When we decided to have our wedding in Lake Bled, one thing was certain. It had to be outdoors.
Otherwise, we could have chosen almost any other city.
We were asking our closest family and friends to travel from different parts of the world to celebrate with us in Slovenia. We wanted them to experience the magical place we'd fallen in love with, not just attend another wedding.
Our dream was to have a magical fairytale wedding surrounded by Lake Bled's beautiful scenery.
But there was one thing we couldn't control.
The weather.
Waking up to (almost) clear skies at Lake Bled from a drone’s perspective. (Photo by Ana Gregorič)
Our Dream Was an Outdoor Wedding
Once we'd decided on the flow of our wedding day, we went all-in on an outdoor celebration, at least until the after-party.
We planned our ceremony in the park behind Vila Bled, followed by cocktails on the villa's terrace.
From there, our guests would travel across Lake Bled on traditional Pletna boats to Grand Hotel Toplice.
Dinner would take place outdoors on Julijana Terrace, overlooking the lake and Bled Castle.
And to finish the evening, we'd have our first dance on Panorama Terrace, with surprise fireworks at the end.
That was the dream.
Every part of the day was designed around experiencing Lake Bled, rather than simply celebrating inside a hotel.
But pulling it off meant relying heavily on the weather.
Overhead shot of our outdoor wedding venue at Vila Bled’s private park. (Photo by Ana Gregorič)
The Risk of Planning an Outdoor Wedding in Lake Bled
During our planning, we'd watched countless wedding videos and looked through photographs of other celebrations in Lake Bled.
More than half of what we'd seen featured cloudy or overcast skies. The rest showed the beautiful sunshine and clear blue skies we were hoping for.
We knew there was no guarantee we'd get the weather we wanted.
It was a calculated risk we were willing to take.
But with so many parts of our wedding planned outdoors, we couldn't simply hope for the best.
We needed backup plans.
Our Rain Backup Plans at Vila Bled
Mateja from Vila Bled helped us understand what our options would be if the weather turned against us.
For our outdoor ceremony, we had two alternatives depending on how severe the rain, wind, or storm became.
The first was to move the ceremony underneath Vila Bled's arches, where our cocktail reception and snacks were planned.
This would give us a covered setting while still keeping part of the outdoor atmosphere we'd wanted.
The second option was to move the ceremony inside Vila Bled's dining hall if the weather became particularly bad.
Neither option was our first choice, but knowing we had somewhere to go was reassuring.
A view from Vila Bled’s terrace, our backup option inside the arches, where we hosted our wedding reception for drinks and snacks. (Photo by Ana Gregorič)
What About the Pletna Boats?
The Pletna boat ride was one of the experiences we'd been looking forward to most.
We'd deliberately saved our first ride on these traditional wooden boats for our wedding day, when we could share the experience with our closest family and friends.
But unlike the ceremony, there wasn't an alternative version of the Pletna experience if the weather prevented us from going.
For us, it was all or nothing.
If conditions didn't allow the boats to operate safely, we'd have to give up that part of the celebration and arrange transportation by road instead.
That was one of the biggest risks of planning a wedding across multiple locations in Lake Bled.
The journey between venues wasn't just transportation. It was part of the experience we'd designed.
Our Dinner Backup at Grand Hotel Toplice
We faced another important decision with our wedding dinner.
We had chosen Julijana Terrace at Grand Hotel Toplice because we wanted our guests to dine outdoors, overlooking Lake Bled and Bled Castle.
The hotel offered us the option of reserving its Presidential Hall as an indoor backup.
However, securing that additional setup would have involved an extra cost.
As the wedding approached, we had to decide whether to pay for the indoor backup or commit to our outdoor dinner.
It wasn't an easy decision, especially knowing how much depended on the weather.
A glimpse of Grand Hotel Toplice facing the sunset. (Photo by Ana Gregorič)
Watching the Weather Forecast Became Stressful
Of all the things we had to organize during our six months of wedding planning, monitoring the weather was probably one of the most stressful.
We checked forecasts constantly, hoping to see the conditions improve as August 19 approached.
We even created two separate GPT agents to provide daily weather forecasts using historical weather data and weather patterns.
That's how seriously we were taking it!
Of course, no forecast could guarantee what the weather would actually be like on our wedding day.
And the closer we got, the more important that uncertainty felt.
The Decision We Made Two Days Before Our Wedding
As we entered wedding week, the forecast finally started looking more favourable.
What made it even more remarkable was that, among the days that week, only one was forecast to have clear skies and sunshine.
August 19, 2026.
Our wedding day.
Two days before the wedding, the forecast was showing a probability of precipitation of just 0–5%.
That gave me enough confidence to make the decision we'd been debating.
We decided not to reserve the Presidential Hall as our dinner backup.
Before dinner time, two days before our wedding, Duygu and I officially committed to our 100% outdoor plan.
No more second-guessing.
From that point, all we could do was ride it out and hope the forecast held.
Waking Up to Sunshine on Our Wedding Day
On the morning of August 19, we woke up to beautiful sunshine and clear blue skies over Lake Bled.
We couldn't have been happier.
After months of planning, preparing backup options, and anxiously monitoring the forecast, the weather we'd been dreaming of had finally arrived.
Our ceremony took place outdoors in Vila Bled's park.
We enjoyed cocktails on the terrace, crossed the lake on our decorated Pletna boats, and had dinner on Julijana Terrace.
Later that evening, we had our first dance outdoors on Panorama Terrace, followed by our surprise fireworks over Lake Bled.
We didn't need any of our rain backup options.
Everything we'd imagined for our magical fairytale wedding came together.
Our dinner setup at Grand Hotel Toplice’s Julijana Terrace overlooking Lake Bled. (Photo by Ana Gregorič)
What We'd Recommend to Couples Planning an Outdoor Lake Bled Wedding
Looking back, we're incredibly happy we took the risk.
But we'd still recommend that other couples planning an outdoor wedding in Lake Bled take the possibility of rain seriously.
Understand Your Venue's Backup Options
Before committing to an outdoor ceremony or reception, ask exactly what happens if it rains.
For us, knowing that Vila Bled could accommodate our ceremony under the arches or inside the dining hall helped us feel more comfortable with our decision.
Consider How Weather Affects the Entire Wedding Day
If you're planning a celebration across several venues, think beyond the ceremony itself.
For us, rain could have affected our Pletna boat transportation, outdoor dinner, and first dance.
Each part of the day needed to be considered.
Know When You Need to Make Your Final Decision
Some backup arrangements may require additional costs or advance decisions.
In our case, we made our final decision two days before the wedding, once the forecast became more favourable.
Knowing our options ahead of time made it easier to make that call.
Accept That You Can't Control Everything
We spent so much time checking the weather that we even created two GPT agents to help us monitor it.
But ultimately, we couldn't control what happened.
We could only prepare, make the best decision with the information we had, and hope for the best.
Would We Plan an Outdoor Wedding in Lake Bled Again?
Absolutely.
For us, having an outdoor wedding was one of the biggest reasons we chose Lake Bled in the first place.
We wanted our family and friends to experience the lake, the mountains, the scenery, and everything that made us fall in love with this place.
We knew we were taking a calculated risk.
And fortunately, it paid off.
Would we recommend planning an outdoor wedding in Lake Bled?
Yes, but with realistic backup plans and a clear understanding of what could change if the weather doesn't cooperate.
We were incredibly lucky to get the sunny wedding day we'd dreamed of.
And after all the uncertainty leading up to August 19, waking up to those clear blue skies made the experience even more special.
Keep Reading
Lake Bled Wedding Venues: How We Chose Ours →
The outdoor settings we chose and the alternatives we considered.
Using Pletna Boats for Our Lake Bled Wedding: Was It Worth It? →
Why our lake crossing was one of the experiences most dependent on the weather.
