Wedding Tents

Tips on putting wedding tents up

Wedding tents come in all sizes for all kinds of weddings. You have your little to medium size that will be put up by most who get married at a friends or family member's homes. Mostly these tents will cover a food table and give a little shelter from the weather elements. Or you can have the large wedding tents the kind that turns your backyard or field into a white circus! These tents of course are like a small church and typically have all the chairs for the ceremony under it, the Pastor, and of course the Bride, Groom, Best man, Maid or Honor, flowers, and....well you get the picture. The purpose of this article is to share some common sense tips if you're putting the tents up yourself.

My tips come from many years of Boy Scouts, being married, and attending many weddings.

1. First is really try to get a handle on the time of year and your climate. Most of you will know this but overlook it preparing for everything else. That could lead to a disaster for your wedding day. For instance if you live in Florida and want to have an outdoor wedding or wedding reception you know that typically between 3PM and 8PM thunderstorms pop up. The rains come through hitting the palms sounding like a train and then end abruptly. In selecting a tent you probably won't use a little one similar to one you'd take camping.
2. That leads me to my second point which is Location, Location, and Location. It's everything. Never place your tent at the bottom of a hill. And if you're in a location that receives decent rainfall during the year then it may be worth your investment of time to think about a few of these. Even if it's a little incline it's still a no, no. Be mindful of the drainage if the rain comes. You don't want even a little trickle of water running through the ground under the tent! You could get away with digging a trench around the top side of the wedding tent to divert any water that could move through. Obviously a flat generally level ground is ideal if rain is in the forecast. Side flaps on the tent would be very useful.
3. If the place hosting the wedding is near trees then make sure there are no over hanging branches that are dead. Inspect any tree that's near the tent from top to bottom for potential limbs that could break and come down on the tent during the wedding. In many areas of the country thunderstorms produce what are called straight line winds. These are notoriously mistaken for tornados by the public because of the extensive damage they can do to objects like trees. The difference is a tornado will literally twist the tree where the strait line winds will plow over or uproot and push the tree down. So in an area susceptible to thunderstorms in the spring through early fall be mindful of which way storms would approach from because the winds will be well out in advance of the storm and most of the time the rain.
4. Let’s go back to location, location, and location. Be mindful of creeks and rivers that could rise rapidly in thunderstorm downpours. If you know a particular river or creek has flooded at any time in the past then don't put up a wedding tent near it even if there is a slight chance for a thunderstorm.
5. Use some good ropes and the right knots. The perfect knot for tents wedding or not is called the taught line hitch. It's allows you to adjust the length of the rope without redoing the knot. A quick search or a question to your local Boy Scout would help you here. Make sure when all the lines are tied up and stakes are in the ground that you but noticeable objects on the rope like flowers or bright wedding ribbon to make one aware of the tripping possibilities.
6. Know where the sun will be shining especially if it's an evening wedding. Sunlight in the Brides or Grooms eyes would not be good. In the eyes of your guests would not be a good thing either.
7. Make sure there is a good tall post system pitching that wedding tent like a circus tent! If it rains you want it to runoff and not pool just over the wedding.
8. If there aren't any flaps be mindful of the wind direction for the sole purpose that it's the Brides wedding day. You want the wind to be blowing into her face so the wedding hair and veil don't flop over from behind into her face.

These are just a few tips on how to put up a wedding tent from a meteorological stand point. The Boy Scout Motto works well with weddings in Being Prepared. Everyone wants your day to be perfect and it can be even if the weather doesn't cooperate.