Nina Callaway, Wedding Guide At About.com Provides These Great Outdoor Tips For Your Outdoor Gay Unity Celebration!

• Make your guests comfortable Think about what the weather will likely be at the time of day and month of the year of your outdoor wedding. Sunny and hot? Don't leave your guests uncomfortably melting – have your ushers give guests ice-cold bottles of water as they are seated. Consider printing your wedding program on a fan so that guests may cool themselves. Don't forget to have plenty of sunscreen on hand as well. For a very warm location, look into renting large electric fans (don't forget a generator) and/or a tent to shade the suns rays. If it will be cold and damp, make sure you tell guests that so they can wear extra layers. A simple xeroxed insert will do. You might want to have lap blankets on hand, or rent portable heaters.
  

Hidden Hamlet In The Hudson River Valley - Perfect For A Gay Wedding Celebration!

Home to visual artists, writers, musicians and dancers, Omi International Artists Residency offers a unique 300 acre locale with views of the Catskills and the Hudson River valley that truly entices the senses for a Gay Wedding Celebration.  Located just two and a half hours from New York City and 20 minutes from the Massacusetts border, Omi invites you to let "life imitate art" as an expression of your love for one another.

The site is made available to the public for private events at various times during the year.  All funds generated go directly to the support of the Center.  Select a location that fits your needs:

The Benneson Vistiors Center and Gallery is available year round for receptions, performances and meetings.

The Fields Sculpture Park is perfect for outdoor tented receptions.

The Retreat at Art Omi is available from Thanksgiving thru the beginning of March.  There are 18 bedrooms and common areas large enough to host a reception of 40 people.

Please visit their website at www.artomi.org, or contact Dorothy Randall at 201-683-6017 to discuss yor plans.

A Clay Pot, Some Paint Brushes, Sand, Rafia, and Sea Shells!

So you've decided to beach it for your same-sex unity celebration - gay wedding, commitment ceremony, civil union, or domestic partnership celebration. 

And now your going to ask your guests to walk across a beach, and get sand all over their feet, shoes, and on their clothes.  Here's a simple solution to make them glad they came to celebrate and it shows you've got class!

Purchase some simple clay pots, wrap them in rafia, go to Home Depot, Loews, or your favorite home improvement store and buy simple soft bristled paint brushes, wrap them in rafia with a sea shell attached (baubles always make an impact), and make them available at the end of red carpet, white carpet or in the parking lot where your guests will depart from the ceremony for each guest to brush off their feet.

And that's how you show you have class for the Ultimate Gay Wedding on a beach!

Life's A Beach Until You Get Married On One...But Ultimate Gay Weddings Has 8 Steps To Help You Along!

So you've decide a beach celebration is the way for you two to make your commitment known.  But before you hit the sand for a beautifully natural wedding that you and your whole gang will remember consider the following:

1. Search Out Locations - That Work for You and Your Guests
Keep in mind that the location needs to fit the overall style of your celebration.  But it also needs to be accessible for all the guest your inviting.  Remember, not everyone will be capable of attending a beach wedding - they may not like sand in their shoes or between their toes, can't take the heat or humidity, or simply cannot hike up or down the beach trail that provides access to your celebration site.  Also, make sure you check out permit fees, container laws, and clean-up charges.  Just because it is a public beach doesn't necessarily mean you can just use it!