hot Wedding

Is it outdoors? If it’s outdoors then for sure have programs aha I feel like programs are only necessary for cultural ceremonies or long ceremonies or when it’s outdoors and you need something to fan you or help give some shading.
And for sure have a water station or some cold drinks on hand

How hot are we talking about? Indoors or outdoors?

I went to a VERY hot outdoor wedding with zero shade a while back, clearly, I still remember that... They kept the ceremony incredibly brief (under 10 minutes), which allowed us to at least move around a bit and find bits of shade during cocktail hour. Honestly, we were all super sweaty and uncomfortable. They did have one very small air conditioned room for the grandma to hang out in, which was crucial for her. I'd try to have as much shading as possible!!

View Quoted Comment Sorry I should have specified a little better. My fault lol.
The ceremony is outside and the reception is inside. It’s in AZ and is supposed to be about 100 degrees. Most of our guests are coming from Seattle and Chicago where they aren’t used to the heat.
I currently have our ceremony time at about 25 minutes. I’m trying to create a timeline of the day to write on a sign to have visible to guests. I’m looking into getting a bucket of iced down water bottles available for guests. I had hand fans made and will be placed on guest chairs.
I’m also worried about me sweating and my makeup coming off, or looking oily, and stinking!

For the ceremony, I would definitely recommend that you provide cold water bottles for guests to drink while outdoors. If possible, maybe setup the ceremony so it's in the shade? If it's in your budget, maybe also consider providing sunglasses/sunscreen if the ceremony is in the sun.

Is Arizona allowing indoor weddings already?

I would try to have the ceremony indoors if I were you. 100 degrees is just too hot for an outdoor ceremony IMO.

View Quoted Comment Well, the easy answer people are going to pile onto you is to move it inside. I take it the outside ceremony is important to you. I’d make it clear on your wedding website the expected weather, the timing of the ceremony and recommendations to keep cool (like certain fabrics, undershirts for men). Encourage people to drink a lot of water the day before and before the ceremony. Seat your guests and wedding party in the shade if at all possible. Is there an indoor lobby or place they can gather and mingle in the AC until they must be seated for the ceremony? That might help. Hopefully with that heat you are having a more relaxed dress code. Some caterers will (for a fee of course) arrange cool, damp hand towels to pass around to guests (place on wrist or back of neck to cool down). If possible, can you set up big fans/misters? I lived in AZ for four years and the misters help so, so much with the dry heat. I’ve lived in NC now for over a decade and the hot, humid weather is definitely worse.


As for you... I recommend airbrush foundation if that works with your skin type. And a real good makeup setting spray. Have oil blotting sheets, spray deodorant, perfume, dry shampoo and a little setting powder in your bridal suite to touch up post ceremony. You might not need it, but better to have and not need than wish you had. And this may be TMI, but if you might want to stash away an extra bra and panty set if you have it! It seems ridiculous, but sometimes changing into a fresh set can help you feel a lot less sticky, smelly and gross. 😁
For your groom/groomsmen, make sure they all wear undershirts! And encourage them to bring a spare undershirt. It was much hotter than usual on my wedding day and my husband brought like four undershirts. He wanted the option to change into a fresh one post outdoor ceremony and he ended up needing to lend one to a groomsmen who didn’t think he needed to wear one (it’s ok to sweat into your undershirt, it does not look ok to sweat into your button down shirt 😂). We were to have cocktail hour on the terrace but cut it short because it was just too hot to keep people outside any longer than necessary. 😔

Shade and plenty of ice water are essential. Program fans are pretty useless as far as preventing heat stress or exhaustion. If you can't provide full shade for everyone for the entire ceremony (and remember, people will arrive 15-30 minutes early and be sitting waiting for the processional, plus the ceremony time of 25 minutes, plus the recessional), then you should move the ceremony indoors.

Let guests know ahead of time that the ceremony will be outside so they can come prepared with hats/sunglasses/loose clothing/sunscreen.

And finally, remember that masks will add to people's heat discomfort. Make sure you and your vendors stick to your schedule and don't run late for anything. Your caterer will need more ice and more cold drinks than usual.

I went to a wedding that included an outdoor ceremony (no shade) and outdoor reception (tented) in 93 degree weather. There was a house with AC, but guests weren't allowed in except for elderly and immediate family.

From a guest perspective, the ceremony was truly terrible. I couldn't focus on what was happening because I was so hot, but at least I was in a dress (long, but no sleeves). My hair and makeup was also ruined--oh well! The men were actively sweating through their dress shirts and jackets. The elderly people had to watch from inside and couldn't hear anything. To add insult to injury, the bride and groom were late, so we were sitting out there for longer than we needed to. No water provided, no shade, no way to cool ourselves. Ugh. The reception was slightly better because of shade and the sunset, but we were still sweating and kind of felt gross. Not a great feeling at a wedding. If I had had to wear a mask at the ceremony, I would have left. Sweating at a formal event in nice clothes and makeup is just awful, and the mask would have tipped me over the edge.

#1 recommendation: move the ceremony inside. In this case, the safety and comfort of your guests is more important than your plan or vision. I cannot stress this recommendation enough.

#2 recommendation: allow a more casual dress code so that people can choose lightweight, breathable fabrics. Any dress code that requires jackets for men or long dresses for women is simply unfair to your guests.

#3 recommendation: find or create shade for the ceremony for your guests

#4 recommendation: Alert your guests of the weather situation and the outdoor ceremony. This will allow guests with medical conditions or other serious concerns not to come. (I have a friend who vomits and passes out in extreme heat. These kinds of things will take away from the ceremony.)

I'm not saying this to be rude, but just to give you an honest perspective. Unless you were our daughter, we wouldn't attend an outdoor wedding in 100 degree heat (and even then, if it were our daughter, this is one thing I'd do everything in my power to talk her out of). Anyone, not just the elderly, can experience heat stroke and we have a family member who has had multiple skin cancers removed, so there is no way we will sit in the sun in 100 degree heat. If the ceremony HAS to be outside (Covid requirement, etc.), then I believe the area needs to be completely tented, with fans and/or misters (although, if I'm dressed up for a wedding, I'm not going to love sitting under a mister -- and I've read that both misters and fans increase the risk of potential Covid spread, so they are counterproductive to that reason for an outside ceremony), and I would plan the short ceremony for early morning or early evening to try to avoid the worst part of the day/heat.

One of daughter's highest priorities was to be able to use her venues outdoor space for the ceremony & cocktail hour (although, part of why she chose the venue was because it had an excellent "plan B" inside space). However, she knew from the beginning that if the space wouldn't be comfortable for her guests (e.g., between 68-78 degrees, not raining, not windy, etc.) she was going to have to move everything indoors. She lucked out and it was 76 degrees and gorgeous at ceremony time. Good luck! I hope you can find a way to realize your vision without everyone melting.

If it is going to be miserably hot, I say have it indoors. I went do an outdoor wedding when it was in the 90's and super humid. It was honestly miserable. The men were sweating through their suits and women's hair & makeup looked a mess. Don't subject your guests to a scenario like that! If it's indoors, the outside heat really doesn't matter.

Shade, water, fans (hand held and electric)

I just got married in Las Vegas last week and we all came from Chicago. If the part outdoors is not long I suggest informing guests if possible to dress as light as possible and then plan something for eating indoors. We stood outside maybe an hour (ceremony time and picture time) and didn't seem that bad. My now husband who sweats profusely, wasn't bad, but our ceremony time was also 6:30 pm. PST.

I’m from Texas and have this been to several outdoor ceremonies in the 90s, and honestly without any shade it is truly miserable. If it is important to you then you need to 1) Instruct guests to wait inside before the ceremony and seat the whole group immediately prior to the ceremony and 2) shorten the ceremony time to ~10 minutes. Otherwise it is likely that guests will avoid the sun/heat as much as possible, which means they will sit down late and leave early, and it will become very distracting for everyone. Not to mention, it may generate a lot of anger towards you and FH for expecting them to sit outside for and hr in 100 degree heat.
As for you, I’ve seen a portable air conditioned mini-tent/room where a bride can stand inside for a minute between pictures in order to keep cool and reduce sweat. I think the photographer supplied it for the wedding, but I don’t know the details. At the least you will want a personal fan and some form of portable shade/ umbrella.

View Quoted Comment

I would highly consider moving everything inside. I got married in PA last year on the hottest day of the year. Our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception were indoors. Parts of the building were still really warm even with air conditioning on full blast. I remember one guest asking if there was any way we could make it colder, but the AC was already as high as it could go. We tried to taking some outdoor photos, but it was just way too hot so we got very limited outdoor photos. I kid you not I was outside with my bridesmaids/bride's man for 5 minutes and they complained the entire time so the rest of the photos were indoors. Luckily, we got married at a beautiful venue with marble and stain glassed windows that our indoor photos were stunning. There is no way anyone is going to want to sit outside for 25 minutes in that type of weather.

View Quoted Comment

I completely agree with this. 100 degrees is too hot for an outdoor event.

View Quoted Comment Totally agree!


I went to a wedding in AZ... it was 120 degrees. We were miserable just getting into our cars from the hotel and going to the wedding. The ceremony & reception were indoors, the AC barely worked at the reception. Guests couldn’t wait to leave.