Donovan Pavilion, Colorado

When considering the location of your wedding, you will no doubt come face to face with the ultimate decision: indoor or outdoors?

And while the weather is a key factor in your decision, there are other things to consider as well.

Take a look at some of the PROS and CONS of indoor and outdoor weddings.

Indoor Weddings: The Good, the Bad and the Unfilmable

Pros:

• Weather - Rain, hale or shine, your big day will be protected from the worst that Mother Nature can conjure.
• Privacy - Whether you are subject to the unwanted attention of the paparazzi or drunken picnickers, being indoors always allows you to draw the curtains.
• Noise - Both the roar of passing ambulances and the warbling of your wedding singer can be contained by sturdy sound-proofing.

Cons:

• Atmosphere - Often the reception room can feel a bit stark and uninviting - especially if it is also used for Bingo and Board meetings.
• Individuality - As with the lack of atmosphere, it can be a challenge to create a personalised feel in a space that hosts a wedding a week.

Outdoor Weddings: The Good, the Bad and the Unfilmable

Pros:

• Setting - You can make the most of your city’s natural assets, hosting your wedding in picture-perfect surroundings.
• Cost - From your backyard to a marquee by the river, you can often control the costs more effectively when you are not paying a large venue fee.
• Space - Your wedding can be as extravagant or all-inclusive as you wish when you host it in the local park.

Cons:

• Acoustics - Your soprano’s sweet songs may be blown away at an outdoor event, not to mention our minister’s mumblings.
• Construction - Scope out your venue in advance to avoid jack-hammers and jeering bricklayers.
• Flora and Fauna - Consider insect invasions (river mosquitoes and pollen-hungry bees) in search of delicious table arrangements and uncovered arms.

The wedding waltz… the first dance as husband and wife…

Wedding Dance professionals, Art and Bonnie, from(www.dancingwithartandbonnie.com) wax lyrically about the wedding waltz:

The song or lyrics of a song that really occur or define the moment when a couple KNOWS they have fallen deeply in love define your first dance. Think of your song as a musical and emotional photograph that fulfills the time, place, and circumstance of the realization of your love. When you hear this song you can think of nothing else but spending the rest of your life’s dreams, hopes, & wishes with that special person…

I’m not sure that their view of the traditional wedding waltz is reflected in the following three videos however:

On a more serious note, the following suggestions, courtesy of Art and Bonnie, are designed to help you make these moments as meaningful and memorable as possible:

1. Learn to dance no later than 6 months prior to your wedding date. You don’t want to do this at the, “panic stage,” or last minute.
2. Select a song that you love with a good dance tempo. Foxtrot & Waltz are your best bet particularly if your using the Quickstart program. Slow ballads are beautiful but too slow for either Foxtrot or Waltz which makes it very difficult for beginners. If you have chosen a Slow Ballad there is a popular dance form known as Slow Dancing that you may want to investigate.
3. You must be willing to practice often but in short increments. (5-10 minutes 2-3 times a week)
4. Try not to make your 1st Dance at the Wedding the first time you are dancing in public. You must get out on a social dance floor and “swim with the sharks.”
5. Be kind, understanding, and forgiving to each other and yourself when learning to dance together. It isn’t easy and it will be a good test of your patience and cooperative skills as a couple. After all you’ll have to do things together, not unlike this, the rest of your lives.