Ashley and Jared were married on February 21st at Jared’s family’s home in Texas. There were about 30 guests in attendance. On April 25th, they had their “West Coast” reception, with just a few more friends and family members. (A few = 250 in this case!) However, the day did not start off like a wedding day should. It was cold, rainy, and windy. As they set up the beautiful reception area on the tennis court of her parents’ home, they had to scramble to dry off seats, reset centerpieces that blew over, and keep the dance floor covered so it would not ice over. However, wedding luck was with Ashley and Jared, because as their guests arrived and started to occupy the reception area, the rain stopped, the wind died down, and the heat lamps kept everyone warm.
Did the inclement weather slow the party down? Not a chance! 250 guests quickly ran out to the dance floor and partied all night. As the party crept toward the end time of 11pm, I started to get worried that their neighbors would start complaining about the noise. They assured me this would not happen, because they thought ahead and invited all the surrounding neighbors. With that, we went into overtime. The guests kept dancing, and we ended the night with a huge bang. I would have understood if most of the guests left early because of the cold and wet weather, but on this night, I proved that great entertainment (and a great open bar) can trump bad weather. At least 200 guests stayed and danced until the last song. (And many stayed even later for the after party!)
When planning a wedding, especially an outdoor wedding in Southern California, many couples assume that the weather will always be pleasant and dry. While this is the case 9 times out of 10, once in a while, you need to have a rain plan. Even if it doesn’t rain, there are still wind and cold temperatures that need to be taken into consideration. While Ashley and Jared opted not to tent the tennis court, they did have plenty of help on hand to dry off the tables and chairs. They rented plenty of heat lamps to combat the cold, and they even had a couple of extra servers to reset and put right anything that blew over in the wind. It was because of this prior planning that a rained-out wedding reception was avoided.
Dave’s recommended vendors for this wedding are:
- Will Utley Photography – mrwillutly@gmail.com – 323-573-2245
- Canyon Catering (Bar & Food) – canyoncatering.net
