When planning for a Lavender on the Lake wedding, it is a good idea to offer advice to your guests to add to their experience here.
1 It is a good idea to consider finding a wedding venue that has both indoor and outdoor options. The flexibility to move your ceremony or reception inside is necessary as we experienced for the first time last week. Here at Lavender on the Lake, we were able to have our guests comfortably wait inside the building so that a little rain could pass. Our bride really wanted an outdoor wedding and the radar showed that we would be able to provide that for her. However, once the guests were seated, a strange misty rain started and our bride made the call to move it to indoor ceremony. Here is a photo that was taken during the transition. The guests were INCREDIBLE and picked up their chairs and helped us to push the tables back, pull the curtains and have a lovely imperfectly, perfect wedding for our couple. I personally love looking at this pic to see the smile on our bride’s brother’s face during this time.
Photo Credit | 28 North Photography
With all hands on deck the wedding was absolutely beautiful and I get teary just thinking about how the guests all pitched in; the love in this place was truly something you could feel. If you want to read more as to why couples are choosing Lavender on the Lake, click here.
Photo Credit || 28 North Photography
2 Provide clear directions for your guests. Our farm venue is located right off of the turnpike and seems like an easy and direct route. However, guests oftentimes feel anxious because they have most likely not been to the venue previously, and the fear of running late for a wedding is a very real thing for a guest. Perhaps you may want to include a little map that shows guests where to park so that they are aware of the property layout. Ask your venue if they have one; we do!
3 Share the parking details with your guests. We are a seasonal fresh cut flower farm with lots of rows in front of the building, and our guest parking is in the field and requires a little walk to the building. It may be a good idea to let you guests know in case they would like to wear a pair of flip flops or more comfortable shoes with their fancier shoes to change into once they have made the walk to the building. You can see a little bit of the front walkway to see what it looks like at this point. We also offer for guests with handicaps or difficulties to be dropped off closer to the building and therefore this is helpful information for our guests to know this.
Photo Credit || The Deans Photography
4 Provide transportation for your guests. We love it when our couples offer transportation for their guests to not only ensure a safe ride home, but to create a group experience coming to and from the wedding. We do have a turnaround spot for the larger buses and find this to be a nice thing to offer for guests.
5 Prepare for the Florida wildlife; this includes bugs. Regardless of an outdoor or indoor ceremony and reception, it is helpful to provide insect repellent wipes for your guests. Our venue also has insect repellent on site in addition to spraying the grounds to the best of our ability. We also have installed bat houses on our property who eat those pesky mosquitos. You will also notice that we have a lot of dragonflies who love to snack on mosquitoes; we have planted Black Eyed Susan’s throughout the property to encourage the dragonflies to stick around.
6 Offer umbrellas or sunscreen to your guests. Most of us who live in Florida are used to applying sunscreen daily, however every once in a while, we may forget or need a fresh layer of sunscreen. It’s a great idea to have sunscreen for your guests, and even cuter, offer sun umbrellas so that they can shield themselves from the direct heat.
Photo Credit | The Deans Photography
A few of our weddings here have had cute little umbrellas which also made for an adorable prop for these bridesmaids.
7 Provide water, lemonade or tea for your guests prior to ceremony. It can be super humid and hot here, so we love the idea of having non-alcoholic libations at our outdoor cocktail space prior to ceremony so that guests can stay hydrated. Here at Lavender we are creating a beautiful outdoor cocktail space that is used to gather pre ceremony and post ceremony for cocktails.
8 Encourage guests to walk down to the dock for sunset, but let them know that they may want a change of shoes and/or at a minimum to be extra mindful of the fire ants. If you live in Florida— or if you don’t but have had the pleasure- note the intense sarcasm here- of having a red ant experience here— you know exactly what a red ant pile looks like and how to avoid it. The walk is a fun one down to the water, but is grass and has some uneven terrain, therefore a little suggestion prior to the wedding may be helpful for those who are bit less spotaneous.
Photo Credit || Kirnos Photography
9 Specifically to our venue, I suggest that you let your guests know to bring a sweater or a wrap in case they get chilled in the air conditioned reception space. Jason keeps this place cold; if you are dancing and partying it up, you will be comfortable, but for those of us sitting and sipping- let’s be honest, that is NOT me during the weddings and I am still cold with all of my running round- it can be quite a cool experience.
10 Share all the details in one location. Create a special website and/or a lovely paper to slip into the invitation that shares the above mentioned pieces about our farm that make us unique. You can share detailed information that is specific to the venue that could include the attire, any unique features and/or instructions so that your guests can feel prepared to enjoy the day to the fullest. If you are planning a wedding you can look here for more ideas.
Thank you very much for taking some time to read my blog. I have made friends with so many local venue owners and find that small businesses offer a unique and special experience. If you are new here, you will see that I always feature 5 locally owned venues with each blog in support of small business.
XO
Shelley
