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Are you getting married during a hot and humid time of year? Or maybe during a cold and snowy time of year? I have suggestions for getting you - and your guests - through the weather and still have an amazing event!
Let's start with those hot and humid summer days! In many parts of the country - and the world - it is much more popular to host a wedding during the summer months. Having spent the majority of my life in Maine, the typical wedding peak season is from May to October. Whereas in warmer climates the peak season extends to whenever winter is officially over to when autumn has ended. (Not to say couples still don't get married in the winter in any given area, but we'll talk about that next.) There are several factors to consider for your summer wedding! Humidity, the uv index, wind (if you are doing a beach and summer wedding), as well as bugs (ugh, the nasty little things).
To cope with humidity for a bride/bridesmaids/anyone in a dress, I would lean more towards sleeveless, thin strap, or strapless dress designs as well as a material/construction that is lighter in weight and thickness. For grooms/groomsmen/anyone in a suit, I would lean more towards minimalist design aka not a three piece suit! This could mean that a suit wearer only has a jacket, or maybe just a button up with suspenders, anything that will fit your wedding theme/style while still being comfortable for the wearer during those humid moments of the ceremony and reception. If you're on a beach you can consider bare feet and short sleeves for tops for suit wearers. For your guests (and the bridal party) during a humid ceremony I highly recommend having small bottles of water available; for guests this can be at each chair, for bridal party this can be in a decorative basket on either side of the "alter". Another way for guests to keep cool during a humid ceremony is providing fans or even having your event programs be foldable fans! For older guests you may consider having an indoor or covered area where they can comfortably be in air conditioning or with overhead fans but still be able to view the ceremony either from afar or over a broadcast. If you are having a tented reception during a humid time of year I suggest having fans in the tent, though as the night progresses you may have a nice breeze that will cool the area down - it will just depend on your venue!
To cope with a high uv index the biggest suggestion I can make is having a covered alter for you and your partner - as well as the bridal party if possible - and umbrellas for guests. This is especially relevant for a ceremony that takes place in an open area - whether that be a beach, a field, or anywhere not shaded by trees. That being said, there are plenty of venues that provide natural shade for ceremonies or you might decide to simply host your ceremony in an indoor space (church or otherwise) if the weather is going to be too hot - or too humid.
Finally, wind! This can obviously be an issue any month of the year and at any venue. If you are going to be tying the knot at a venue that is particularly affected by winds then it will be likely that the venue has steps in place to combat this. If you are having a more DIY event you'll just want to make sure you have any linens, paper products, and floral arrangements secured and/or weighted. For an outdoor, windy ceremony you will want to have microphones for any speaking and speakers situated behind or in front of guests depending which direction the wind is coming from (your venue or your DJ/band will be able to help you identify where speakers need to be).
On to those magical winter weddings! Depending on where in the world you live this might mean snow or just might mean cooler than a "traditional" summer wedding. The main thing you will want to consider with a winter wedding is keeping yourself, your partner, your bridal party, and your guests warm! But if you live in a particularly snowy - or icy - climate than you'll also want to think about transportation and locations of all your event activities.
First, warmth! If you are going to be doing anything outdoors - whether if it's your full ceremony or just pictures - you will want to have overcoats of some sort for those in dresses. You may also consider long sleeves for all those wearing dresses! Overcoats will match your overall color scheme, they can be anything though the most popular (as pictured above) are fur/faux fur overcoats of some sort. For those wearing suits you'll want to consider thicker material suits (such as wool), traditional three piece suits for more layers, or jackets/sweaters that match the suit and color scheme. For guests you'll want to indicate on your invitations what activities will be taking place outside and what the average temperatures are during your wedding month so they know to dress accordingly. Providing some sort of shawl for guests to use is also common and can become part of their wedding favor!
Second, transportation and location of events. This is obviously relevant no matter the time of the year but for today's discussion we're just considering them in regards to a wedding that occurs during a snowy/icy time of the year. You want to consider these things for the safety of your guests, but also for the timing of your event activities. During winter months in snowy climates you have to especially take into account travel time. If it happens to snow - or be icy - on the day of your event it will increase the amount of time it takes you and your guests to travel between hotels and event locations. It's especially ideal during this time of the year to have all events either take place at the same venue or relatively close to each other for those guests or bridal party who will be driving their own vehicles. Aside from using one venue (which I know is not always possible), I also would urge you to hire transportation for all - bridal party and guests. Transportation will vary based on where you are hosting your event, but options could include:
Charter Bus(es)
School Bus(es)
Party Bus(es)
Trolley Services
Limousine Services
Vintage/Antique Vehicles
Local Taxi Companies
Horse Drawn Carriages - more relevant for events taking place very close to each other travel time wise
Water Taxi - for those events that take place on a lake or by the ocean (very specific type of venue)
What other weather-specific activities or accommodations have you seen or are you considering for your event? I would probably do a whole other blog post about games for adults and children attending your event as well but we'll leave it at the above for now! :)
Happy Planning! As always, I am here to help or to just answer questions <3
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