Fireflies or Candlelight? Tips on Deciding Between An Indoor or An Outdoor Wedding Venue

Sunshine and a mountain breeze? The perfect temperature and no rustling wind? To have an indoor wedding or an outdoor one – that is the question! We’re here to help you out! Today we’re going to weigh out some of the pros and cons for choosing an indoor versus an outdoor venue, whether you’re in Huntsville, Alabama or somewhere else in this beautiful world.

We’ll start by considering an outdoor venue.

Most girls dream of this! There’s nothing that compares to sunshine kissing your face, the inspiring awe of being surrounded by nature, and the relaxed atmosphere of the great outdoors. Just the emotion that fills your soul when you see the majesty of God’s creation enveloping you as you utter these sacred vows is overwhelmingly wonderful. There is definitely an emotional appeal to having an outdoor venue.

From a photographer’s standpoint, natural light is so gorgeous. It helps us create fairy tale pictures of each moment of your wedding day.

Tip: Consider asking your photographer what time of day the light will be ideal for the ceremony, formal pictures, and so on. Your vendors are a super helpful wealth of information who are more than happy to share their knowledge with you!

Outdoor venues often require less elaborate decorations. Of course, you can still go all out! When your ceremony site is full of God’s creation, though, you find that you don’t need quite as much to enhance it! This means that you can use the money you save on decorations for other fun splurges you thought you’d have to go without!

Now it’s time to talk about the first question that pops into everyone’s mind! What if it rains? This, my friends, is definitely the biggest thing to consider when making your choice. The price you pay for all the amazingness we talked about in the previous paragraphs is the inability to control the weather. Too hot, too cold, rain. It could happen!

The best advice we have for dealing with the weather issue is to have a good back-up plan. The venues that have both an indoor and outdoor option are the best! You can simply move everything inside at the last minute if the weather just isn’t cooperating. If you don’t have an indoor/outdoor option at your venue, you will need to have a firm plan in place. Decide ahead of time exactly where you’re going to go and when the decision is going to be made. If you make a decision too last minute, things can become chaotic and confusing! Plan well.

(Shout out to Tate Farms in Meridianville, AL for having an awesome assortment of indoor/outdoor options – including the open air, covered pavilion used in the wedding above!)

Renting a big tent or two for either your ceremony, reception, or both is a really great way to help protect against the elements!

My little brother and his wife had a torrential downpour at their North Carolina wedding in May. The huge tent kept everyone dry and content when the rain came. It’s fabulous! It also makes for a really neat atmosphere for your guests.

Depending on what time of year your wedding is, you want to consider having cold bottles of water and paper fans or heaters and blankets for your guests. Those little things can make a difference! Always consider the elderly guests at your wedding – have a special place where they can go to warm up or cool down if necessary.

With an outdoor wedding, you do also need to consider how you’re going to light the reception site after dark, how you are going to get electricity for the DJ, etc. There are a few extra things to consider!

Now how about an indoor location?

For some people, having the ceremony in a certain location is really special. Joel and I were married in my home church because we wanted to be in God’s house when we made our vows to Him and to each other. It was more significant to us to be in my church than anything else. My brother and his wife got married in the same place!

After our discussion of the weather elements a few paragraphs ago, it’s pretty clear that an indoor venue eliminates a lot of that last minute stress! You can control the thermostat a little bit easier than you can control the rain clouds! You can have your plan set in stone months before the wedding actually occurs.

It’s also easier to keep the room well lit after dark, have bathrooms easily available for your guests, and do your set up well ahead of time. Let’s face it: having an indoor venue makes it easier to control just about everything.

Indoor ceremonies can be a little tight on space, so consider whether or not your number of guests will fit comfortably in the space you choose. If you have smaller children included on your guest list, remember that they sometimes need a little extra room to spread out if the reception gets long.

Obviously, the time of year makes a difference in which venue you choose. Even with heaters, an outdoor wedding in January might be a little uncomfortable. Use some common sense, weigh your options, and choose the venue that will create the fairy tale wedding you’ve always dreamed of!

The most ideal venue, in my opinion? I love the venues that combine the best of both worlds. I love the venues that have plenty of outdoor space for your ceremony and a big, white reception tent, while still having a great indoor space in case you need to move the party inside!

We hope this helps make one of your decisions a little bit easier!

*hugs*

Amber