Cold Weather and Outside Ceremonies

Also want to add that a lot of people had RSVPed, but ended up skipping it because of the weather.

I'm from Iowa with a November wedding. And FH and I are trying to plan for the weather to be anywhere from the mid 20s to low 60s. Fall is always a weird one around here depending on if the sun decides to peek out or if there is any wind. We have tentatively agreed on an actual/wind chill temp of around 40. If the sun is out it shouldn't be too bad, but if its cloudy or windy we'll have to move inside. We we're also planning on doing coffee and hot cider before the ceremony.

I can do a cold ceremony (below 55) if it's short (like 10 minutes or less), as long as I am 100% aware (invites & website) prior and they provide things like heat lamps and blankets.

I got married October 5th in the NC mountains. We had an outdoor wedding (starting at 5:30 p.m.) and reception and it was abnormally chilly for the time of year. The high that day was 72 and the low was 58, but I'd say it probably got down to around 63 during the actually reception. I was scared it was going to be too cold, but all of our guests talked about how perfect the weather was and how glad they were it was cooler. Granted it had been in the upper 90's the entire week before the wedding, so I think everyone enjoyed the break. So I would say anything below 60, without heaters, is probably too cold.

I live in Northern California, and while it does get cold here (in some parts of the state anyway), it's not cold all that often. So, if it were me, I wouldn't like to be out in the cold if it were less than 60 out. Having said that, I think you are planning blankets for guests, and that's a good idea! Also, most ceremonies aren't that long (maybe 30 minutes), so in that case, I would just suck it up and deal with it.

I love your idea of a hot chocolate/hot cider station!! If that was there, I'd stay outside longer!

I really think anything below 65/70 is too cold. I don't think people should have to wear scarves and jackets to be comfortable at your wedding ceremony. And with all the other stuff you have to worry about with an outdoor ceremony (bugs, rain, sunburn, wind, heels in the grass, etc, etc) I personally just don't understand why you would take that chance. Once you invite people to your event you should be thinking about their comfort above all, imo.

Our wedding is in chilly February in the desert southwest and the ceremony will be outdoors. We've put a "dress code" on our website warning people it will be outside and that they could wear what they want but they should consider layers. Nobody will be surprised and we shouldn't hear too much grumbling. We couldn't afford a proper venue so we're doing it in my aunt's back yard. If it happens to get crazy windy or it's snowing or raining, however, we'll all just cram inside and do it a circle in the living room. NBD.

We're providing hand warmers on each chair and a blanket every other chair or so (so people can share and snuggle up if they want to) and we'll have 4 of those tall heating lamps going down the aisle. We'll also have a basket of gloves (and then we're donating them after the ceremony to our local youth shelter). Our whole service should be 20 minutes or less so we don't think it'll be too uncomfortably long.

I did a weather analysis over the last 5 years for the week of February that we're getting hitched in and the average high at 5pm was 54 and the average low was 47. It could be pretty chilly!

To keep things really cozy we'll have 2 fire pits going (with s'mores roasting), a hot chocolate bar with all the fixings (including peppermint schnapps for the adults), the heating lamps, and a fireplace inside for the older folks to gather around as well. We're also making a huge pot of potato and green chile stew to keep the chill away.

We think it'll still be a love-fest and super cozy, regardless of the cold air. People will be able to move inside and outside freely after the ceremony is over, and there will be plenty of hot food and warm fires going. We're excited!

I'm from Texas so I wouldn't say it ever really gets "cold" here. As a guest, I think it would be fine for it to be in the 50s if given prior notice that the ceremony was outside. The guests would need to know and dress accordingly.

I think it depends on where most of your guests are from And the ages of your guests. If you have a lot of young children or elderly, I wouldn’t do less than 65. If half of your guests are from Michigan and half are from Florida, you’ll have to realize a Michigander can probably deal with a lot colder conditions. If you do decide to have an outdoor ceremony during the colder months, you could always provide blankets, gloves, hot drinks, and you could get some heaters.

My brother got married in Galveston, TX on New Year's Eve when is was THIRTY NINE degrees outside and his (now ex)wife INSISTED on having the ceremony outside. I was a bridesmaid in a short, strapless dress. It was awful!!!!

View Quoted Comment That's horrifying! Ours will be a cold day for sure, but my maids will be in long dresses with big, oversized fur wraps to keep them warm. And they're allowed to wear boots if they wish bc I don't want anyone getting frostbite. 😏

But we also have a contingency plan to go inside if the weather turns.

Personally, 60 would be an absolute minimum for a VERY short wedding. Minimally, I think 65 degrees is a more reasonable minimum. Yes, I may spend time outside in colder weather for a football game or to shop for a Christmas tree, but for those activities I'm dressed in jeans, layers of shirts, and a heavy coat. If I'm expected to be dressed for a wedding, please keep me comfortably warm.

FWIW I, too, love your posts and presence on this forum and can't wait for you BAM.

We are getting married on November 27th, 2020 in the mountains of Colorado so there will almost 100% be snow on the ground if not snowing during the ceremony. We are having our ceremony outside no matter what (we got engaged on top of a mountain during a blizzard so it's not an issue for us). Our venue conveniently has blankets for our guests as well as tower heaters by the ceremony seating area. Additionally, we are having a hot apple cider station by the ceremony area so our guests can stay warm on the inside. We are keeping our ceremony at 30 minutes too so everyone doesn't have to be uncomfortable for too long.

I'm from IL and live in WI now. Coldest outdoor ceremony I've been to was mid 40s and everyone was fine.

I'm in PA and idk I think if there's sun out 60 is fine. I just went to a festival this weekend and I had a coat on and it was less than 60. In the sun it was nice! As a bridesmaids with no shawl at around that temp might be cold. I can't say the degrees of my friend's cabin wedding, but I remember it rained the night before and in the trees with little sun and dampness, I was chilly standing up there.

We had a outside ceremony! My wedding was 11/25/2016. It was definitely chilly! But we had a tent and there were some heaters in the tent so it wasn't terrible.

View Quoted Comment So sweet! I appreciate that so much!

Because I'm used to cold weather I'd say 60+ = okay 59 or lower is too cold lol.

I just heard complaints about an outdoor wedding last week where almost every one of the guest had numb feet because it was so chilly!

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I don't think we should ever say "it's YOUR day, do what you want!" Once you invite guests, it's not just your day.

We're getting married in December in California and we expect it to be about 60 degrees F