding, I stand here before you to advise, please get a professional planner or at least coordinator. Unless you have friends that does wedding professionally, please don’t make your life or your friends’ miserable.
I attended a wedding planning course for almost 10 months to learn about the professional and proper way to organize a wedding. Hence Winston and I set a wedding planner standard for ourselves. Almost all of our vendors were amazed by the detailed schedule or planning. Simply because we have learned from the best in the industry. Yet for my actual day wedding, I need help from a professional coordinator, Lily from Ly’s Wedding Diary. Please bride-to-be, don’t coordinate your own wedding. You can handle the preparation, but not the actual wedding.
I am very blessed to have friends that work as a wedding planner and coordinator. Lily, our coordinator-cum-classmate in the wedding planning course-cum-church friend, agreed to help me on the actual wedding coordination. My only regret is that I didn’t brief Lily in specific details, as I am the only one that planned and designed it. I didn’t translate that well enough to my decor team and Lily. Fortunately Lily is experienced and my team decor is a group of designers and artists too. They can run the wedding on their own!
As a matter of fact, when you are too involved in the absolute details of your wedding, you can’t concentrate on the actual wedding ceremony. I speak for myself. On my outdoor wedding, I am still re-arranging the centerpiece and making sure the cotton candy machine runs well. During my matrimony, my focus was scattered by the bees that was swarming my altar arrangement.
3. Vendors – This can be the ultimate headache to deal with. For outdoor wedding you need to at least have:
- Tentage/Logistic vendor – if your venue has no indoor shelter, this is a must-have.
- Decorator – if flowers are your main decoration, hiring a florist is enough. But if you want to be original and unique, hire a wedding designer to design a holistic look. This person will also help you to decorate the venue on actual day. Save you a huge headache.
- Coordinator/Planner- get a day coordinator or wedding planner if you have the budget. If no, get the most willing and organized person in your circle of close friends.
- Catering – they will help you provide the tables as well. Can work together with the decorator to achieve a coherent style.
- Sound system
- Photographer – preferably the photojournalistic style to capture the moments naturally.
- Videographer
The rest are your usual vendors, like bridal studio, car, etc. For the wedding dress, please choose dress with short train or dress with a hook from the longer train.
4. Wet Weather Plan – whether you are getting married in the hottest month or rainy season, please have a wet weather plan. A few days before our wedding, Orchard Rd was flooded until half a meter deep because of the heavy rainfall. Whatever your belief is, having faith for a good weather is not enough!
5. Cleaning Up – This is very, very crucial. We had a minor setback after our outdoor wedding ended. The security guard of Fort Canning made a big hoohaa, about the mess, although the vendors was scheduled to clean up the day after. Brief your vendors in advance of what they should clean post-event.
Ok.. so far that’s what I remembered.. I will add more when new things come to my mind.
