Outdoor Wedding: What’s Worth Knowing?

Outdoor weddings, such as those at our vineyard, are gaining popularity across the country year after year. Perhaps this is a result of the pandemic, as people have rediscovered the outdoors and want to connect with nature more often.. 

Of course, outdoor weddings are nothing new. In the United States and southern Europe, vineyard receptions have been popular for years – there’s definitely something magical about a vineyard where we not only drink wine but also have the opportunity to be surrounded by its birthplace..  

However, outdoor weddings are a relatively new phenomenon in our country, so it’s worth knowing a few basic things when organizing one. In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts based on our experience so far.

Lesser Poland is not Tuscany

Certainly, what attracts people to a vineyard wedding, at least initially, are the beautiful photos from Tuscan weddings. We also have wonderful vineyards in Poland, some of them in picturesque surroundings, but it’s important to remember that we’re generally located in a cold climate and it’s not always sunny. You can find hundreds of photos of outdoor weddings on Instagram, and when the weather’s nice, they look great. However, no one posts photos when it’s pouring rain. Therefore, for an outdoor event to be worthwhile, you absolutely must have a plan B. Such a plan B would be the perfect alternative building, a tent, an old barn, or another place where guests can continue the wedding celebration without inconvenience in the event of inclement weather.. 

The outdoor area will speak for itself

Sometimes I see so much money and energy being spent on outdoor decorations, and very often, in my subjective opinion, it’s unnecessary. It’s worth remembering that when organizing a wedding in a vineyard or other outdoor venue, nature is the main character, and it will naturally provide the appropriate backdrop. Nature doesn’t need to be decorated.. 

The open air has its own dynamics

It’s important to realize that an outdoor setting opens up new possibilities, but also new challenges. We often don’t think about it, but if we’re organizing a wedding reception in a traditional wedding venue, in practice, guests are in the venue the entire time; they simply have no alternative—unless they’re parking in front of the building “for a cigarette.”. 

With the right weather, this isn’t the case with an outdoor event. Guests often disappear and disperse. At our winery, the observation deck and vineyard walks are very popular (we even advise couples to include spare shoes in their invitations, especially for the ladies). It’s worth being prepared for this extra dimension of the reception. After all, the reception itself usually lasts 7 to 10 hours, which is a long time, and guests eagerly embrace the opportunity to unwind. The outdoors, or rather, what nature creates outdoors, also introduces a different pace, and this is also noticeable.. 

Outdoor and Logistics

Because the wedding is outdoors, it’s often a remote location, which naturally presents additional logistical challenges. This may seem obvious, but you definitely need to consider parking, meaning appropriate infrastructure. A meadow works well as a parking lot when it’s dry, which is often not the case. In our part of the country (Lesser Poland), clay soil is most common, and after several days of rainfall, it has a spongy feel. In such cases—even if the sun is shining brightly on the day of the reception—parking on wet clay, even if it’s covered with turf, will be a significant obstacle, not to mention muddy. This is important to remember.

Guest transportation is a different challenge. In our experience, for example, for a 100-person reception, we usually see a hybrid approach, with half the guests arriving on their own and the other half transported by bus. Assuming the vineyard wedding lasts from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next day, it works best to transport guests from the reception at 11 p.m. and then at 2 a.m.. 

Church Wedding vs. Outdoor Wedding

Couples often try to match their church wedding ceremony to the reception location. This is understandable, as they want to avoid a significant travel time between the church building and the outdoor venue. It’s crucial for the couple to do their own research and find a suitable, atmospheric church. In our case, several couples last season chose a very beautiful neo-Gothic church with an old wooden bell tower in the village. Zalas,#atfp_close_translate_span# a few kilometers from our winery. There are certainly more such gems, but it’s worth doing some research.

Civil or Humanist Wedding?

Last season, we experienced both forms of outdoor commitment ceremonies. The liberalization of the law a few years ago, allowing the Civil Registrar to come to the designated location, led to a boom in this type of ceremony.. 

Certainly, a civil wedding is more formal and the couple becomes married immediately. However, a humanist wedding offers a more elaborate ceremony, and if the couple doesn’t mind going to the registry office the day before or after the wedding and signing the official document, a humanist wedding may be a better choice.. 

Regardless of the form of the vows, during an open-air ceremony you definitely need to remember about a microphone and appropriate sound system, otherwise, as we once experienced, we have a silent movie.