Choosing between an indoor vs outdoor wedding is not easy because both have distinct benefits and potential drawbacks.
We’re not saying that either one is bad, but one might be better for you depending on what kind of wedding experience you want to have.
For example, maybe you and your spouse are the kind of people who want to be in control of all the variables and have everything be as predictable as possible.
Or maybe you’re both more of the carefree and easygoing type, and you’re not bothered by a little bit of unpredictability.
Whatever the case, when you’re planning your wedding, you’ll want to be honest about your preferences and even your personality type so you can have the best experience possible.
And if you find that you can’t decide between an indoor vs outdoor wedding, remember that hybrid venues with both indoor and outdoor spaces are an option. 🙂
Indoor Pros
Let’s look at indoor weddings first.
The main benefit of indoor weddings is that you can have a much greater amount of control over all the variables and moving parts involved.
Air Conditioning & Heating
You’re not subject to the heat, humidity, cold, and other ambient climate factors as much as you would be with an outdoor wedding.
If your wedding is indoors, you can have full control over the temperature and humidity inside the building… unless there’s a problem with the system… or the electricity.
No Need to Worry About Rain or Other Weather Events
Along with air conditioning, this is the main reason why couples who choose to have an indoor vs outdoor wedding do so.
Nobody wants their wedding to get rained on.
It’s not the end of the world if it happens, but it can be kind of annoying, and a lot of couples just don’t want to even chance it.
Noise control
Unless you have very noisy neighbors or there’s construction going on across the street, you’re probably not going to have much noise that isn’t coming from something inside the building.
Just be sure to protect your hearing and not turn the music up too loud.
Animal & Pest Control
From buzzing insects to annoying ants and pigeons dropping their little evil hate grenades from high up above, there are other living things outside besides humans.
And if you have an indoor vs outdoor wedding, you’re most likely going to interact with them less.
Indoor Cons
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows indoors.
In fact, there probably won’t be any sunshine or rainbows in most cases unless you have very large windows.
Also, rainbows only appear after it rains.
Less Space (Probably)
Unless you’re renting a pretty massive venue, odds are that you’re going to have less space to work with in an indoor vs outdoor wedding venue.
Artificial lighting
This goes with that whole lack of sunshine and rainbows thing.
While you can do a lot in the lighting department to make your indoor venue cool, such as dimmer switches and candles, an indoor venue is ultimately going to be reliant on some form of artificial lighting.
Outdoor Pros
Now, let’s consider outdoor weddings.
There’s a lot to like, and there’s good reason why so many couples choose to go this route.
Natural Lighting
This is especially important for your photography.
When it comes to taking great photos, there simply isn’t any realistic substitute for the natural lighting that the sun, moon, and stars provide for free.
Fresh Air
It can start to feel stuffy inside of a building, especially if you’ve got a lot of guests.
Even if you’re hosting an indoor wedding, you’ll probably still want to step out for a bit at some point to get some fresh air.
More Space (Probably)
Like we mentioned, an outdoor wedding venue will most likely have a lot more space than an indoor venue of comparable price.
This means you’ll have more freedom and more room for error when it comes to arranging and setting everything up.
Outdoor Cons
Just as with indoor weddings, it is quite literally not all sunshine and rainbows.
And as we already said, rainbows only appear after the rain.
You Need a Backup Plan
There’s all kinds of weather stuff outside.
Rain, snow, tornadoes, volcanoes, typhoons, monsoons, and maybe even a chance of meatballs.
So you’ll want to plan a backup in case your wedding experiences any unexpected weather events.
Basically, this just means that your outdoor wedding will become an indoor, semi-indoor, or hybrid wedding.
Less Decorating Needed
You’re already in the great outdoors.
You have to add a lot less to it to make it beautiful than you would if you were trying to beautify a room, which is ultimately just a rectangle with a ceiling.
Permits
Just as it does with most things, the government is here to make your life more complex and probably more stressful without any good reason that you can perceive or understand.
Since you’re going to be organizing a large social event outside, you may need to get a permit or permission from your local government representative to do so.
There Are No Wrong Choices
So, as you can see, there are a lot of different variables that go into determining whether an indoor vs outdoor wedding is right for you.
Regardless of which one you choose, you’re sure to have a great time as long as you plan ahead and account for as much as possible while also accepting that a certain degree of unpredictability will always be unavoidable in any social event or human project.
And don’t lose sight of what your wedding actually is: a ceremony to officiate your marital union and a celebration of the married life that you are both embarking upon together.
The most important thing isn’t actually the color of the tablecloths or whether or not you get a bit of rain; it’s the symbolism of it all and the fact that you’re doing it together.
Have a great wedding and good luck on your new life together! 🎉
