A Natural Venue

With a diamond ring on her finger and a dream in her heart, a woman begins to think of where to stage her wedding. The traditional church setting is still used by many brides, but destination and venue weddings are equally popular. What better dream fulfillment than to combine destination and venue into one spot and remove the cost by finding it at an out-of-town family member's forest setting home?

The risky element of outdoor weddings is the weather and the fact that a date is usually set months, even a year or more in advance of the event. There are weather statistics sites that can give you the usual, average, most likely chance of temperatures and precipitation but the actual remains to be seen on the day of the wedding. This causes no little concern as the day approaches and weather patterns change unexpectedly. This was the case for this particular wedding. The odds of rain were only 30% and the weeks preceding the date were sunny and hot. What could possibly go wrong in September?

The yard was watered and groomed. The driveway was graveled. The flowers were ordered as was the cake, tables and chairs. The photographer was scheduled. The caterer was given a plan and the number of guests expected. Five days before the event the skies turned a doubtful gray, the hot temperatures began to drop and moisture made random, then intermittent and finally a continual appearance. The risk factor for having a dry outdoor wedding dropped precipitously. The bride decided to locate a tent to cover the seating area but at this late date, every phone call ended with the same answer: no tents available.

On her last possible call, the bride located a large canopy style tent at a small, local rental company and secured it for that week. This was surely a lucky find and not to be construed as a predictable maneuver for a wedding schedule. The rental company arrived to set up the tent and positioned it to frame the beautiful view of the nearby hills and mountain.

Friends arrived the day before the wedding to arrange and stage the flowers and chairs, using potted red geraniums and lavender verbena to hide the tent  poles and prevent guests from tripping on the ropes. Chairs were lined up the morning of the wedding and aisle flowers placed on shepherd's crooks. The raindrops that occasionally fell kept the wedding party inside for the initial pictures and the family hoped people would show up despite the cool and damp conditions.

Equine ambiance 

At the last moment, the skies turned blue, dotted by puffy white clouds. The lawn dried out enough to keep shoes dry and the wedding party headed outside for more photographs. Guests began to arrive, dressed for the weather, smiles adorning their faces as they determined to let nothing stop them from celebrating this important day. As the time for the processional approached, the sun shone brightly, signaling a blessing upon this event and its participants. The "I do's" were exchanged, tears were shed and the happy couple headed to the house to receive their guests and continue celebrating this happy day.

The large house accommodated many of the guests so that the weather became a non-issue after the ceremony and the party continued late into the evening. This was a fortunate end to a potentially dicey situation.  The green of the lawn, fir trees and distant hills, the colorful flower bouquets and pots and the blue, sunny sky made this natural venue a perfect setting for the couple's most important day.

Aisle bouquets

The out-of-doors offers many wonderful options for lovely weddings. Always plan for adverse weather, even if the statistics predict otherwise. The tears at a wedding should be of joy and not frustration. Hike and drive the great Northwest to locate potential sites for those great celebrations of life. You've got a lot to choose from!