HWW: Hot Weather Weddings
Picture this: It's your wedding day, and its 100 degrees. Wonderful. Nothing like a little back of the knee or even worse, between the boobs sweat to really make your irritable on your big day. Have no fear, Amy Champagne is here with a few tips to keep your cool in heat.
First off, what to wear if your a guest at a wedding on the hottest day of the year:
Ladies: Keep your attire light and airy (and
NO
this is not an opportunity to wear white). Look for dresses made of linen or silk chiffon. Something that's light weight
and
breathable. Like this fab
dress:
Gents: Hate to break it to you. But you still should wear pants, a button down and a tie for the ceremony at least. Lose the tie if it becomes unbearable and whatever you do, Do Not wear a short sleeve button down and especially not with a tie.
You will NOT look like this guy:
You will most likely look more like this guy:
Are you picking up what I'm putting down?
Brides a little preparation for the heat goes a long way, with that said....
- Flowers: Choose flowers are are heat resistant. Your florist could recommend flowers that will hold up in your bouquets and centerpieces for the entire event such as Calla Lillys, Roses and Orchids. Another cool tip is to decorate with rosemary or olive branches. I love olives, and olive branches both literally and figuratively. :)
- Cake: Err on the side of caution if there is a chance your big day is going to be a hot one. Chose a cake that will "weather the storm" in the heat by using ingredients (Or "ingredientses" as Teresa Giudice would say) such as fondant or buttercream frosting made with vegetable shortening instead of butter. I guess that would be "vegetableshorteningcream" which doesn't sound remotely as appetizing but I'm sure I couldn't taste the difference. Avoid all whipped cream, marzipan and ganaches! And keep the cake out of the sun. The only thing sun baked I enjoy are chips, although chips and frosting does sound good together.....I digress...
- Beauty: Rest assured, no matter what happens you will be beautiful on your wedding day. Regardless of the dress, your hair or makeup the glow that a bride has on her wedding day cannot melt and cannot be ignored by all the people who have come to witness you proclaim your love. But......it would be great if the hair and makeup did what its supposed to on the big day too. With that in mind, make sure you talk to your beauty team and discuss options if your day in case it's a scorcher. They will be able to help you and when in doubt, keep it simple.
- Your Guests: Nothing says class like thinking about the comfort of your guests on your wedding day. Odds are they are hot and sweating when they walk in the door. Why not offer them a refreshing non-alcoholic drink immediately upon their arrival. A Sparkling Ginger Lemonade on a hot day tastes great, looks fabulous and could be a savior to a hot and possibly cranky guest.
- Other Ideas:
- If any portion of your day is outside on a hot day, try to hose down any concrete, stone or brick areas to keep them cool
- Rent Tents for additional shade
- Use an outdoor mist cooling system
- Hand out inexpensive parasols and fans (Bonus: Makes for AWESOME pictures)
Its been said a million times, you cannot control the weather. Whether its a hurricane, smoldering hot or whatever I will tell you exactly what I tell my 2.8 year old niece: Shake it Off and Keep Playing. You only get one wedding day, don't let anyone or anything keep you from enjoying it.
Stay cool, and classy,
AC
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