Everyday Wedding advice

One of the benefits of holding weddings in outdoor locations is that you never know who or what might show up. In my area we are fortunate to have numerous outdoor locations for weddings as well as having proximity to mountains and lakes for those who want to have a less structured wedding. Many of those locations come with resident wildlife, adding an extra dimension to the wedding.  Our local botanical garden used to be home to several dens of rock chucks until the bull snakes attacked the young. It is not uncommon to see garter and bull snakes at the garden today and I have seen deer walk through just before a ceremony.

 Wineries and snakes seem to be a given. The winery personnel like bull snakes because they keep the rodent population under control. It can be a bit unnerving, however, when a bull snake winds its way through the seated guests, headed directly for the bride and groom, as one did at one summer wedding. Fortunately, a quick thinking groomsman caught the snake, posed for a picture, then tossed it over the hillside into the nearby apple orchards. When I mentioned it to the bride, she said she saw the snake and it added another memory to their wedding day.

One location, in the city, contains an amphitheater overlooking a man-made lake. The lake is home to ducks, Canada geese, and muskrats. At one wedding, a pair of muskrats chased each other around the wedding party, who were assembled on the platform at the center of the amphitheater, which projects into the water.

Our outdoor Shakespearian theater is home to deer, Canada geese, ducks, and a variety of native birds. We can always count on some type of wildlife joining the festivities.

Mountain weddings take on their own unique character. It is not unusual for the reception site to be visited by bears, raccoons, and other “critters” who are lured by the smell of food, as well as by deer and an occasional coyote or fox.

If you are planning an outdoor wedding in or near the country, don’t be surprised if you are visited by wildlife of some type. It will add to your memories and those of your guests.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Wedding Planning In a Western Setting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.