Weddings at private properties and out of the way locations are fan-bloody-tastic. You get a real feeling of being the most important people in the world when you’re surrounded by only your friends and family and not the passing parade of general public.
I love weddings at home, and small weddings at private airbnb’s but those on rural properties are my number one favourite. However, there are a few difficulties or pitfalls with remote weddings that can be easily avoided with a bit of clever planning.
The first, and probably the biggest issue from a vendor’s POV, is finding the place. If you’re heading for the Upper Kumbucta West Golf Club there’s a pretty good chance Google knows where it is. If it’s a private property at 3172 Goldiggers Creek Road, Upper Kumbucta, experience has taught me that my car’s GPS just tells me nope, while Google will take me to the closes point on the road to the house and announce “you have arrived at your destination” with not a building, or a driveway in sight.
I did a wedding last year where both the photographer and the baker delivering the cake got hopelessly lost and delayed the ceremony while the poor bride had at least a dozen kittens.
So why was I on time? Because I’m totally paranoid about getting lost AND being late so after the family arrived at the property the day before I got in touch for absolute directions. Here is the big big big tip.
Walk (or drive) to the end of the driveway where it comes off the road (not at the house) and bring up Google Maps.
Drop a pin at your exact location
Send the pin to all your vendors
I was sent a pin by the bridesmaid after my third phone call trying to work out exactly where they were by looking on satellite view and talking about what they could see….. she was an absolute genius. My phone took me to exactly the right place.
Do NOT forget this tip. Particularly if you live in Brookfield. I get lost EVERY time I go to Brookfield and mostly it’s my car’s GPS have no effing clue.
Another tip is to work out exactly where everyone will park. If you have other vendors besides me, we will all have gear to unload so easy access to the ceremony space is most welcome. Personally, I’m going to be one of the first to arrive and definitely the first to leave so I will unload and then move the car to somewhere I won’t get parked in.
Guests don’t necessarily need to be right near the building as they will park up once and not need their car for hours. Passengers can be dropped off close by if they have trouble walking very far.
This is actually more important if you’re getting married in a backyard in the suburbs. I really need a spot in the driveway to unload (and reload) my car but I’m happy to park halfway up the street in the meantime.
If phone reception is going to be a bit dodgy let us all know beforehand. Some vendors might be relying on their phone’s internet connection and if they can’t get on it can make for disaster. If I’m playing your music I will always download from Spotify at home so I have your ceremony tunes stored in your special playlist. Can you imagine how awful it would be if I had to try and sing you in unaccompanied instead of playing the actual song? It doesn’t bear thinking about.
Even worse if you can’t play any tunes at the reception.
If guests are all staying over that’s great, but if people are going home remember there may not be a taxi service. How about hiring a bus? From a central pickup location – like a railway station or a shopping centre – book a bus to collect everyone at a certain time and pick them up again when you think you’ll have had enough and want them to leave. If a bus can’t get down the drive or turn around at the house then a few trips in one of the cars will get the guests all safely to where they need to be.
However, the advantages of weddings on rural properties far outweigh the disadvantages.
You have absolute privacy
You can set up whatever gear you need in advance
You don’t have to travel somewhere else for great photos
You can play your music as loud and as late as you want
Everyone can all crash there (unless you want them to go home)
You can continue celebrating the next morning while everyone helps you clean up
Leftovers don’t go to waste
The kids will be safe and have plenty of space to run around
And really, what could be better than being immersed in nature?
If you remember nothing else, remember to send a Google Map Pin to your vendors and save everyone a whole lot of angst.
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