Spread love... not Germs
Outdoor weddings in 2021 – the trend continues
AAs with all the other changes that 2020 brought to us, plans for getting married also moved into a new realm. Outdoor weddings have always been popular, but this year they may be a huge piece of the pie.
What are the changes and considerations that couples need to address if an outdoor ceremony is the chosen path?
The biggest and most time-critical element will be a choice of venue. With COVID still a factor in early 2021, access to formal wedding sites could be difficult and disappointing. While it’s true that an outdoor setting could be a public or state park, if the demand is great, those venues will be snapped up quickly. For the DIY bride and groom, a pretty backyard might be an option, but there are still a lot of other things to consider.
Professional wedding sites have been revamping since the middle of 2020, rolling with the punches that included most of them losing clients or needing to reschedule to 2021 and beyond.
Our area is rich with beautiful places to stage a wedding, everything from a gorgeous mansion such as Branford House in Groton to the famous Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, or lawns rolling to the sea at Harkness Memorial State Park to the charming re-imagined greenhouse at Salem Herb Farm.
Once a retail plant nursery, Salem Herb Farm took advantage of a beautiful big barn and lovely gardens to structure a wedding venue.
Owner Joe Duncan said, “We opened in 2020 and were heading toward 15 weddings when the pandemic hit. Immediately, seven couples moved their date to 2021, and one couple canceled because they both lost their jobs.”
Duncan quickly made plans to convert the 5,500 square foot greenhouse into a covered venue space. “We had our first event toward the end of August,” said Duncan, “and hosted seven or eight more through October. All our events were too large to fit into the barn under Phase 3 (of Connecticut’s COVID-19 response plan).”
Finding the right place for a wedding will involve being educated about the state protocols through every phase of the planning. Things can change rapidly and frequently, but most venues will keep clients well informed.
Besides a ceremony site, what else needs to be addressed? Weather – what is Plan B if it rains?; wedding gown and attendants’ attire – is a formal gown and train suitable for a rocky seaside ceremony?; guest list – who to not invite, if necessary?; food, flowers, photographer, music, officiant, the list goes on. With so many open-ended questions and so much to do, couples would be well-served to hire a professional wedding planner.
A wedding planner can typically spend 100 to 110 hours or more on each wedding. Debra White-Palmer of DWP Events found herself in the role of counselor as well as planner when the pandemic kicked in.
“Couples were struggling to keep up with the continuous changes brought by each phase,” said WhitePalmer. “I followed the governors of both Connecticut and Rhode Island, and posted updates on social media so clients could read for themselves because there was so much inaccurate information and speculation being spread.”
Well-known California planner Amy Nichols estimates that couples can spend between 200 to 300 hours planning their own wedding, which is the equivalent of about eight to 12 full days. With busy lives and the strain of the current health crisis, hiring a wedding planner makes a lot of sense.
White-Palmer found that very few couples knew what to request in order to make their guests feel safe to attend their wedding. “I educated them on what we could do,” she said. • Move from an inside venue to outside under a tent; Guests to check in on arrival, with temperature checks and masks handed out. Sanitizer stations positioned throughout the venue; Signs to let guests know what to expect, such as “One in, One out” at the restroom; Announcements to remind guests to wear their masks when approaching the buffet; Smaller tables for 4- 6 and positioned with chair-backs 6 feet apart.
Food plays a huge role at any wedding and caterers have become more creative to safely serve their clients and guests. Ivy Mellow of Ivy’s Simply Homemade in Waterford has been in the industry for more than 20 years. Through 2020, Mellow worked with 90% of her clients, helping them postpone their weddings.
“In late April, I closed my store,” she said. “When the weather was good we were able to cater a few tent weddings, using phone and virtual meetings to plan
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Masks and hand sanitizer for each guest. courtesy of DWP Events
BELOW: A tented wedding reception with good spacing
between tables. the fare. Once cold weather returned, along with upgraded guidelines, we are unable to cater any events right now.”
For 2021, Mellow stated that if a client is okay with possible restrictions, then outdoor buffets, seated dinners, and short plates are a possibility, though they might look a little different. Interesting alternatives could be attractively-boxed meals or no-contact passed appetizers. Be prepared to simplify the wedding dinner.
Mellow said, “Just remember that the wedding is about marrying the person you love -- the party is just the frosting. Enjoy all the moments.”