STARTING AN OUTDOOR WEDDING VENUE? 4 BASIC THINGS YOU'LL NEED

With more and more bridal couples looking for a unique or alternative wedding venue, private wedding venues are growing in popularity and profit. If you're thinking about turning your open space into an outdoor wedding venue, here are four things you need to have.

1. Coverage

San Antonio's weather can be extreme, so you need a Plan B for sun, rain, wind, and even snow. The best outdoor venue choice is an attractive pavilion with a solid roof. While gazebos and other small structures are great for outdoor ceremonies, they only hold a limited amount of people. That leaves guests, dancing, and dinner exposed to the elements. Tents can help solve this problem, but rental costs add up and you will spend time assembling and disassembling them. A large, open-air pavilion is a great compromise between the cost of a fully enclosed building and the romance of the outdoor venue. Pavilions can be designed as large or as small as you want your venue to be, and they house permanent structures like bathrooms, dance floors, and utility connections. Like a tent, they can be dressed up or dressed down to the style of the bridal couple and the needs of the day.

2. Practical Needs

Weddings need power. The outdoor ceremony often needs, at a minimum, lighting and electricity for speakers. A reception, though, generally makes big demands on power and water. You'll need bathroom facilities, extra outlets for all the vendors, and different lighting options. When planning gazebos, pavilions, or other venue structures, be sure to include power and water in the early stages to minimize cost and effort to install them. Some practical needs can be set up on a temporary basis, depending on how much you need them. If you only plan occasional weddings, temporary bathroom rentals might work. Similarly, you can work with temporary power connections for a while. But be prepared to create permanent structures for an ongoing concern.

3. Ancillary Spaces

Don't forget about the vendors and bridal party needs as well. Even small weddings come with a lot of paraphernalia that will need to be stored, prepared, and serviced. Food vendors need a catering space with power and water as well as food storage areas and countertops to work on. Miscellaneous vendors, like the florist and rental companies, often need space to store goods as well as to prepare their items. And your bridal parties need an attractive room in which to prepare for the wedding. Small outbuildings can generally fill these needs, particularly if conveniently placed somewhere between the parking area and the venue space. You'll want to make these buildings easily accessible, wide and welcoming, and protected from the weather.

4. Beauty

Of course, the primary draw of a private outdoor wedding venue is the natural beauty around it. Highlight and enhance your property's natural beauty by working with a landscape designer who has experience in your climate and region. And install gazebos and pavilions to take advantage of the best angles. A beautiful but neutral background is best so that it fits with all styles of wedding. You could opt for a low-maintenance background of water features, which offer a perennially beautiful backdrop throughout all seasons, as well as green trees and lush grass (or even artificial grass at a distance). If adding flowers, consider white blooms to provide a romantic but versatile setting. Your property can be transformed into a beautiful outdoor wedding venue with the addition of these few basic amenities. To find out how best to create the right space for all things romantic, talk with the outdoor hardscape specialists at Superior Outdoor Designs today.