There is something about spring that promotes vibrancy and charm, and add in spring flowers, like tulips, lilacs, and peonies, and the soft, elegant colors they provoke and you have the foundation for what is so appealing about a spring wedding. Spring though, can also carry with it unpredictable weather, especially in a climate like Minnesota. So, let’s take a look at how to plan a spring wedding that maximizes the charm and elegance of the season without getting derailed by weather and logistics.

Spring Weddings: Beautiful Yet A Little Unpredictable

If you are planning a spring wedding in the Twin Cities, then you also know that a Minnesota spring can bring unpredictable weather along with its beauty. If you are looking to sidestep weather-related stress, keep guest logistic problems to a minimum, and avoid any ugly last-minute improvisation, then wrapping that unpredictability into your planning, especially in your choice of venue can go a long way.

If you are planning a spring wedding, the season offers many pluses. It brings with it fresh seasonal energy and a sense of renewal that can be perfect for celebrating your new life together. This feeling of renewal can be especially joyous in Minnesota after a long, cold and relatively dark winter. Your guests will be primed for a celebration simply from the seasonal mood lift felt by most with the arrival of a Minnesota spring.

Spring can also have better venue availability than during the peak summer weekend timeframe. This can also sometimes translate into better pricing options. Natural settings with blooming flowers and soft greenery and perfect golden hour lighting can also be a big plus for photos and easy, affordable décor choices.

In the Twin Cities, though, Spring weather can also bring unseasonably cold or unseasonably hot temperatures, sometimes within only days of each other. It can also bring excessive rain, and yes, sometimes even snow. This reality is why spring wedding planning needs to include weather and logistics.

Besides weather, spring is also a busy season for many people, including Easter, Passover, Eid and other significant religious holidays as well as Memorial Day, various spring breaks, and other end of the school year events. This can make competing for dates at wedding venues more difficult, which also points to planning ahead.

A Perfect Place to Start: Your Venue

You may have the look of your wedding, complete with flowers, colors, and décor worked out in your head, but until you have a venue, you will be trying to execute that vision without a foundation. Every choice you make about your wedding, from how guests will transition from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner to dancing and beyond will be dictated by the layout and function of your space.

Your choice of venue will also significantly shape your budget and is often the largest line item from which other line items flow, like included costs such as linens, tables, catering, and also how other vendors, such as florists, photographers, music, catering, and bar service, will interact with the venue. How you book these other venues will be heavily influenced by your choice of venue. Choose your venue first and your other choices will have a place to live and turn into a reality.

If you are planning some or all of your wedding to take place out of doors, then your choice of spring wedding venue will need to also include a weather contingent plan.

Spring wedding venue tips include:

• Tour the space in the season you will be having your wedding
• If an outdoor area is incorporated, know what it looks like near your wedding date (i.e. What is in bloom? Are the trees bare?)
• Find out what the natural lighting looks like at the time of day your wedding will take place
• Ask detailed questions about backup or weather contingent spaces and make sure to tour them

The Lumber Exchange offers a Springtime wedding venue in Minneapolis that can take advantage of the beauty of the season while also offering your guests comfort and style.

Build a Weather Backup Plan

The main reason to have a spring wedding weather backup plan is that you cover for unpredictability before you need it. It may feel like you are planning for something that may never happen, but it is always best to be prepared in case it does. April snow does occasionally happen in Minnesota, even enough to be measured in inches. On the other hand, so does 85 and humid.

If you are planning an outdoor wedding ceremony for your spring wedding, having an indoor ceremony backup plan will put you at ease so you are not checking weather forecasts while you should be enjoying the buildup to your big day with family and friends.

If you are having a church wedding and then transitioning to your venue for your reception, you will want a wedding venue rain plan (or other possible inclement weather possibilities) in place to cover the transition flow for yourself and your guests that includes protection from the elements. This may mean having umbrellas or rain gear available for easy use.

A Note on Photography

Even if you are booking an indoor venue, you may want to take some of your pictures out of doors. Maybe you have a spring flower garden or nearby park in mind to capture the look and feel of your wedding day. But, if it is suddenly cold and rainy when your day arrives, you will want to have an indoor location in place as a backup. Think through an indoor option ahead of time that will provoke the same feeling, so you can still capture the look you want.

Your Guests Comfort: What to Plan from the Start

Remember that you are hosting your wedding guests and you need to plan for their comfort from the start. As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers, so your rainy wedding day planning needs to consider the comfort of your guests. Some spring wedding guest comfort tips include:

• A place to transition from outdoor footwear to indoor footwear
• A coat and umbrella check
• Arrival flow and mobility in inclement weather
• Parking and accessibility
• Proximity to nearby hotels

As a downtown Minneapolis wedding venue, the Lumber Exchange is easily accessible from many nearby hotels along with convenient parking and ADA accessibility.

Food, Drinks, and Timing: What to Think Through

What you serve your guests and the timing and flow of that service is a large part of your wedding hospitality. Being a good host for your guests means thinking through your food and drinks, and their timing.

Custom Menus and Dietary Needs

Before you choose your menu, know what dietary needs your guests may have by including a specific space on your RSVP for this communication. This can include serious allergies, intolerances, cultural restrictions, or specific preferences.

Try to plan your menu to be inclusive of your guests’ needs and not just an accommodation or a completely separate meal that singles out these differences. This will require working with your caterer to come up with menu options that can be easily modified to accommodate dietary needs without having to create a completely separate dish or preparation. Also, for cocktail hour appetizers try to have at least half of them prepared with dietary needs in mind as many traditional appetizers contain several allergy or intolerant heavy ingredients.

If you are having a buffet style meal, make sure all dishes are clearly marked with ingredients, so guests can easily know what to choose according to their needs and preferences. It is a mark of good hospitality.

Read More: Spring Wedding Favor Ideas

Cocktail Hour Flow

Your cocktail hour is your celebration kick-off and can set the tone for the rest of your reception. A good cocktail hour flow signals high hospitality and is felt by your guests and can easily elevate their experience from the get-go.

To ensure a good cocktail hour flow:

• Pace appetizers strategically to encourage ease of movement and conversation
• Anchor your food cocktail hour service with a table of appetizers and not only those passed by servers to encourage equitable food distribution
• Plan for your guests to be hungry and in need of about 5 to 7 appetizer bites each
• Balance the space for mingling, clustering, and movement so guests do not feel too spread out or too crowded
• Have enough bar service stations to accommodate for the size of your guest list. No one wants to spend the whole cocktail hour in a line waiting to get a drink.
• Don’t forget about music, which can help set the tone and atmosphere for your celebration
• Try to be present and available to your guests for at least half of your cocktail hour

Seasonal Comfort

Temperatures can swing wildly at this time of the year, especially in Minnesota. Think through your guests’ comfort whichever end of the temperature spectrum the weather may swing. This may include wraps, heaters, fans, umbrellas, or shade. Make sure to also communicate to your guests beforehand what to expect. For example, if you are planning to have some of your wedding outside at this time of the year, your guests will need to know so they can prepare accordingly.

The Lumber Exchange offers wedding planning support and in-house food and bar service to help make your guests comfort a priority.

Why Spring Wedding Planning Matters

Before You Book: Questions to Ask

Your spring wedding checklist should incorporate what to ask a wedding venue before booking.

A practical list of questions include:

• Logistics such as date availability, hours included, and if other events or bookings are happening at the same time or on the same day
• Setup and breakdown timeframes and procedures
• Maximum and minimum guest counts
• Time restrictions on music playing
• Rental costs, extra fees, overtime charges, deposit amounts, and payment schedule
• Cancellation or rescheduling policies
• Time of day, day of week, or other variables that may affect price
• What the grounds or gardens look like in specific spring months and if any photos are available showing the space at that time
• What do any outdoor spaces look like after a rain, especially the ground and drainage
• Any seasonal restrictions on access to outdoor spaces and the availability of fans or heaters with unpredictable weather
• What are weather related backup plans and when are those decisions made
• Does using the backup space include added costs
• What is included in the price, such as furniture, linens, or dinnerware
• AV equipment is available and it involves extra costs
• Vendor, catering, and bar service set up and logistics
• Vendor load-in and load-out procedures and timing

Before You Book: FAQs to Ask

Spring Wedding Ideas: Minneapolis

The best way to keep your spring wedding elegant even when the forecast changes is to plan ahead. If you only have a backup idea and not a backup plan, then the stress of having to use your backup idea can feel overwhelming and even disappointing. But, if you have a real backup plan with details that reflects the vision you have of your wedding, then the weather forecast, which you cannot control, will not change your actual wedding celebration. Spring offers so many pluses for a wedding that can be maximized with planning instead of minimized.

There is a reason spring weddings are popular. They offer charm, elegance, and beauty along with that seasonal feeling of starting something new. What a great time to start your new life together. By knowing how to plan a spring wedding or summer wedding, despite its unpredictable weather, you can have confidence that your day will unfold just as you have dreamed it would.