Sometimes something as simple as a backyard can be a gorgeous setting for a wedding and reception although some countries like the United Kingdom restrict marriages to special licensed premises that meet high standards.

Obviously though, outdoor weddings can have drawbacks.  There is always the weather to consider, and what may have been forecasted to be a mild day can turn into a wet day made soggy by rainfall or instead a blazingly hot day which makes all the guests (and you) sticky with sweat and liable to pass out from heat stroke. 

Unless you are fortunate enough to have your outdoor wedding in a location which is infamous for its perfect weather you will always need to have a backup plan.  You might want to consider erecting tents in the event of inclement weather, or instead if you know the day of your wedding is supposed to be unusually hot you may want to look into renting misters for your guests.  In the event of cold weather, you might want to have outdoor heaters on hand for your guests. 

Weather, however, is not the only consideration in an outdoor wedding.  You may want to check to see if the wedding location is under a busy flight path near an airport or instead close to a noisy construction site.  If the area you are getting married in is not necessarily a private location, such as a public beach or park, you may want to either employ some security guards or instead assign some guests to keep an eye out and make sure no boisterous passersby’s stumble into the ceremony and ruin the moment.  It is usually right to plan for the worst but expect the best.

Indoor weddings can be fanastic too.  The outdoors does not have a monopoly on beauty, and there are indeed many places, which are more than suitable for a gorgeous indoor wedding.  Many couples love the idea of getting married in a huge cathedral or chapel while others choose art museums or even old movie theaters as their wedding location. 

Your possibilities are endless if you decide to have a wedding indoor, and you needn’t fret about the weather outside.  Some indoor facilities also feature outdoor areas, which are suitable for photographs, so for many couples it is possible to get the best of both worlds.  There is always the option, too, of having the wedding outdoors and the reception indoors or vice versa. 

Think about the guests you are inviting.  If you and your fiancé have a certain location, which is dear to both of you and you plan on exchanging vows there, then you should first look at the accessibility of the spot.  This is particularly important when your special location is one, which takes some work to get to, such as a point in hiking trails or a cliff of a rocky beach.  If you have several friends and family members who are not able to scale rocks or handle rough terrain in order to get to your special spot, you have a few options.  You can hold the ceremony in your special location yet have the reception at a more accessible location.  You might also opt to keep the ceremony small, quaint, and private instead of inviting guests who wouldn’t be able to make it anyhow. 

Or, as a last resort, you might simply move the wedding ceremony location to a spot which is more accessible to everyone involved and disregard the idea of trading vows in your special location.  You and your fiancé need to decide how important it is to get married in that particular spot, and if it is worth alienating some guests who will not be able to make it. 

For one reason or another many people expect to be able to walk into a religious building, reserve the date, and walk out without so much as putting down a deposit.  You should also know that some religious sites will require you to employ approved staff for the wedding, such as picking from their list for photographers or pianists.  Others still insist upon wedding coordinators, again from the approved list.  Try to find all these things out before signing a contract or putting down a deposit. 

You can’t run the show there.  The thing about church weddings is that these buildings are also used as places of worship, so you and your guests cannot simply run about willy-nilly on your big day.  The church will probably have certain rules regarding what sort of decorations you can put up for the wedding, they may also have regulations about things like flower petals or birdseed outside.  You also need to strictly adhere to any time constraints they put upon you.  You may feel as though your wedding is the most important thing that day, but try telling that to the lady waiting outside to attend Mass, just as she has every day for the last thirty years without fail. 

Of course you and your wedding guests need to treat any place you choose to conduct the wedding in with a certain degree of respect, but when a religious building is used for your ceremony there should also be a degree of reverence on the part of everyone in attendance.  To conduct yourselves in any other manner cheapens the sacred setting and can likely cause a real rift with the congregation leaders of the church. 

Some religions require certain things.  For example, if you aren’t Catholic it is unlikely that you will have a Catholic priest conduct your ceremony in a Catholic church.  Churches aren’t required to open their doors to people for the purposes of weddings, after all, and it is entirely up to them who they will allow to marry within the confines of the church. 

Don’t’ get offended if your dream chapel (with which you have no denominational affiliation) turns you down when you ask to have your wedding ceremony there.  Besides, when it comes right down to it, some religions won’t consider your wedding valid if you don’t meet their criteria so do you really want to get married there anyhow?