The 4 Season Guide for GTA & Durham
Ontario is known for its beautiful outdoor spaces. Throughout Durham and the GTA in particular, outdoor venues are a popular option for hosting your big day. From cideries, orchards, and farmland to parks and backyards there is no end of spaces with stunning natural light and backdrops.
To make the most of these spaces in GTA and Durham, wedding tent rentals are ideal for flexibility and customization. In this guide, we explore tips you need to know when planning tent rentals for weddings in any season.
Wedding Tent Seasonal Guide
Spring
New growth and joyful blooms, spring is a lovely and symbolically significant time to mark the beginning of your new life. Ontario plays host to botanical gardens, lavender fields, and all sorts of incredible locations to celebrate as your love blooms.
While spring is a popular time for weddings (you know, you went through the struggle of booking a space!), there are some considerations to prepare for.
The biggest cliches are born from truths. You can’t have spring flowers without spring showers. As much as we hope everyone gets that perfect sunny day, there is always a risk of rain. Wedding tent rentals are essential for the spring, creating space to keep your guests and yourselves dry. The reception and dinner for spring outdoor weddings are usually hosted inside a venue or a wedding tent. As well, tents offer a great backup option if the ceremony is planned in an uncovered space.
If there is rain on your wedding day (isn’t that ironic?) one benefit is that it keeps bugs at bay. Early spring plays host to mosquitos throughout much of Durham and the GTA, especially in areas with ponds or wetlands. Further North, May through June there may be black flies nipping at your bones.
Setting up bug repellants like citronella, can help keep bugs at bay. As well, renting side walls for wedding tents allows you to keep out bugs, rain, sun, and wind when the tent is closed. These walls can also help with inclement weather if winter decides to return with a surprise occurrence.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to provide bug spray for guests.
Summer
Summer love, having a blast. Summers in Durham and the Greater Toronto Area may be short, but that just makes those summer days all the more precious. This is prime season for wedding tent rentals, so it is extra important to start booking ahead.
It is awesome to ring in your special day with summer vibes and sunshine. That said, year after year Southern Ontario is setting new heat records. You have to prepare for things to get hot—especially on the dance floor.
What can you do to help guests cool off? Wedding tents, of course, don’t come with A/C. Fortunately, the best wedding tent rental businesses also rent industrial fans. Having a system of fans, along with well-thought-out positioning of open tent flaps ensures cooling airflow
It’s also worthwhile to plan out areas outside of the tent so guests can step outside and cool off. Another consideration is tent size. Whether you’re hosting just close friends and family or bringing in hundreds of guests, you need adequate space.
You want to go bigger than you need, especially on hot days, creating breathing room for cooling comfort. Look at the space available and number of guests when choosing tent sizes. They are generally built rectangular especially as you go longer. A 40-foot-wide wedding tent, for example, can be built up to 100 feet long. Whereas a 20-foot-wide event tent can be up to 230 feet long.
Depending on location and time of year, the heat may not be all you have to contend with. Much of Durham and the GTA has seen an influx of wasps in late August. Hanging bag traps away from the tents can help draw wasps away from the tents and mitigate the problem. It may also be worth closing tent flaps in the dining area during meals.
Autumn
Ontario’s colourful fall foliage makes for a scenic display that brings in thousands of visitors from around the world.
While the crunch of leaves underfoot is as satisfying as the crisp autumn, it can all make for a big chilly mess without proper planning.
For starters, make sure there is a plan in place for clearing any fallen leaves and foliage along the pathways and entrances to the wedding tent. Otherwise, guests will end up tracking dirt and debris into the tent.
Ask the venue if their staff provide this maintenance or if you’ll need a secondary plan. As well, you may want to consider renting plastic flooring for wedding tents for a clean, solid base.
Fall in Durham and the GTA spans a wide range of temperatures. Early in the season, it is practically still summer, while later on you may face cold and even snowy flurries. In between, there is everything in the middle. Not to mention, a high chance of warm days and cold nights.
The unpredictability of Ontario weather means the best thing you can be is prepared. Wedding tent rental companies like JH Party Rentals have large inventories and offer flexible reservations for wedding accessory rentals like fans and portable heaters. Planning to have these both in advance ensures they will be available for your big day. Meanwhile, the flexibility allows you to make changes as the date approaches and the forecast becomes more predictable.
Winter
Who wouldn’t want to have their wedding in a winter wonderland? A bright snowy day sets a romantic scene for this special occasion.
Much like autumn, you’ll want to consider climate control. The difference—you know it’s going to be a chilly day.
Make sure your wedding tent rental also offers heaters, or you’re stuck guessing what the right types and sizes of heating equipment you need. As well, renting wedding tents with sidewalls adds an extra layer of protection to keep freezing winds at bay.
Having areas outside of the tent is popular even in winter. Dedicating an area with a bit of shelter from the wind helps to keep these spaces pleasant. You may want to consider having fire pits with blankets available for a cozy rest station. S’more kits and hot cocoa make for a nice touch too!
Another factor to consider is that winter has an early sundown. Getting as many pictures as possible during the day is a smart idea to take advantage of natural light. But if your wedding party is going to party well into the night, how will you capture those wild memories? Make sure to rent extra lights for high-quality photos.
Rent the Perfect Wedding Tent for Every Season
Hopefully, this quick guide helps assess your wedding tent needs, no matter what time of year you plan that special day. But there is always more information and advice available. JH Party Rentals offers high-quality tent rentals for any occasion, run by a knowledgeable staff who will help make sure you have everything you need. For more information or to book wedding tent rentals for your big day contact JH Party and Rentals today.
