Over the past 25 years, we have worked with thousands of amazing couples across the world. Recently we have seen many couples spend a lot of time, money and energy trying to figure out what to do. Across the world we have seen Indian wedding ceremonies online and in person that might've really benefited from this blog. Although we can't help them, we would like to help you in your planning process. We have some great tips that will make everything smoother and better. 

When making this blog we kept our couples in mind. Half of the Indian weddings we DJ are with both the bride and groom being of South Asian descent (Hindu, Christian or Muslim). The other half of the weddings we do are mixed or fusion weddings where one person is from South Asian descent and the other is not (White, Black, Hispanic or Asian). 

8 Tips for Outdoor Indian Wedding Ceremonies Notes:

• We have seen how couples, their families and guests react when these tips weren't followed
• The ceremony needs to reflect your tastes and style 
• This blog should help you figure out what you want and need. 

8 Tips for Outdoor Indian Wedding Ceremonies are ranked in terms of importance.

8 Tips for Outdoor Indian Wedding Ceremonies

1) Think about the time of year

If you are booking the venue one year in advance, you will have a good idea of how the weather will be next year. Some couples will visit a venue in the spring and plan a wedding for the winter. In their minds everything will be the same. You have to think about how your venue will look when you are getting married. During winter will it be so cold that no one will stay for the ceremony? In the summer will it be so hot that people keep running back and forth between the indoor AC and your ceremony? How will the tress and grass look? If you are booking less than 12 months in advance, look up how the weather was a year before your wedding in the city you are getting married. This may seem obvious but so many couples accidentally overlook it. 

2) Backup Plan

I really wanted to make the first tip, not to do an outdoor ceremony because of all the horror stories we have seen and heard about. Often couples see beautiful photos online of outdoor weddings ceremonies and say "I want that". You can be faced with a lot of different obstacles which we will discuss in this blog. The purpose of the 8 Tips for Outdoor Indian Wedding Ceremonies is to help couples. Even if you think there is absolutely no chance needed for a backup plan, make one. This will save you a lot of hassle later. If you want a free timeline so you have the right flow of events, fill out the form on this site and we will send it to you. 

3) Keep it short

You probably wanted this to be short anyways, but make sure everyone including your priest/officiant is trying to move at the pace you want. Sometimes there is a lack of communication which causes things to go off schedule. Having a planner may help you with that problem. Check out out list of suggestions for planners. 

4) Water

Whether its hot or cold outside, you need to stay hydrated. Its a lot more important during spring and summer seasons than winter and fall but its needed all year round. Typically during warmer months there is a lot of ice in it and during colder there is little to no ice. 

5) How do you battle the heat? 

Glad we covered the ice cold water above but there are other things you can do. Cover the mandap/alter so you are not in direct sunlight. Put as many chairs for your guests in the shade or have your decorator build something over the seats to block out the sun. Check out our blog if you are looking for a great decorator. Give your guests fans to keep cool. They have to be there before you so they need to be conformable. These can be paper fans or small battery operated fans. If there is enough electricity outside you can even have electric fans put out on the stage and/or for your guests. Personalized umbrellas, sun glasses and sun screen can also be given out as favors during the wedding and it will help keep everyone cool. If all of this is still not enough, than you may want to reconsider an outdoor wedding. 

6) How do you battle the cold?

It may seem obvious to you that during winter time people will wear their coats and jackets but that may not be the case. They may not know that you are thinking of an outdoor wedding. Let them know on their invitation, RSVP confirmation, wedding emails and any other chance you get. This way they can figure out what they want to wear and how to stay warm. If there is enough electricity outside you can even have a heater on stage and for your guests. You can use space heaters aka propane heaters throughout the seating area for your guests. Personalized shawls and gloves can also be given out as favors during the wedding and it will help keep everyone warm. Along with the water mentioned earlier, you should keep warm drinks outside like tea, coffee and hot chocolate. 

7) Rain/Snow 

If you are lucky enough to know ahead of time that its going to rain or snow on your big day, move to your backup plan a week before the wedding. Worst case scenario you moved inside and the weather is great outside. Use the outside for your first look, bride and groom photos, bridal party pictures and family pictures post the wedding. In most cases, its the other way around. You keep telling yourself it wont rain but it does and you don't have a backup plan or you didn't use it. This is bad because electricity and water don't mix, but more importantly your pictures and videos will not capture you in the best way. Don't risk it and move inside. If you want a free timeline so you have the right flow of events, fill out the form on this site and we will send it to you. 

8) Windy 

If you know that there usually is a lot of wind at your venue it maybe best to avoid an outdoor ceremony. If you find out the week of and you don't have an option to move indoors there are a few things you can do to make it safer. The decor needs to make sure they have secured the stage and main decor down. Avoid small pieces of decor on the stage. We have seen mandaps fall in the middle of ceremonies. Thankfully no one got hurt, but they could've. Try to leave your aisle clear so things don't fall while you are making your entrance or during your ceremony. Get the heaviest chairs you can. We have seen them fall over and guests fumbling to pick them up and sit down. If you are printing something for the ceremony and plan on leaving it on the chairs, make sure it is held down by some kind of weight. This can be as simple as a pebble or a personalized paperweight. 

A wedding is the happiest moment in your life and you should vendors that you love. Over our 25 years of bringing joy to thousands of couples, the DJ Riz Entertainment team has been a part of thousands of couples dream wedding weekends. Given these points, if you would like to talk about music and lighting for your wedding contact us here. 

If you liked the 8 Tips for Outdoor Indian Wedding Ceremonies blog, check out our blogs focused on Venues,  Vendors, and Music.