My fiance and I had a beautiful outdoor garden wedding planned for March 21 this year in Phoenix. The pandemic picked up steam when we were about 10 days out, and we postponed to the same date next year, 3/21/21. We thought a year would be plenty of time for us to get widespread testing and other measures in place but ... America.
Given that things are still so in flux, I reached out to the garden about possible fall dates this week. They've put a soft hold on Sept. 25 for us, which is the only date they have open for the rest of the year, given other weddings and exhibits (I was even willing to get married on a Wednesday if needed but even weekdays are closed).
The problem is, September is still quite warm in Phoenix. Sometimes it's not terrible - highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s, which is doable and even nice here since there's no humidity (especially with fans and shade for daytime). Other years, high temps on that date have topped 100 with lows in the 90s.
If we postpone to Sept. 25, the garden has an indoor space for guests to wait ahead of the ceremony, and they gave us a recommendation for Vector climate control evap fans that are pricey to rent but apparently helped so much during a prior September event that guests asked to turn them down. That wouldn't help for pictures in the garden, etc., though.
Long story short: Either way, I will majorly be trying my luck. Do I keep the March date and hope for the best COVID-wise, or take the September date and hope for the best weather-wise?
