A September Wedding in Arizona...too hot?

I think it will be okay. Most people will be used to the heat. An outdoor ceremony can be okay, but have an indoor reception. Keep the ceremony short, and start on time! People will arrive 15-30 minutes early. It would be great to have a indoor gathering place, then people can be guided to the ceremony location just before it starts to minimize their time outside.

I just went to my sister-in-laws wedding in AZ at the beginning of October of 2010 and we were a little worried about the heat but it wasn't bad at all. Keep in mind a lot of us are from Michigan so we aren't use to that extreme of heat but they just had water sitting out for us and the ceremony wasn't too long. Oh they also had these really cute umbrellas that the guests could use to shade themselves! I actually enjoyed being in the heat I wouldn't worry too much.

You'll be fine. I live in AZ, Sept. isn't usually to bad with heat. It can be hit or miss but normally its not to bad

I spent over 30 years in Arizona halfway between Phoenix and Tucson and my husband and i did many outdoor weddings there...

Only thing I would worry about that early in September is the humidity from the end of summer monsoons....we did get a lot of rain around that time of year.

Have your venue arrange a waiting area indoors in case it is a scorcher. That way the guest go out right before you do and then you can all go to the reception in the shade or indoors. If the weather is nice then it works great as planned already.

Thanks for all the replies! You have all helped to ease my stress. I'm sure much more of it is coming, but for now I'm feeling much bettr.

I agree with all of the above- i would have no problem going to an outdoor wedding in september as long as there are cold waters available and fans! and if there isn't any shade... a short ceremony.

You could even make the fans the programs or the wedding favor! just food for thought!

September can be pretty hot (lived in Tucson for 36 years before I moved here to Houston) but you should be ok as long as you do what some of the other ladies suggested and make sure you have water, shade and even sunscreen available, and keep the ceremony short and sweet! Shade would be ideal but not necessary if you don't have a really long ceremony.

Yeah, the ceremony is the only thing outside. It's a grassy area with trees around it and there is a sitting area thats covered and the reception area is covered. But both the reception area and the ceremony are the same venue so I could have my guests wait in the shaded area and then come out for the ceremony (which is only about 25 feet away). I'm also thinking about putting up some big umbrellas for the actual ceremony that will cover the seats of the guests. But it also doesn't start until 5 so it won't be long until the sun goes down.

Our wedding was on 9/4/05 in Tucson, AZ. It was hot outside. The guests were okay with the heat (a few gave me a hard time, said we should have had an open bar at the ceremony, or at least water) and it cooled off in time for the reception, but what I hadn't thought about was being in the heat while taking pictures. We did pics before the ceremony because we said our vows as sun was setting at 6pm. If you perspire a lot, it is something to consider. I had to carry a towel to pat off and reapply my make up before the ceremony.

It will be very warm, some may say hot, even....I have shot weddings in all summer months, and September starts to cool a bit....so you should be fine....

If the folks are from the PHX area, they will be fine with it, an expect the heat. If guests are from anyhwere else, they will welcome the thaw and palm trees!