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Surviving a Summer Wedding

Planning Tips

Well… it’s officially summer here in Cincinnati Ohio!  Do you know what that means, it’s HOT and SUNNY!  Couples will consider getting married during the summer for a variety of reasons.  If you’re still on the fence of choosing to tie the know during June, July, August, and even early September in the tri-state area, we want to give you a few pros and cons to consider before taking the plunge:

Now that you know some of the pros and cons of the having your wedding during the summer and you’ve decided you’re ready to move forward with a summer wedding, we wanted to share a few tips to ensure the day will be great for everyone involved.  Yes, that includes you and your fiancé.  We’ve put together 5 tips to help plan for an amazing summer wedding!

  • Water!  Water! Water!  Above anything else, this is one thing you cannot slack on or forget about.  Summer in Cincinnati can be crazy hot and heat exhaustion is a real thing.  The last thing you want is for anyone to get a heat stroke or over heated.  We recommend having buckets of ice-cold bottles of water all around for guest, vendors, and your wedding party to have easy access to.  Ideally, the water should be in every area people will be throughout the day (such as the ceremony location, prep areas, and reception spot).  Your family and friends will be very thankful!
  • Shade Will Be Your Friend!  When looking for a venue for the ceremony and portraits, look for a place that offers shade.  While golf courses or big open fields are beautiful, when you’re doing your First Look at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, they can become extremely unpleasant.  The sun will be beating down on you which will cause you to become uncomfortably hot.  Shade will offer you a level of protection from the added heat of summer.  From our personal experiences, once a couple and/or their bridal party becomes hot, the photos are no longer fun, and they want to go back inside. 
  • Plan around Sunset Time!  Know the time the sun starts setting and plan your day around sunset time.   Starting your ceremony in the evening, closer to sunset, is ideal as your photos will be what you expect.  Plus, it will help you from being too squinty due to the bright, harsh sun.  Who wants all their photos with half closed eyes?!  No one!!!  The best part of planning the day around sunset time, when the ceremony is over, you’ll have time for family portraits and THEN… the sun will be PERFECT for some Just Married Photos!  Hello beautiful glowy light!
  • Extra Photographer Time!  The typical amount of time to have your photographer on your wedding day is 8 hours.  Which in the beginning of the planning processing seems like a plenty of time, but once you start mapping out the wedding day, you’ll see how little wiggle room that may leave.  On a very hot day, you may want to have extra wiggle room and downtime.  Adding an hour or two extra coverage to your wedding photography can allow those extra breaks.  Your photographer(s) will be thankful as well to have a few extra minutes to come inside and cool off.  Adding extra time as well can allow for Formal Exit photos since it will get darker later.
  • Practical Clothing!  Now, we know not all wedding attire can be practical.  However, you can make choices to help keep you as cool as possible.  When thinking about the guys, keep in mind jackets are very hot and dark jackets can make things even more miserable.  If the ceremony will be outside, you may want to consider nixing the jacket.  For the ladies, try to pick out a light and airy fabric for optimal air flow.  Not to mention, try to keep the layers in check!  The more layers you add the hotter the clothing will get. 

Summertime can be a very challenging season to get married in but with the proper planning, the day can be perfect just as you have always dreamt.  As you’re planning out your day, we hope you take into consideration these tips.  All we want is for your day to be amazing!

Happy Planning,

Nicole & Ryan

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