A Memory Lane Event and Wedding : Using Venues Open to the Public (Parks, etc.)

Friday, July 11, 2014

Using Venues Open to the Public (Parks, etc.)

Periodically we get requests to do events or weddings in parks, gardens and other public locations.

Although some of the spaces are absolutely beautiful there are some items that you should be aware of when considering these types of venues.

(1) You cannot control those who are not attending your special occasion, but are at the public venue. As a result, you can have a gorgeous wedding picture set up and just as it is captured, a skate boarder, group of bikers or runners can flash through the background or just as you kiss, a rambunctious group of toddlers from the playground can go running through the middle of the ceremony.

(2) There is the noise level from non-attenders. Your guests may not be able to hear all of the vows. Or to solve that problem, you set up a DJ with a sound system and the whole park can now hear your vows. Do you really want the whole park to hear your intimate ceremony?

(3) Be prepared for party crashers. You’ll have them. Why? There’s no walls to curve people from joining in and there is free food and beverages for them to grab.
(4) You can’t control the weather, so it could be hotter than Hades, rainy, super windy or anything else. Make sure that your wedding planner has plans A, B, C, D & E ready to go; its Colorado, you’ll need at least 3 of them at any point during the day.
(5) You may need permits from the city/ county that your ceremony or reception are taking place in. Your wedding planner can assist you with these special occasion permits to use the park as your venue.

Most public places such as parks, do not allow open consumption of alcohol or require a special permit to allow it only for your special occasion. Your wedding planner can assist you with these special alcohol permits.