Fall wedding and unpredictable weather

Rent heat lamps, have blankets available and keep it short. If it’s really cold - move inside. Don’t make your guests suffer just because it’s pretty. A friend did that years ago and we were miserable.

To add to Michelle's response, PLEASE make sure you have a plan B prepared and ready to action if you need to move the wedding inside. The weather will depend on where you are located but outdoor weddings in extreme heat or cold, or rain are just cruel on the guests and an unpleasant experience for all.

If the weather is too unpredictable, be fully prepared to go with your backup plan.

Maybe it’s just because I’m from CO, but weddings in cold weather aren’t really a big deal around here. Looking through photographers portfolios at winter weddings with brides in sleeveless dresses all I could think was brrrr, but it’s truly stunning do I see why so many do it.
I agree with PPs to always have a backup plan just in case, and providing blankets for guests is a nice touch. Also, make sure your guests know it’s outside and what the area and average weather for the time of year is like so they dress appropriately. A few people arrived to a friends wedding not expecting a short hike and were very unpleasantly surprised- hiking in any kind of heel is a hard pass.

View Quoted Comment Yep, planning to keep it short. Thanks sooo much for all the tips

View Quoted Comment Yes, we have a crew ready to make the change the minute of, if needed. Good point and thanks for commenting

I’d try to get buckets of scarves or something like that to keep people warm just in case.

Honestly we originally wanted our November 21st wedding outside but coastal Virginia is so unpredictable with its weather. We had a cold snap last year that killed all the grass before our date and the year before it was extremely warm.
So we opted to go inside.
My friend who did an outdoor wedding on April 1st several years ago experienced a similar weather issue. I can tell you as the MOH, I was wrapped up in a Jean jacket and tried to spend as little time as possible sitting still because it was chilly.
I think as long as you communicate to your guests that it is an outside affair and if there are any space heaters or fires to stand by, then they should be smart enough to bring something to wear in case they get chilly.

We got married on 11/23/2019 in the Cincinnati area. We also hoped for an outside ceremony, but mother nature had other plans. The high was around 36 degrees and it rained the entire day. My best advice is to have a backup plan and to set firm guidelines to determine when you will switch to that backup plan. We decided well in advance that if the temperature fell below 55 degrees that we would move inside, that way the day of the wedding we weren't still trying to make a decision.

View Quoted Comment Great idea

Yes! We are expecting temperatures close to 55 degrees and only the ceremony would take place outside. Great points. Thanks sooo much for commenting!

Hello fellow Fall bride! 🎃🍁 I would say this depends heavily on your area, as some places get much colder than others. If you plan on it being rather chilly during your wedding, I would suggest having an earlier ceremony when the sun is still up – those temperatures can really plummet once the sun goes down. Heat lamps are an absolute savior in cold weather! Here in the Midwest, bars utilize these in the fall and winter so people can still sit outside during chillier months. I even purchased a few for myself, which FH and I use for outdoor entertaining in the fall! I have seen cute displays for blankets (see pic below) and handwarmers for guests also (The hand warmer sign I saw said “cold hands and warm hearts” with a basket of handwarmers in front of it. As other people have mentioned, I would keep the ceremony short. And I would also think about the seating you are providing- hard materials tend to be cold on the the tush! I would make sure you have some sort of warm material on the seat.

Another great thing about the blanket option is that you can have them monogrammed with your initials and dates, and they can serve as gifts to your guests- 2 birds, 1 stone!