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Outdoor weddings are wonderful but always a bit of a gamble. The weather is always a concern, and although people try to play it self by having large tents and "a plan B", it can be tricky to put together the whole thing. Of course one should always be positive about the wedding one is planning, but you do need to keep in mind that with an outdoor wedding, higher forces indeed can rain on your parade.

I remember the day when thought my best friend was the luckiest guy on the planet. It was the day he got married and it had nothing to do with his bride. To this day I still have the picture of he and I over my desk and every once in a while I just look up and smile at how lucky he can be. My best friend's wedding was held in New England on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

The beautiful location was well chosen but the problem was that parking was at a dead end road some 400 yards away from the cliff. After parking, we walked down a narrow path that was cut through some thick forest for about 150 yards, then we emerged from the forest to find ourselves standing in the rough of a public golf course about at the level of the 5th hole.

Before arriving at the cliff, we still had quite a walk in front of us. So there we went, in our wedding dresses and tuxedoes, over grass, gravel and sand in the midst of active golfers who where as surprised to see us as we had been to see them. I think we went on for about 300 yards before finally arriving on the location for the actual ceremony.

But at least, I remember thinking, it wasn't raining.

Location important but not everything

As difficult as it was to actually get to my friends outdoor wedding, I have always felt that that was the point of an outdoor wedding. An outdoor wedding, in my opinion, is the chance to exchange vows someplace special that you cannot bring to a church or chapel. My friend chose this spot because that is where he took his wife when he asked her to marry him. It seemed like a very strange place to take someone to pop the question but that had been the ideal place for them. If you are going to have an outdoor wedding then have it in a place of special significance to you. Your personal preference will make the trip worth it.

I have also attended outdoor weddings in sprawling parks and huge back yards and they are equally as impressive as the cliff wedding was. Sometimes the outdoors part of it is actually more important to the couple than the specific location.

I guess the conclusion of this story is that "the great outdoors" can be a great place to have a wedding, even with weather reservations. You just have to try and plan every aspect of the wedding, as well as for the factors subject to change.

As much as I enjoyed the spectacular wedding at the cliff, hawing to walk off road in the middle of a hot summer wearing a black tux wasn't something that was very pleasant for me or the other guests.

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Additional reading: If you don't want it to rain on your parade at YOUR wedding (outdoors or in) you should consult the wedding planning guides recommended by the author.

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