planning a Atlanta Wedding

What To Know First

• Both people must appear in person at the Fulton County Probate Court with current ID to get a marriage license, and the license does not expire. Source.
• If neither person lives in Georgia, the license must come from the county where the ceremony happens. Source.
• The Fulton County license fee is $68.50, or $28.50 with a certificate from a qualified premarital education program. Source.
• Georgia no longer requires premarital blood tests. Source.

How I Would Pick The Time

Set the ceremony from the sunset, not the other way around. Portraits start about an hour before it, and twenty minutes right at sunset is worth more than an hour at noon.

Picking The Season

Spring and fall are the months most couples ask for when they want to be outside in Atlanta, and they fill first at the garden and lakeside venues. Summer days are long and warm, so plan shade for the ceremony and water for the guests. Winter is quiet and often cheaper, and several venues here publish lower winter rates.

Rain Is A Plan, Not A Surprise

Every outdoor venue should name its backup before you sign. Some move the ceremony to an indoor hall, some to a covered pavilion, and some ask you to rent a tent. Several also set a deadline for the call, often the day before. Read the rule, put the date in your calendar, and send it to me so the backup photographs are planned too.

Heat, Bugs And Shoes

On a hot day, keep the ceremony short and late in the afternoon, set the chairs in shade if the site has it, and put water at the entrance. Lawns are soft after rain, so ask about flooring for the dance area and tell the wedding party about heels. A small basket of bug spray near the bar is never wasted.

A Sample Day, Built From The Sunset

• Getting ready in a room with a big window, about five hours before sunset.
• A first look in open shade, about three hours before sunset.
• Family and wedding party photographs right after, out of direct sun.
• The ceremony about ninety minutes before sunset.
• Cocktail hour, while I take the two of you out for golden hour.
• Dinner and toasts, then ten minutes outside at blue hour.

Move every line together if your venue fixes the ceremony time, and keep the golden hour portraits. They are the photographs couples frame.

Questions For Every Outdoor Tour

• Where does the ceremony go if it rains, and when do we make the call?
• Is the outdoor space ours alone, or open to the public that day?
• What time does outdoor music have to stop?
• Are chairs, tents and lawn flooring included, or rented?
• Where is the shade at the time of our ceremony?