Outdoor Weddings – Love on a Shoestring
When the weather is warm and romance is in the air, you know spring and summer, a lot of people decide to tie the knot or just simply get married and settle on romantic outdoor weddings, and it is a fun choice. It means with a touch of flair you can make you’re outside wedding fit most budgets, make a list of all the crazy ideas you have seen, heard about or just thought up. There are so many diverse styles and themes you can choose from and if you use your own or a family back yard you be able to have a wonderful day for simply dollars and change.
Decorate the yard with whatever floral things you can, set out all the tables and chairs that you can beg, borrow or steal from your friends, garden torches can be arranged around the yard as they are have oil in them ensure that they are secure above all when the party is in full swing.
Borrow some coolers, make sure you have plenty of ice,- cold beer, wine and soda’s are essential, because it will be hot make sure you have a good supply of water or if you are having a Southern Wedding then it’s plenty of iced tea. Your guests will be outside for practically the entire event so make sure they do not dehydrate.
Wedding cake forget all about an expensive wedding cake, have bake session and bake* some cup cakes, decorate them to mix in with your theme and pile them up in tiers. Display on a small separate table next to the buffet table.
If you have almost never baked in your life they are so easy to make take a trip to the store and buy a four or five packets of cup cake mix and some paper cake cups and simply follow the instructions on the side of the box. You can always get your friends to come round and help and organise a bake party, a few of bottles of wine and some packs of cake mix and who knows how they will turn out, but at least it will be fun a great night}.
You can also put some games out, if you have the space, just simple things such as a bean bag throw, horse shoes or maybe shark fishing if you are doing the beach party thing, just a couple of games to make your guests relax and have fun.
Here’s my best 3 picks
Outdoor weddings Backyard BBQ
Practically everybody enjoys a BBQ and as we all know barbequing is a man thing so that is one less responsibility for the bride to have to think about. Barbecues are enormous fun and extremely casual, so there is no need, unless you want to of course and it is your day, what you say goes to have to spend a lot of money on expensive outfits for the ceremony, an elegant sundress for the bride and shorts and shirt for the groom. As your friends will have probably been in on the planning they will already know, but make sure all your guests know that it is casual dress ONLY.
Menu – put whatever BBQ favorites you wish on your menu, probably hot dogs and burgers for the kids (big and small), as the guests will be serving themselves (well it is the maids day off after all) make the BBQ items light on the sauces, to help your guests keep reasonably sauce free.
The BBQ needs to have a few salads, fresh fruit, chips and maybe salted snacks, don’t forget Granma’s Potato Salad recipe – it could be your Mothers/Sisters/Auntie’s what I am trying to say is that if any member of the family or any friend has ever passed on to you a recipe for any salad dish, then use it now or you may never be forgiven the end of it.
Desserts are again an opportunity to use not so old family or friends dessert recipes, just remember that it may be hot out in the yard so take care with ice-cream, but anything you like is good.
Use the same menu and buffet for all these 3 themes, probably add some shrimp to the barbeque if you are having the surfin’ theme.
Outdoor weddings Country style
This theme is great fun and if you have the right location very inexpensive to create, all you require is a few straw bales and some preferably red and white check cloths and a homemade “hitching post” like in the old western films in front of the saloon, where the bride and groom can get “hitched” (married). The menu and lay out of the backyard can be the same as for the barbeque theme, dress for the bride and groom would be very nearly identical with the possible exception of denim jeans for the groom and a simple wide hat try straw for the old fashioned look for the bride. Some country music and you’re good to go.
Outdoor weddings Surfin’ Party
Turn your backyard into a cool surfin’ beach, its incredibly romantic and very cheap, the tables and chairs that have you begged or borrowed, just set them randomly around your yard and cover them with blue cloths (disposable paper cloths are good).
To add little weight on top to hold the cloths in place, get some cheap glass vases, clear straight sided are best, part fill the vases with sand, put a plain white household candle (nothing fancy) into the sand, then put a layer of pebbles or shells on top of the sand.
If cash is really short} and you can’t borrow a few vases, just use} large pickle jars (lets face it who is going to have a use for 10 or so glass vases after the parties over). Take the pickle jars clean them out thoroughly, get a roll of clear blue plastic film from you local craft store, place on the inside of the jars then do the sand and candle thing, for an extra bit of panache stick a few shells on the outside of each jar.
The buffet and cake table can be enhanced with sand and pebbles, to stop the sand blowing over the food, you might think about spraying it with some mounting glue, from the craft shop to stop it getting all over the place. If you are unable to get the glue, try my mother’s old trick and spray it with cheap “extra” hold hair spray.
The candles on the tables will give your evening party some real atmosphere, you may probably need just a few garden torches as well, but possibly not as many as for the other two themes.
Music to match the theme and then the surf is up and its party time
Weddings should be taken seriously whether you have your actual ceremony in the yard or a more formal ceremony at a separate location, however when the ceremony is finished, then relax enjoy your day with friends and family, they will have a ball and be talking about it for years.
Filed Under: Blog Buddies
