I have to start this blog by telling a (not too funny for the bride – but somewhat funny for me as a coordinator) story at a previous wedding of mine. We knew that a cold front was going to blow in later in the evening during the reception but didn’t realize just how windy it would get. She had a table of pictures out as well as my floor easel with her bridal portrait. I didn’t want anything to happen to that picture so I bungeed it to the easel tightly and knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, so I thought. Well, later in the evening, the wind picked up and pictures started to fall, even the bridal portrait. But how could this be? Oh, it never left the easel. The entire easel with picture fell bungeed together. The frame broke but the picture was still perfect. Luckily, I had a bride that was very laid back and understood things happen.
As a coordinator, I am always thinking about the what if’s. The main one being, WHAT IF IT RAINS? Have you thought about that too? I thought this topic was very appropriate for my next blog since I had to deal with the Plan B just this past weekend for a wedding I coordinated. If you are getting married during a rainy season you definitely need to keep the Plan B in mind when booking your venue where part or all of your wedding will be outside. Be sure to ask the venue coordinator what it is. Some do not have a Plan B so that means it is all up to you to provide a cover for your guests.
If you do not live in San Antonio, you might also be dealing with tornadoes, blizzards or hurricanes. Yikes! Can’t even fathom all that. I’ll just stick to the rain. Here are your Plan B options:
The rehearsal was outside
We moved everything inside the day of at The Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, TX
1. Move the ceremony inside. This can take place in the reception area with either closing a partition to hide the guest tables or moving in the tables and setting them after the ceremony when the guests move to the cocktail hour space. This might be a little stressful so make sure you have a coordinator and extra staff helping with this. They will probably just have 1 hour max to complete the room flip.
2. A tent. PLEASE call your rental companies a couple of months before the wedding to get some pricing on tents so you’ll know exactly who to call when the time comes. Maybe ask them too to put it on hold with a deposit (you might loose the deposit if you don’t use it, though). Contact them about 1 month prior if you haven’t put it on hold to see if it is still available. Ask what they can do for you to ensure you have a tent, if needed last minute. It’s worth asking, right? You’ll want to make sure you rent one that is large enough for your guests, dance floor, bar, & catering area. Consider flaps for the sides too in case it is windy or cold.
3. Most venues will require you make a decision on using Plan A or B the day before. Be sure to ask the venue ahead of time about their policy on this. Some will make the call the morning of which is what I think is fair! However, keep in mind that once the call has been made there usually is no switching last minute. The set up time takes hours to complete and realistically you can’t expect the venue to change everything once it is complete.
I have had some interesting moments at weddings but the one thing I remember about my wonderful couples was that they didn’t let the weather get them down. Please don’t blame the venue or coordinator if the weather clears right before your wedding and wished you had just stuck with Plan A. Weather can be tricky and you just never know what will happen. This past weekend at Ring Mountain Event Center in Comfort, TX, I had a wedding where the weather was very unpredictable. It was cloudy early, then it got sunny for a bit and then it stormed with hail! The one thing that really stood out to me was how calm both the bride and groom were because they knew they had a great Plan B in place and they knew I would take care of any hiccups during the event. I would say the timeline was changed quite a bit but everything still flowed during the evening and it was beautiful.
A few months ago at the Lambermont in San Antonio, TX, we knew the day before that storms were going to hit during the reception. So, I went to the venue and spent the evening figuring out the new diagram with all the guests inside instead of outside. It was tight but it all worked out by moving tables out after dinner to make room for the dance floor. The only thing I remember happening was a couple of centerpieces blowing down when the wind picked up that were under the covered patio. We were not expecting such strong winds! You have to be prepared for anything and just know it is what it is and it is OK.
I would love to help coordinate all the details about your wedding. Please call me and we can talk about your wedding and your needs. Please go to my website to learn more about my services. Trudy Scott, Royalty Events Planning, 210-595-9263, RoyaltyEventsPlanning.com
