Pros and Cons of Having an Outdoor Wedding

When planning your wedding, choosing a venue is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your big day. Your wedding venue will set the atmosphere of your wedding and be present in all your wedding pictures. Choosing a location that you and your partner love is one way to make sure you get your absolute dream wedding. As the months warm-up, you may be prone to selecting an outdoor wedding location. If you’ve been on the fence about having an outdoor wedding … here’s a list of pros and cons that I made to help you with your decision.

Pros

1) Breathtaking Scenery

You and your partner will feel very peaceful and happy making a commitment to each other in an outdoor ceremony. Your guests will also enjoy the beautiful scenery and atmosphere around as you both say your vows. If feeling an ocean breeze on your face is an important part of your wedding day, or in the woods surrounded by towering redwoods as you say your nupitals – listen to your instincts. I’m pretty biased in this “pro” because I absolutely adore outdoor weddings. I simply love being outside and in nature (Probably because half my job is indoors editing and marketing like writing blogs like this!!) and I feel absolutely at peace outdoors. However, outdoor weddings are NOT for everyone. So keep reading and see if it’d be a good fit for you.

2) Natural Lighting

Natural lighting is one of the ways to get beautiful pictures. You will not only look amazing in pictures but your wedding will have the touch of authenticity that natural lighting gives to photos. There really isn’t anything quite like golden hour couples portraits. Indoor weddings will definitely be a lot more contrasty with predictable light but if you crave ethereal photographs that capture your love and golden light – consider an outdoor wedding.

3) Lighting and Decor

Nature will be the beautiful canvass that you can paint your wedding on. There will be no need for too much décor and you won’t have to alter too much for your event. If you, however, do want to go big on decorations, outdoor venues are also great because you will have all the space that you need with barely any restrictions.Outdoor weddings are great for DIY brides! With the picture below, the brides dream was to have an outdoor boho wedding in Northern California. With minimalist wedding decor and simply taking advantage of the surrounding nature, it was breathtaking. Yokayo Ranch in Ukiah is an amazingly peaceful place place to have a sustainable wedding.

4) Large Weddings

If you’re planning to hold a big wedding, then an outdoor location is definitely best for you. Most outdoor venues can hold more guests than your typical indoor location. You do not want your guests feeling claustrophobic and not be able to move around and mingle. Also, people can have better conversations and move around freely to chat with someone they haven’t seen in a few years.

Okay, okay and one last FINAL bonus tip: If you are thinking about having an outdoor Las Vegas Wedding the months I recommend having it in are September – November or March – May. These months have the best temperatures for an outdoor Vegas wedding. You don’t want your guests sweltering in the summer heat, but you also don’t want them freezing their butts off in the winter months.

If you decide that an outdoor wedding is still the one for you, here is a list of some great places that you can have your outdoor wedding in Las Vegas and The Bay Area:

Las Vegas:

Red Rock Country Club

Las Vegas Country Club

The Grove Las Vegas

Emerald at Queensridge

Lake Club at Lake Las Vegas

Hilton Lake Las Vegas

The Westin Lake Las Vegas

Sunset Gardens

Bears Best Golf Club

Northern California

Villa Montalvo

McEvoy Ranch

Beaulieu Gardens

Beltrane Ranch

Yokayo Ranch

Calistoga Ranch

Farmstead at Meadow’s Ranch

The Mountain Terrace

San Francisco Cheese School

Hope you found this useful and I can’t wait to chat about being your wedding photographer!!

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