Planning the Perfect Wedding, No Matter the Weather

With a little creativity, you can have a beautiful celebration in any season.

We’re in the thick of wedding season, and June ceremonies are busting out all over. But you can expect a beautiful day whether you’re planning an outdoor, summer celebration or a wedding for another season — yes, even in Pittsburgh.

Summer

Rachel White and Andrew Derr
July 26, 2014
Photos by Autumn Stankay; SkySight Photography
 

Rachel White and Andrew Derr’s wedding was an elegant event at a country resort perfect for summer. Rachel carried a parasol and Andrew pushed her on a swing during photos at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, where the couple held their wedding and reception.

Rachel says they wanted their nuptials to be in July so they could benefit from everything the warmest season has to offer: beautiful plants on the resort grounds and plenty of swimming and golfing opportunities for their guests.
 

She also noted Bedford Springs has an outdoor wedding grotto featuring a spring-fed waterfall — something they wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of in another season.
 

Fall

Emilie Rendulic
 and Michael O'Leary
Nov. 8, 2014
Photos by Aaron Varga Photography
 

It’s sometimes easier (and less expensive) to book vendors off-season, so Emilie Rendulic and Michael O’Leary looked to November for their wedding day.

“Pittsburgh truly is beautiful [in] anytime of year. You just have to explore your options and keep an open mind,” she says.
 

To help her attendants weather potentially bad conditions during outdoor pictures, Emilie purchased ivory-colored wraps for her bridesmaids as a thank-you gift.

“I wanted to give them something that could be used/wearable for that day, especially since it can be chilly in November, but also something that could be worn again after the wedding,” she says.
 

Winter

Kathleen Martin and Peter Brunetto
Feb. 14, 2015
Photos by Matt Gaydos Photography
 

Kathleen Martin and Peter Brunetto also say that choosing an off-season wedding date appealed to them for several reasons.

“Many vendors were happy for the work and offered great discounts,” Kathleen says. “We were able to have an elegant event without the price tag or the fight for the perfect vendors.”
 

But Kathleen also says she was eager to marry during a frosty time of year.

“I grew up basically in the snow, everything from snow angels to snowmobiling,” she says. “Then I saw a photo on Pinterest of a bride in a red coat in a winter scene that I just fell in love with, and I happened to already own a red coat that I wear every winter. Then Valentine's Day conveniently fell on a Saturday this year and still came with all the same discounts as every other winter Saturday, so we thought it was too perfect to pass up!”
 

Spring

Sarah Cruikshank 
and Greg Jasiota
April 25, 2015
Photos by Leeann Marie Photography
 

Nothing says a wedding quite like brightly colored flowers and pastel bridesmaid dresses. Sarah Cruikshank and Greg Jasiota chose their April date because it’s the anniversary of the first day they met — “love at first sight,” Sarah calls it.

“No other dates were in the running, even though we knew Pittsburgh in April can be dicey,” she says.
 

The date also was significant because Sarah is a landscape designer, and “flowers are my thing,” she says.

“Also, as a little girl, I always dreamed of having a spring wedding,” she says. “Something about a bride and all the flowering trees — it is just magical.”