Wedding Wednesday Q&A: How To Handle Wildfires At Your Wedding

Q: I’m planning an outdoor wedding, but I’m nervous about the wildfires. I’m trying to be smart about my decisions to reduce the risk, but if there is a wildfire, what do I do? Is there anything I can do?

This is a great question because wildfires are on everyone’s mind right now. Or at least it’s on everyone’s mind in California.

Climate change is no joke and it definitely affects your wedding and the decisions you make for it.

And wildfires are not something you can predict as we’ve seen from years past.

So I completely understand your worry and concern.

First off, it’s great that you’re thinking about your decisions and trying to be smart. Because the more you can avoid risk and protect your wedding, the better.

It’s just like with COVID, if you can make smart decisions upfront, it will only help you down the road if the situation should change.

But if a wildfire (or wildfires) are happening during your wedding, there are a few things you can do and unfortunately a lot you can’t do.

The best way to think about wildfires is that they’re like a hurricane or any natural disaster.

Because that’s what a wildfire is really. It’s not something you can control.

If a fire is ripping through the area, you have no choice but to postpone or cancel. Just like if a hurricane was barreling down on you.

But depending on the situation there are some things you can do.

So let’s say you’re not at danger of having to evacuate because the wildfires aren’t close. But, they’re close enough that there is smoke.

You don’t want to put yourselves or your guests at risk of breathing that stuff in.

So, you have 3 options:

Option #1: You move the wedding to an indoor venue

This allows you to still be in the area you want to be, but just at a different venue or in a different space at the venue.

Option #2: You move the wedding to a different outdoor venue

You’d have to move to an outdoor venue that isn’t at risk of smoke which means you’d need to pick a different location. But this still allows you to have an outdoor wedding.

And of course there is…

Option #3: You postpone or cancel

If you love your venue and your location and don’t want to get married anywhere else, this is your option.

Now none of the options are easy or fun to do, but depending on your situation and your wedding, option 1 or 2 could be possible.

So you might be feeling a little depressed right now and I get it.

But, I have some good news!

There is one upside of wildfires vs. other natural disasters.

In many cases, the wildfire(s) would start before your wedding. Which means you can track it and see how it’s progressing before you make a call.

It’s not like a sudden hurricane where you maybe have a week to prepare. While obviously wildfires do start suddenly, wildfires can be raging for a month or two even.

And in many cases, you can see what the progress is and how the smoke has been before you make a decision.

Which means you have some time.

Time to make a decision, time to change your plans, time to get adjusted to the idea.

And this just makes the whole situation a little easier to deal with.

So while wildfires at your wedding aren’t fun and can be difficult to plan for, there are options if you find yourself having to think about wildfire smoke.

And if it’s an actual fire coming towards your wedding, well then it’s out of your hands.

All you can do is make the best decisions you can and then roll with it when the time comes.

But don’t forget that we can help!

You don’t have to go through the planning of your wedding alone.

Having a wedding planner to help you through a wildfire or any disaster for that matter, is priceless. Not to mention helping you to make the right decisions for you from the start.

Don’t go it alone. Contact us today to setup a free consultation.