5 Reasons You Might Want To Reconsider Your Spring Wedding

Spring is just like any other season, Mother Nature can be unpredictable and the weather tends to have a few tricks up its sleeve to surprise you when you least expect it. Knowing how to navigate and cope with the potential pitfalls of a spring wedding will allow you to ensure your wedding goes as planned.

Here are 5 ways you might want to re-think your Spring wedding…

Pitfall –Rain
April gained the nickname April Showers for a reason, and the best way to overcome this is to rent a tent or have a backup indoor venue. Some venues will allow you to have the ceremony outside and the reception indoors, however, it is worth checking whether you will have to pay for both options or if booking the venue will secure this option.
Another consideration is the tent, some rental companies will have a rain policy which means you can take out a form of insurance that will guarantee a tent on your big day if it rains. A final consideration (especially if your wedding is indoors) is to have valet parking, and plenty of umbrellas on hand to guarantee that guests stay dry.

Pitfall – Heat
While rain can dampen festivities, too much heat can also kill the mood. Spring is notorious for having variable weather so if a heat wave hits you’ll need to have plans for this possibility. If the weather looks like it might be hot, have fans and parasols near the tables for guests to use and ensure that there is a continuous supply of cold drinks (even if it’s just squash and water) as you don’t want your guests getting dehydrated and falling ill. A top tip to remember when heat is a factor is to consider your cake, order one covered in fondant, which holds up better in the heat.

Pitfall – Mud
The move from winter into spring can lead to a lot of mud as snow melts, rain falls and temperatures increase. You will want to ensure that not only your wedding dress and shoes escape the mud but your guests avoid it too. A good way to protect your dress is to assign one of your bridesmaids to hold the train of your dress as you walk between locations, however, as your guests won’t have this option laying out some flooring or paving over potentially muddy areas can help avoid this.

If your dress does unfortunately get muddy, wait until the mud dries. You can speed this up with a hair dryer or a blow dryer in the bathroom and then flick or pick it off. This won’t remove the stain but will remove the worst of the mud. Have an instant stain remover stick/spray/cream in your emergency wedding kit to remove the rest of the mud. When it comes to shoes and mud you might consider having a spare pair of shoes such as trainers to wear under your dress, or wearing wellies that match your wedding colours. The wellies can also create a fun photograph opportunity if everyone in the bridal party wears wellies that match the theme.
 
Pitfall – Cold Evenings
The evening and night can be quite chilly; you should advise your guests to bring suitable attire if you are having either the ceremony or reception outdoors. Regardless of whether you rent a tent or not you will need to rent portable heaters as well, you can have blankets on hand that co-ordinate with your wedding colours as a nice added touch.

Pitfall – Book Early
If you want to have a spring wedding you will need to book the venue early. Much like summer weddings, spring is a highly popular wedding season and so once you have booked a wedding date you will need to be on the ball to book venues and suppliers. Another issue with spring is that it is usually the time of year that schools will hold formals, if you need transportation to the ceremony and the reception you will need to book this early as wedding vehicles and limousines will be in high demand.
A good way of lowering costs and opening up options with more suppliers is to hold your wedding on a non-traditional day of the week such as a Thursday or Friday, however, this can prove problematic for guests who might have to book off work to attend.
By Felicity McKee, Excalibur Press

AUTUMN/WINTER 2017 EDITION AVAILABLE TO BUY ONLINE NOW