When looking for a Cotswolds hotel for your wedding, the garden or grounds can be a huge draw, but for an outdoor ceremony there are a number of practical points to consider. We run through what to check and ask for when choosing an outdoor ceremony spot at a hotel.
Walled Gardens And Courtyards
A walled garden or stone courtyard can be perfect for smaller weddings of up to 60-70 guests. They are intimate and provide shelter from any wind, often being part of a beautiful garden or grounds with mature plants and old walls that don’t need much extra. These areas of a hotel with honey-coloured stone and beautiful gardens look stunning and are usually enough to take fabulous photos without too much additional styling. However, it’s essential to check how many chairs will actually fit in the area with space for an aisle and how they will be set out. A walled garden looks much bigger in photographs than it actually is when chairs are brought in.
Lawn And Parkland Settings
Large lawns or parkland settings can provide ample space for guests to spread out. However, the ground may be softer than it looks and may have been used for ceremonies in the past. Find out if the venue provides matting or boards for heels and wheelchairs. It is also worth investigating if the area is sloping, as this can affect the way an aisle and arch look. Find out how far from the hotel the area is and if there are toilets and a bar nearby.
Weather Contingency Planning
Outdoor ceremonies need a wet-weather plan. A venue may be able to move you to a covered area but they need to tell you how long before the ceremony they need to know and where exactly you will be. Some venues can move you to a marquee or ballroom in as little as an hour, others need 2 hours notice. Make sure this is written in your contract and check with your venue what their policy is.
Legal Requirements For Outdoor Marriages
Marriages can only take place within a fixed, permanent structure with a roof. A lot of weddings therefore take place in a marquee, orangerie, or even a garden gazebo within the grounds of the hotel. The legal requirements for where marriages can take place within England are detailed on the GOV.UK website. The key point is that a ceremony cannot take place in an open space within the grounds of a hotel. However, a hotel with a garden full of permanent structures such as a glass-sided pavilion or a covered loggia would be ideal for an outdoor wedding ceremony. See also Cotswolds Hotel Wedding Venue
Seating, Aisles, And Arches
You should also ask who is supplying the chairs, the aisle runner and the arch or arbour for your ceremony. Some hotels may include basic white folding chairs and a simple arch frame in the price of your ceremony but others may expect you to bring in a stylist or even hire a company to supply and style chairs and decors for your ceremony. Also ask for the dimensions of the chairs and how they will be spaced out in the area you have chosen for your ceremony. Are there any grounds stakes that can be pinned into the ground, are there any pinned decorations that can be attached to the historic stonework.
Timing For Light And Noise
An outdoor ceremony in the Cotswolds is likely to be affected by light and by noise. The timing of your ceremony is therefore important. A 2pm summer wedding will have very harsh light for your photos of your ceremony. A 4pm summer wedding will have softer light for your photos. The courtyard of an exposed bricks and stone hotel will have more wind noise than a sheltered garden and therefore may not be as easy to record for your vows. Ask your chosen hotel for details of the best spot for an outdoor ceremony and how the area behaves in terms of light and noise on the day of the year that you will be getting married.
Guest Comfort Outdoors
Comfort details can so easily get forgotten. If you are getting married in the cooler months of the year then ask your hotel if they have any blankets, patio heaters etc. that can be left in your chosen outside ceremony area. Also ask if there is an indoor area near by that guests can retreat to before and after the ceremony to get out of the cold. For summer weddings ask if there is any shade in your chosen outside area. A simple pergola or even some parasols can create plenty of comfort for your guests for the 20 minutes or so that they will be standing outside.
Checking How Sound Carries
Test the sound in your chosen outdoor location before the event to see how a speaker will project to all of your guests. Open spaces and walled gardens differ greatly when it comes to carrying speech, so a celebrant’s speech can get lost quickly in an outdoor location. Many wedding venues offer the use of a small PA system or additional microphone for an outdoor ceremony, but you should check before hand whether they supply any and where the music speakers for your event will be located. Will the sound travel to the back of the outdoor location or will your guests sitting at the very back of the ceremony be able to hear?
The small details such as these should be checked and agreed as part of the planning process, so that you can enjoy your chosen venue and setting, rather than spending too much time worrying about issues related to chairs, weather and sound.
