So, you want to get married at a music festival? That’s awesome! If you and your fiance are both ravers, celebrating your love at a music festival is almost a no-brainer. Hey, it might even be where you guys met! This article will walk you through preparing for your festival wedding and give you a few suggestions of popular festivals across the United States.
Planning Your Festival Wedding
Obviously a festival location isn’t a wedding venue. This means that unless you’ve chosen a friend or hired out the wedding planning, a lot of the wedding planning is on you as the couple. Some things you’ll need to think about is how you want to organize the food and drinks. Whether you want a dress code, and how many people are easy to organize are also decisions you’ll need to make. There’s a couple things we’d recommend here.
First of all, keep it simple. Save some money and provide your own food! Rather than planning a ten course meal, we recommend bringing something like sandwiches and veggie platters. Don’t forget serving ware and utensils that are easy to pack and clean. It’s not going to be a five-star restaurant experience but that’s not what this is about. That being said, if done tastefully, your festival food could beat a full on catering service.
You’ll also only want to invite a manageable number of wedding guests. We suggest keeping it between ten and twenty people. Any more than that and it could be a little overwhelming. If you keep it small, you’ll be able to provide for everyone’s needs a lot better and it’s just a whole lot easier to organize.
It’s also a good idea to give your guests a clear expectation of what the wedding will be like. Write a clear description in your wedding invitation of what you envision. Include things like dress code expectations. Explain clearly how the ceremony will take place. Most importantly, be clear about what you expect guests to bring themselves (tents, drinks etc…)
Have a Backup Plan
Maybe the officiant comes down with the flu, there’s a massive thunderstorm during the ceremony, or the festival gets cancelled altogether! It’s disappointing to even imagine these things happening, but it’s important to have a backup plan in case they do. Have a friend get ordained online and be available as the backup officiant. The main thing is that you just roll with it and enjoy the ride. It’s a festival so things could get weird and wild.
Keep it Legal!
We get it. Half the reason you’re at a festival is to get away from the paper pushing and other frustrations of modern society. But even though you’re getting married at a festival, you still need to take care of the details and keep the marriage legal. This means getting a marriage license, finding an officiant, and having witnesses, (if it’s required in your state).
Timing the Ceremony
There’s a lot going on at a festival so have a solid game plan about where and when the wedding will take place. The best time for the ceremony is probably early on in the festival. Maybe it’s even one of the first events on the agenda! Not only will it be easier to organize your friends, it will leave the rest of the time open to celebrating however you want.
If you can’t have the ceremony at the beginning or you just choose to have it in the middle of the festival madness, give your guests and friends clear instructions about the exact time and location. It’s best to make sure your closest friends are also happy with the time you choose, so that their favorite band doesn’t happen to be playing at the same time as the wedding ceremony.
Bracelet Ceremony
A popular activity at festivals is the simple exchange of bracelets. You could incorporate a cute little bracelet swap into the ceremony. If you are familiar with PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) why not include this fun little ritual into the wedding as well. Here’s a link to a Youtube tutorial on how to do a “candy exchange” or “festival handshake”
Top 6 Festivals for Your Wedding
- Burning Man: This one is probably one of the most famous festivals world wide. If you’re looking for an experience that might change your life and would definitely make for an interesting wedding, Burning Man is the place to be. This annual event takes place in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada and is known for its radical self-expression, community, and art. Also, folks say that coming here with your partner is the best test of a relationship so if you’re planning on getting married here, you better be sure about it.
- Coachella: Coachella is one of the most popular music festivals in the world. It takes place in Indio, California, and features a lineup of top-notch bands and artists. Hey, if you can still get tickets and your fiancé are big hip hop and EDM fans, this is the place to tie the knot.
- Bonnaroo: Bonnaroo– which, by the way, means “really good time” in Creole, is another festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Here you’ll get a linup of all your favorite artists and you’ll be able to discover up and coming artists. Fun fact: you can bring your own booze to the festival. There’s a limited amount you can bring but it should be enough to get you through those wedding jitters.
- Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC): EDC is one of the biggest electronic music festivals that takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you’re not familiar with this experience get ready for an epic few days of celebration. It’s the one of the best places in the world to celebrate love, art, and music, so if you’re planning to get married here, that’s just an extra bonus.
- Red Rocks Amphitheater: Red Rocks Amphitheater is a great option too. Here you have a bunch of different events and festivals where you could tie the knot. The massive sandstone formations are the perfect background photo for your Red Rocks Wedding and there’s nothing more romantic than sharing your “I do’s” in this musical paradise. Here you can look at the different events for Red Rocks Ampitheater.
- Lollapalooza: Lollapalooza is a music festival that takes place in Chicago, Illinois. Grant Park is a beautiful wedding location, with views of Lake Michigan and the famous Chicago skyline. You’ll have a choice of over 170 world famous artists to choose from for your first dance. It might not be a slow waltz, but that’s probably not what you’re here for.
These are just a few of the many great festivals where you can get married. However, if you just like the idea of a festival wedding but nothing really fits your tastes, consider having a festival themed wedding at home! Get your guests to wear fun, colorful outfits. You can decorate your porch or backyard with festival lights and props. Maybe even ask your wedding officiant to write a festival themed wedding ceremony script! You can bring EDC to your backyard if you want 🙂 Good luck out there!
-Bernard Paul