How cold is too cold for an outdoor wedding reception

I would be prepared to have in inside, 15 degrees in September in the evening can be quite cool. If the weather ends up being great you can have it outside, but you don't want your guests to be cold and uncomfortable while they wait for you to walk down the isle. You need to remember a 15 minute ceremony will most likely take closer to at least half hour by the time everyone is seated and you say your I dos

Let your guests know and make sure you will be comfortable. But if its a short ceremony, people can wear jackets. They'll be ok!

Our ceremony should be around 15 minutes so we should be ok.

How long is the ceremony going to be? If you're going the religious route and it's gonna be 45 minutes to an hour, I'd say you should move it inside.

If it's only 15 minutes I think it's just fine to have it outside. Are people who arrive early able to wait indoors until closer to start time?

I don't think you need to ask guests to dress accordingly... they have access to weather forecasts and should be quite capable of deciding for themselves how to dress for an outdoor ceremony in 10-15 degree weather....

Hi Jennifer. Yes the venue did mention they had some propane heaters.

I would just ask guests to dress accordingly. We sent out an e-mail two weeks before the wedding to all our guests with reminders & updates & included a part about weather. You could also get some blankets for guests if they get cold. Ikea has some for 2.99 each Link Here.

You could also serve coffee, hot chocolate and/or hot cider!

Does the patio where your ceremony is going to be have any heat lamps or anything?

I'm lucky that the venue will allow us to make the call for indoor or outdoor ceremony within only hours of the ceremony start time. They're really accommodating that way so I guess we'll wait and see how the weather is that day.

I would probably hate being stuck outside for an outdoor ceremony if it was cold out since I'm someone who is always cold. Keep in mind that although the ceremony itself is only 15-30 min that guests will be seated for much longer. Also, fall evenings can be cool but still nice or for the most part they can be damn and cool and 15 C is not that nice once the sun goes down. If it's damp and cold I would consider doing it indoors as it's really hard to get warm if your chilled from damp air. It's really hard to predict though so I would suggest talking with your venue and preparing a backup plan in case it becomes too cold or rains. I don't think you need to cancel the outdoor ceremony just yet as it could also warm up and be close to 20C during the day.

If you absolutely have to have it outside and the temperatures drop more consider options to help make sure your guests are comfortable. Like having heating lamps to keep guest warm (they can be on the outside of the aisle and do over a good distance when you have the right ones for the space so they could be hidden for pictures). Also, having warm drinks available, blankets, etc are a nice touch. Yes adults should dress for the weather but at the same time that's not always easy when your looking to dress nice in a cocktail dress. A jacket won't cover my cold legs.

We are planning an indoor reception so as long as it doesn't rain we should be good to go with an outdoor ceremony. It's all happening at a golf course so they had a few different location options for ceremony and reception.

I think the guests can dress accordingly to the weather but it is more for the wedding party. Are you all comfortable being outdoors at that temperature? It will not be fun to get sick at the beginning and feel miserable for the rest of the evening. For my friend's wedding, we were doing photo shoot outside in the rain in October in our very thin dresses, and my friend (the bride) actually fell ill and she was relying on tylenol to get her through the evening!

I think outdoor ceremony would be fine still. Most aren't longer than 1/2 an hour now anyways (except some church weddings). I would let guests know it will be outside so they can prepare to stay warm.

The reception might be better off inside since it's longer. I was at a wedding this weekend and the reception was outside. The couple rented a tent that had heaters but once you left you noticed the cold!

I think 15 degrees is still okay to do outdoors. If your guests don't already know that it is being planned to be held outdoors, let them know so they can dress appropriately.

I agree, my wedding is in October of next year and I'm having it outdoors no matter how chilly it may be. You could always supply cute blankets for the guests too! Nowadays ceremonies only last 10-20 minutes so it should be short enough for guests to suck it up if they have to.

Plus if it's a bit cold you could say that you wanted to start off your marriage on a "fresh" note

Depends on a few things. Everyone is different so some may find it much colder than others. See may not find it cold at all! Guest will smart enough to dress for the weather if they are away it's outdoors. Not sure if you have children and babies attending but they may start to fuss if they find it cold for too long, or not even long at all. My mom had an outdoor ceremony in October and it was cold but I don't think anyone minded, everyone just dressed appropriately and it was fine, she also had a think lace dress, she was chilly but obviously was worth it. I honestly think you'll be fine, it's not like it's an outfit winter wedding, and ceremonies don't last that long so I think you and your guests should be able to hold out. Just tell them to be prepared.