The three most important things in an outdoor ceremony
Q: I want to have my ceremony outdoors. What is the most important thing to get right? Kim, New Farm, Queensland, Australia
A: When choosing a location most people focus on the backdrop. Having nice surroundings is important for photos - but professional photographers can always crop photos and/or use digital magic to get rid of something that is aesthetically below par.
Something neither professional nor amateur photographers can deal with is the sun shining directly into their lenses. Backlit photos lose detail. So, unless you want all your photos in silhouette, it is absolutely imperative to check out the area you are thinking of having the ceremony in when the sun is in the same position it will be in at the time your ceremony is scheduled for. If you've planned more than a year ahead, then that is easy. Just go to the site on same day of the year and at the same time. If you haven't the time to use that method, then you have to be a little clever. Use a sunrise/sunset calculator and work out what time the sun rises/sets on the actual day you're having the ceremony and on the day you're checking the venue out, and calculate accordingly, so that you go to the place when the sun is in the same position. And of course, if you're having the ceremony in summer, look for shade too.
The third thing is audibility. Many attractive settings are plagued by traffic noise, there may be construction noise, there may be aircraft noise overhead, all of which would seriously compromise the ability of your guests to actually hear the ceremony.
Light, Noise and Backdrop, they all have to work for you. And it goes without saying that you should always have a backup venue and arrangements in place in case of rain. Include the backup venue in your invitation and give a number for your guests to call. Delegate someone to make the decision whether to use the backup venue and leave a message on the machine saying that the backup venue is going to be used.
Have a wonderful ceremony ....
A: When choosing a location most people focus on the backdrop. Having nice surroundings is important for photos - but professional photographers can always crop photos and/or use digital magic to get rid of something that is aesthetically below par.
Something neither professional nor amateur photographers can deal with is the sun shining directly into their lenses. Backlit photos lose detail. So, unless you want all your photos in silhouette, it is absolutely imperative to check out the area you are thinking of having the ceremony in when the sun is in the same position it will be in at the time your ceremony is scheduled for. If you've planned more than a year ahead, then that is easy. Just go to the site on same day of the year and at the same time. If you haven't the time to use that method, then you have to be a little clever. Use a sunrise/sunset calculator and work out what time the sun rises/sets on the actual day you're having the ceremony and on the day you're checking the venue out, and calculate accordingly, so that you go to the place when the sun is in the same position. And of course, if you're having the ceremony in summer, look for shade too.
The third thing is audibility. Many attractive settings are plagued by traffic noise, there may be construction noise, there may be aircraft noise overhead, all of which would seriously compromise the ability of your guests to actually hear the ceremony.
Light, Noise and Backdrop, they all have to work for you. And it goes without saying that you should always have a backup venue and arrangements in place in case of rain. Include the backup venue in your invitation and give a number for your guests to call. Delegate someone to make the decision whether to use the backup venue and leave a message on the machine saying that the backup venue is going to be used.
Have a wonderful ceremony ....
posted by The Cyber Celebrant at 6:22 AM
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