Baby it's hot outside!

That's awesome that you had a nice breeze on the day of your wedding to help keep everyone cool! We held our wedding (outdoor ceremony, indoor/outdoor reception) at the end of July last year. I was so nervous that it was either going to be scorching hot, or raining on the day of our wedding. We had backup plans in case the weather didn't cooperate (we could move the ceremony indoors, though it'd be a way less scenic space than the outdoor location), and I chose an updo as my hairstyle so I wouldn't have to worry about it becoming frizzy. The indoor reception space and the shuttle both had AC, so that was one less thing that I needed to worry about. Thankfully, the weather on the day of our wedding ended up being absolutely perfect!

I just returned from an outside wedding in Greece during a 115F/ 46C multi-day heatwave that has brought on wildfires. Here is how my friends helped their 250+ guests survive:

6pm Greek Orthodox Church ceremony: gave out fans. Post ceremony before rice throwing (outside, no shade), designated persons to pass out water bottles to guests. Transport bus had A/C.

7:30pm-ish Reception: booked venue on the coast so a bit cooler breeze. Venue had trees along the side for shade. Waitstaff passed out drinks upon guests arrival, had a side-table with already poured cocktails for fast pick-up. Table servers placed covered carafes of water at tables and replenished repeatedly during cocktail hour. I prefer this to waiting for a server pour from a pitcher of water. Later, servers placed both white and red wine bottles onto the tables. The venue also had additional bars on both sides of the center uncovered dancefloor within the trees. Guests could cool down in the tree-covered lounge areas. Some guests fell asleep. Bathrooms were air-conditioned! By 9pm, sunset reprieve after dinner service. Main cocktail bar open until 5am. This was a Greek wedding celebration! Ice cream and gyros also served at other points of the night to keep guests going. You need to keep eating if you're hot. We felt a fantastic breeze at 2am, left at 3ish and walked back to our hotel.

Guests were advised to wear "breezy" attire. I wore a maxi dress with spaghetti straps and a skirt slip underneath so my clothes wouldn't touch or stick to my skin.* Americans (like my husband) wore sport coats and suits. Locals knew better. I don't know how my friend kept his tux on for most of the day.

* I found a fantastic translucent setting powder by Dermablend right before we left. My foundation never ran and I never looked sweaty or shiny the whole day and night. Highly recommend!

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Wow! I can't imagine an outdoor event in that type of heat! It sounds like the bride and groom were really on top of things to help their guests be as comfortable as possible. I love reading about unique weddings, thanks for sharing!

I was married in July of 2019 on a (at that time record breaking) heat wave. It hit 105 the day of our wedding, which never happens in NJ where we got married. Our ceremony was supposed to be outdoors, with cocktail hour and reception indoors. However, the day before, we decided to move the ceremony indoors as well. Our ceremony was only about 15 minutes long, but we did not want our guests sitting outside in that heat in their formal attire (it was a Saturday evening wedding at a country club—no dress code specified but still). I loved the gazebo we were supposed to have our ceremony at, but I’m glad we changed it. My husband and I did our first look out there and we were both dying after just a few minutes

My wedding is this September in Orlando, so we are expecting HEAT. We’ve done a few things to prepare:


(1) Our outdoor events are all at or after sunset, so we won’t have to deal with the worst of the heat. And we won’t be in the areas with no cover or shade until well after the sun goes down. Our farewell brunch starts at noon, but it’s indoor/outdoor with enough room for all the guests to stay inside.(2) We have charter buses on standby. Our ceremony, pre-reception, and reception locations are all within walking distance of each other, but the shuttles to get everyone back to their hotels after will be around all night if we need to use them for transportation. The only thing outstanding is transportation to the welcome party, which we are leaning on adding at this point for ease and comfort.(3) All our events have water stations, and we’re including water bottles, sunglasses, and fans in our welcome bags and gifting reusable bottles to our wedding party who may have to deal with the heat during our photo session.(4) Our first look and portrait session are supposed to be outside, but the hotel we’re getting ready at is adorable so we’re totally fine with doing them indoors if it’s too hot.(5) We left detailed tips about breathable fabrics on our dress code page on our website. And the men (groom and groomsmen) are not doing full suits. The bridesmaid dresses should also be pretty comfortable in the heat, so my heavy dress should be the biggest, self-imposed, concern.
Honestly, I will be elated if it’s super hot on our wedding day because that will mean there’s no hurricane in the area…which is my biggest weather-related concern!

Don't sweat it though, 'cause it's all about planning like a boss. Consider things like having indoor backup options for photography, getting a wedding ride with some cool A/C, and locking down a ceremony location that's breezy as hell. Trust me, I got married in sunny Florida in May, and I made sure our beach ceremony had a time limit and that our trolley was chillin' with A/C. Thankfully, Mother Nature served us an incredible Gulf breeze all day, but damn, I won't lie, it kept me on my toes!

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It all sounds great! You've done a good job keeping everybody's comfort in mind .... except yours LOLOL FYI, even though we had on our website "Guys, don't wear suits!" we still had 2 show up in jackets and ties. And yeah, I totally get the hurricane concerns!!!

I seen this video on instagram they had this cute ice water station and these cute hand wedding fans that were their wedding colors and had their names on it with the date of their wedding. I do recommend just having the ceremony outside only since it’s shorter and the reception somewhere with air conditioning. If you do want it outside it was a great idea to go somewhere breezy you could even you do it later in the day where it’s not so hot.