Planning Your Outdoor Wedding in Miami

Congratulations on your engagement! You’re getting married, ready to celebrate with all of your favorite people, and thinking about planning a Miami outdoor wedding. Well, you’re definitely in good company, as outdoor wedding venues are now more popular than ever. So, read on to see why so many people are holding this unforgettable milestone outdoors.

The “Pros” of Outdoor Wedding Venues

Weddings are always such a unique event: your love is special and has no match, your different families are all coming together for your celebration, and the merging of two lives, families, and backgrounds occur. Thankfully, outdoor wedding venues like the Deering Estate offer sites that are as unique as you for your wedding, including:

Waterfront Views

A lot of Miami outdoor wedding venues are designed to embrace the natural landscape. Deering Estate is right on Biscayne Bay, offering a breathtaking view of the water and a fairytale backdrop for the event of a lifetime.

Tropical Foliage

Planning an outdoor wedding helps you invite Florida’s natural landscape into the experience. The iconic palm trees at Deering are designed to embrace the natural landscape, making for a setting and celebration that’s unique.

Historic Architecture

Miami outdoor wedding venues can give you beautiful sight lines in every direction. On the grounds of Deering’s historic estate, you will be able to enjoy a satisfying mix of natural beauty and timeless architecture.      

Natural Ambiance

Every wedding comes with a bit of a design challenge as you work to create the look and feel of your space. Let nature do some of that work for you! Outdoor wedding venues come with a built-in ambiance, providing a lush, welcoming environment that’s always right there waiting with open arms.

Photography Opportunities

Miami outdoor wedding venues are a dream come true for any photographer. When you’re planning an outdoor wedding at Deering Estate, you’re also planning on having some incredible pictures on the palm-tree lined bay, over by the historical buildings, or near the colorful plant-life. You’ll also take advantage of the soft, cinematic lighting while the sun begins to drop.  Delight both your professional photographer and your guests with the stunning picturesque scenery.     

Plenty of Space

Outdoor wedding venues are traditionally wide open, which means that you get to invite a few more guests. So, planning an outdoor wedding allows you to welcome those old friends who you couldn’t otherwise accommodate.

Creative Seating Arrangements

All of that wide open space creates an exciting opportunity when you’re arranging the tables. Instead of allowing the shape of the room to inform the seating, an outdoor wedding allows you to put your creative stamp on a layout that really speaks to you.

A Dynamic Atmosphere

Since the light shifts throughout the day, you’ll start the celebration with the sunlight hitting the water, then you’ll take in The Golden Hour as the sun is going down, and finally, you’ll dance the night away under the moonlight. You’re in for a dynamic setting that only an outdoor space could provide.

Why Outdoor Wedding Venues Are More Popular Than Ever

Something that you’ll hear wedding couples and guests mentioning time and time again; they love the fresh air and wide-open space of an outdoor wedding. Between the fresh air and limitless views, al fresco events charm guests every time. Planning a Miami outdoor wedding, however, does require a few unique choices. So, let’s take a look at a few of those next.

What to Discuss with Your Wedding Planner

A lot of Miami wedding planners will already have a checklist. But you’ll definitely want to have a little checklist of your own when you’re planning an outdoor wedding. That way, you can make the most of your consultations and get exactly what you want out of your special day.

The Venue

Outdoor Space Requirements

Outdoor wedding venues offer a ton of versatility, which means that everything can come together in a thousand different ways. So, if you do have a vision, make sure that you’re communicating the specifics. Maybe you’d like a dance floor, a buffet table, and a small setup for a cocktail hour by the water. All of that and more can easily be arranged, but does require a little bit of planning. So, be sure to get on the same page with each of your contacts.

Indoor / Outdoor Spaces

Planning an outdoor wedding doesn’t have to mean that it’s exclusively outdoors. In fact, most many venues can offer you a supplemental indoor space. If you’d like to make toasts and give speeches somewhere that’s a little more private, that can usually be arranged. At Deering Estate a unique option is our Stone House Museum add on where your guests will be able to immerse themselves in the art and history of the Estate while exploring the 1st and 2nd floor of the Stone House during a strolling cocktail reception

The Pros of Having a Tent

Tents can serve as both a practical and a creative addition to Miami outdoor wedding venues. Some couples like the idea of adding a tent for a little extra shelter from the sun, or the chance of rain. It can also be a great canvas for audio-visual set–ups, providing a space to hang dazzling fairly lights that dance to the music, classic chandeliers, and impressive floral arrangements, which adds even more range to a nearly limitless space.

Booking Policies

Outdoor wedding venues will each have their own policies regarding cancelations, deposits, and alternate dates. Make sure that you ask your planner and venue coordinator about each of those elements, so you can verify that those details all match up with exactly what you need.

Decorations

Customizing Your Outdoor Wedding

Any wide-open area is an exciting blank canvas that’s just waiting for your creative direction. Everything from the style of the decoration, to the amount of decoration, is a choice. Give some thought to the aesthetic that’s right for you. Some couples like to spring for a statement-piece, like a romantic antique car, while others prefer a consistent presence of smaller items, like a few rustic, oak barrels around the perimeter.

Lighting

Lighting plays an important role by enhancing your venue’s ambiance. There are endless choices for every type of style: bistro lighting, fairy lighting, chandeliers, globes and lanterns, and up-lighting are some of the many ways you can illuminate your special day. The lighting isn’t just practical. It’s also setting the mood.

Weather

Seasonal Factors Weather Trends

If you’re planning an outdoor wedding in Miami, just remember to account for “the wet season”, which usually runs through the summer into fall. During that stretch, you can expect a higher likelihood of both rain and humidity. The remaining of the year is generally drier and cooler with higher winds. And while you can definitely still have a Miami outdoor wedding, you’ll probably want to consider a “Wet Season Plan B,” which you can read about below.  It’s important to take all weather conditions into consideration when planning an outdoor wedding and discuss options with your wedding planner.

Contingency Plan or “Wet Season Plan B”

Be sure to have a Plan B in place in advance so that it relieves the stress when the time comes to make the call. This usually means incorporating a tent or a supplementary indoor space in the event of rain but also consider fans, heaters (yes there are occasional cooler evenings in Miami), and ways to secure decorations if it gets windy. Speak with your wedding planner and other vendors about what their experience is with planning an outdoor wedding and what their contingency policies are.  Once you have your plan thought out discuss who is going to make the call and execute the plan. If planned in advance The nice thing about a Plan B, however, is that it doesn’t have to look like one. With a bit of hanging décor and some elegant lighting, a tent can end up will looking and feel a lot more like it’s part of Plan A. Whether it you actually rains execute your Plan B or not, or it’s just a little extra peace of mind, a lot of couples are you will be glad that they ended up exploring this option you considered.

What to Wear and Weatherproof Your Hair

Don’t forget to take all those weather trends into consideration when planning your hair style and wedding attire. You may even consider this in your Plan B and have a 2^nd option for your hair style or what shoes you will wear. This also makes a great excuse for a second look for your reception, changing from a long dress or tuxedo to something more airy and comfortable to dance the night away.

Guests

Invitations

Whether it is on the formal invitation, as an insert or on your wedding website, be transparent with your guests that you are having an outdoor wedding. You should also keep them informed on what type of weather they can expect and the type of ground they will be walking on.

Seating Arrangement

Couples spend so much time thinking about the seating chart that they often forget about the seating style. As we mentioned before, one of the perks of having an outdoor wedding is having the wide open space to get creative. Do you like lounge-style seating, high-tops, or “rounds?” Do you like long, banquet-style tables? Because everything from the type of table, to the look of furniture itself, to the layout, can be used to create intimacy.     

Party Wedding Favors

Mini-lanterns

These are always a great gift because they check a few different boxes. They improve visibility in a way that’s more elevated than flashlights. They can serve as “escort cards” with each guests’ table location. And of course, they make a great memento for your family and friends.

Custom Seeds

A packet of seeds can make for a thoughtful, eco-friendly gift that only gets better with time. Your guests will head home with a little something special to remember you by and might even discover a fun new hobby. 

High-Heel Protectors

These are a fairly affordable way to go the extra mile for your friends and family and show them that you thought of everything. They protect your guests’ shoes when they wander through the garden, as well as equip them for similar scenarios down the road.

Folding Hand-Fans

A folding hand-fan, or even a paddle fan, can be a sharp pretty accessory and add to everyone’s comfort when things start heating up the sun is coming in strong. While practical for a Miami outdoor wedding, they can also be a lifesaver for those savvy Floridians that keep these fans in their glove box, or a fun prop for photos.