Outdoor, more rural wedding spaces are becoming more and more popular. They tend to be located around farms or stately home venues. Because of the uncertainty around future restrictions with different variants of the Covid virus. Outdoor weddings are the least restricted and give the most secure option for guests.
We are seeing a large increase in request for costs around producing outdoor festival style weddings. The mosts popular requests are for live bands and Ibiza DJ themes. Outdoor weddings with a festival style present many different challenges and considerations to think about. We have created this blog to help you in thinking about what needs to be done to create a fantastic festival style wedding.
What do I need to think about when organising a festival style wedding.
The Venue
Many outdoor venues should be geared up to help you create a festival style wedding. Depending on the style of music the venues may want to know more about the day. Some venues will be more sensitive to different music genres and the levels in which the music can be played. Rock or dance music is a lot louder than acoustic or classical music. The venue may have a time cut off for louder music. It is always best to be upfront with the venue. This will save wasted time down the line.
The Planning
If you are using a wedding planner, are they experienced in a more outdoor styled wedding. They will have a great handle on what will work and won’t. Especially if they have worked with or for the venue before. If you are liasing with the venue direct they will let you now what is possible.
As as many questions as possible to the venue, planner, friends or suppliers you are using for your special day. Knowledge is power, but use it wisely. Outdoor weddings carry an element of a relaxed style allowing for the largest consideration of all the weather.
The Weather
Great British weather, we know how amazing and devastating it can be. Make sure you have a defined good and bad weather contingency plan. It may be you have to use parts of both contingencies depending on how unpredictable the weather forecast can be.
Don’t make any rash decisions based for a long term forecast. We have produced stage for weddings where the forecast has shown rain until the early hours of the the wedding day and they weather has changed to bright sunshine overnight.
The Festival
If you are wanting a festival style wedding, think of all the things you like about a festival. The stage and acts are really important. Catering and bar can also continue the theme with a marquee bar and food vendors from trailers. We have produced stages for many types of events.
We recently featured in a TV show called Emma & AJ Help Out, hosted by Emma Willis and AJ Odudu from Strictly 2021. Who helped our client and wedding couple recover and plan their festival style wedding after being affected by the covid pandemic.
When planning a festival wedding stage theme. The stage area wants to be a mixture of acts, solo, duo, small bands a headline act to end the festival. We help our clients with the supply of our own stages, lighting, PA, acts management and sourcing local act that are entertaining and reliable. We are happy to work with band and acts who have been asked for by the wedding couple too.
For Ibiza style weddings we offer a couple of stage and trailer sizes with DJ’s who actually DJ’d in Ibiza in the 90’s & 00’s.
Acoustic style festival weddings are complimented with festoon lighting and bunting around the stage. The louder rock and dance stage theme have the full club lighting treatment. As close as we can make you feel you are in Ibiza. Our PA system is the same one installed in Amnesia Ibiza.
The bits you haven’t thought about
Outdoor spaces need things that indoor venues have and you take for granted. You may have to arrange generators for power. Additional marquees for the bar and shelter. The bigger your guest list the more toilets you will need. There will be local suppliers of posh trailer toilets.
Make sure your venue has an entertainments and alcohol license if you are having more than 200 people attend your wedding.
Most importantly make sure you have enough budget to make your festival style wedding a success. We find the smaller more personal touches make the biggest impact.
