above photo by The Observatory, courtesy of Bellwether Events
Sometimes it rains on the weekend and I wanted to make sure you were all aware of that fact. Not to worry though, as long as you plan ahead. You can have a fabulous wedding day celebration with a little advanced thinking and lots of tent logistics. For our second installment of the Rainy Day Weddings series, we’re going to talk about your tent: how to set it up, when to set it up, where to set it up, and what to expect from it. Without further ado, here goes some helpful tips:
1. Rent a tent. As silly as that might sound, you still need to hear it. Some couples feel like the weather will be on their side and that an outdoor reception under the stars is the most romantic idea they’ve ever heard. In theory, it could be beautiful and if your wedding is on the west coast you have a much better chance of the weather not getting involved. For safety’s sake, please consider renting a tent to protect your guests from possible rain, wind, and from hot and cold temperatures too.
2. Set your tent up early. If the weather is looking ominous a week before your wedding, chances are the forecast will be somewhat accurate. Many tent companies will install their tents on Thursday for a Saturday wedding, so talk with your tent company and ask if they can install earlier in the week. Getting the tent up before the rain starts will help keep the ground underneath drier.
3. Consider a floor. Although it won’t be in everyone’s budget, and won’t even be available through everyone’s tent companies, look into a floor for your tent. It elevates your guests off the ground and away from the water, allows them to wear their dancing shoes all night long, and even allows for very accurate heating and cooling options as an added bonus!
4. Know the topography of the land around your tent site. As much as the bluff overlooking your family’s hayfields may seem like the perfect place to put your tent, if the land slopes down and into a gully at that same bluff, the rain will flow in like a river right into the middle of your tent. Make sure you’re aware of where the rain flows on your property, where water tends to collect, and how dry the ground will be if there’s a bad storm. Having an on-site meeting with your tent technician will help you figure this out as they’re trained to look for these types of potential situations.
5. Your Plan B has to work for your guests, too. On the perfect sunny summer afternoon, positioning your tent 100 yards from where your guests get dropped off seems like the perfect and most idyllic place. If it’s pouring rain, however, you’re faced with a few options. Your guests can run from their cars to the tent. Your guests can use the umbrellas you thought to buy and walk to the tent, taking an hour using the 12 umbrellas you thought would be enough to have on hand, or you can spend oodles of extra money to have marquees installed to lead your guests to the tent. If none of these options sound super appealing, consider placing your tent in a location that works for both your plan A and plan B. If that’s a bit of a stretch, discuss a second placement option with your tent company and decide early in the week the final placement based on the forecast.
Finally, for those people who think a tent just won’t cut it when it comes to the elements Mother Nature can throw at you, check out this amazingly insightful video from the folks at Sperry Tents who show a tent happily standing and keeping everything dry in the middle of a terrible rain storm! Thanks to Chris and Picca at Sperry Tents Seacoast for the suggestion!
