Weather causes panic when it comes to event planning because bad weather can destroy a celebration. No one wants to attend a celebration ruined by rain or sweaty celebrations as guests suffer through unseasonable weather. The issue of planning for the weather is that forecast only help you so far, and even then, selecting a date can still throw up surprises. Instead of keeping their fingers crossed, clever planners make contingency plans for the weather.
Are You Aware of What Weather You Might Face?
Depending on where you live and when you are planning your event, weather conditions can create different challenges for summer, winter, spring or autumnal events. Summer events may have to contend with heatwaves and thunderstorms. Winter events may have to deal with frostbite and early dusk. Although spring and autumn seem like the perfect times, they may hit you with all sorts of unseasonal conditions.
To ensure that you know what conditions you might realistically expect around the time of your event, do a little honest evaluation before you get too caught up in daydreaming fairy-tale figures. You need to check past records to see what the expected conditions were for the area where you plan to celebrate. Weddings held in backyards in February might sound like an amazing idea until reality hits and people start freezing to death. Corporate functions held in garden venues during summer might be horrible if you do not have solutions for shade.
Selecting The Venue Makes Everything Else Easy
Selecting the perfect venue can significantly reduce the impact of weather on your event planning schedule. Most venues are safe from the effects of weather if they are indoors. However, these locations often feel different and come with a considerably higher price tag. While several gardens are exposed to the elements, several venues also offer semi-outdoor options.
A reputable Perth marquee hire company can assist you in hiring a covered but open area to host events that offer the best balance between being safe from the elements and having a lovely outdoor vibe. Marquee hire companies offer temporary structures and setups that can be adapted to suit the weather conditions you are expecting.
Backup Plans That Work
Having a backup plan is not the same as making a backup plan that works. Too often, planners approach the concept of having a backup plan as a meeting with someone where they say they have a backup plan, and they vaguely explore what it might be without thinking about it. Then when the bad weather forces them to put it into action, they must scramble to put something functional together.
A backup plan that works will already be in place instead of being hurriedly cobbled together because of last-minute changes caused by the weather. Backup plans take time to cultivate and create some measure of flexibility when it comes to the issue of backup plans. Planners should be specific when making a backup plan, and ensure that everyone on their team working at the event knows what they are supposed to do, who is supposed to do what, and how their position will change if something needs to be done.
Controlling Temperature Rather Than Hoping It Will Be Nice
Guest comfort is a major issue that arises from outside temperatures, creating another element planners must plan for. Hoping that the weather will be nice and seasonal at the time of the event is not an active solution to give guests comfort. Every event planner must have several methods to control guest temperature and comfort levels instead of passively expecting the weather to be nice.
In case of an outdoor event where it is expected that the weather will be warm, consider investing in or organizing cooling solutions, such as canopies, misters, fans, air conditioners, etc. If temperatures are expected to be cool, backup plans for heating solutions should be part of your planning ideas. Investing in misters or heaters will pay you back tenfold when people are comfortable at your event because they don’t have to deal with discomfort caused by temperature levels.
Flexibility Around Timing (If You Can)
Some events may require flexible timing when it comes to the seasonally weather-adjusted schedule surrounding your event. Sometimes your timing may not be fluid, like booked reception venues or farmers that supply food items for your creations. However, there are other areas in your life where timers can be flexible.
Outdoor ceremonies and receptions can often be adjusted (advanced, delayed, or postponed) depending on the conditions that are predicted for your special day. Similarly, garden receptions may need quick adjustments in timing as they must be protected from windy conditions. If this change is needed, it is vital to communicate with all your staff.
Weather-Related Communication With Guests
Communication becomes important when there is a weather-related adjustment that must be made around the time of your event. Keeping guests up to date with what is happening is crucial, and they may have to make adjustments when it comes to their attendance at the event.
Your vendors will also need timely communication around set-up adjustments and times if the ceremony is the type that can be separated from the reception, or if it requires different timing adjustments.
What Is Actually Covered by Weather Insurance?
Weather insurance sounds like a great idea to ensure that your event is not ruined by bad weather. Unfortunately, actual weather insurance policies are very specific about what conditions the weather must present before they will offer coverage. Rainstorms must often occur at specific levels, with specific amounts of rain and specific wind speeds. “It was kind of rainy and gross” does not mean coverage from this form of planning.
Coverage can be particularly useful when something goes wrong and extra costs are incurred. Knowing what is specifically covered means there will be no nasty surprises. Different policies cover different things: some only cover cancellation costs but not postponement costs and still others have exclusions that your planner did not know about when they signed on.
Include Weather In Your Event Planning Philosophy
Instead of creating a problem for your event, plan it around the weather from the beginning. Build elements into your celebration that embrace bad weather rather than eliminating it completely (even if it creates bad hair days).
Planned adaptations make you look like the pro you are and add something positive to the day instead of taking away from it. A gorgeous marquee doesn’t feel like a backup plan; it feels like an elegant solution to a temporary problem potentially created by Mother Nature herself.
Planning for potentially rough weather does not mean expecting terrible weather and asking your guests to manage discomfort in several ways before they get to your buffet and dancing events. Proper planning around events has always been about ensuring that your attendees succeed regardless of what meteorological wonders arrive at your doorstep on the day of their fancy footwear adventures.
