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Savvy July 2018

Outdoor August wedding...with no Ac?

Talia, on April 18, 2018 at 8:05 AM

Posted in Wedding Reception 124

My wedding is taking place at the beginning of August. The ceremony and reception will be on my parents property in large tents. We live and are getting married in New England so we planned on having the tents air conditioned because, well if you’re from New England you know what August here is...

My wedding is taking place at the beginning of August. The ceremony and reception will be on my parents property in large tents. We live and are getting married in New England so we planned on having the tents air conditioned because, well if you’re from New England you know what August here is like(HUMID!). Since we’re not have me a “venue” in the traditional sense, we’re relying on a lot of outside vendors and contractors for EVERYTHING. The place we are renting the tents from said it will be about $10,000 to air condition the 2 tents we’re having. We contacted a different company not related to the tent company and they quoted us about $8000. My parents are paying and have basically said “Nope, not happening. That’s way too much”. My fiancé and I don’t exactly just have $8,000- $10,000 lying around either.

Would it be terrible to have a wedding in tents...in August...in New England...not air conditioned? What’s been other brides/ wedding guest experiences at weddings like this? We’re not reconsidering the venue or time of year so that’s not an option either. We’re particularly worried about the reception since everyone will be is close quarters, the cake could melt, no one will want to dance, things like that.

124 Comments

  • M
    Super October 2018
    MaltedMilk ·
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    I am not sure how to say this w/out you feeling defensive but how in the world does a tent company NEVER mention A/C when renting tents for weddings? I just don't get that. A planner, too? No one ever mentioned A/C in August?

    You are not terrible, I get the feeling you were cajoled into this "family tradition" spot that perhaps you never really wanted and now you are getting pushback about A/C, which is just as critical as oxygen. Really, it is - if you have elderly guests they may not be able to come due to breathing issues, same for allergy sufferers. And now you have no money to pay for A/C - I would ditch the plans and have either a very small wedding INDOORS or.....I don't know.....expect people to leave early. Sorry.

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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    You are four months out, can you get your money back? Or you could serve bbq at say 8 PM when it's actually cooler. It's really really really not that hard
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  • T
    Savvy July 2018
    Talia ·
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    I’m sorry I didn’t realize that this was all so easy! wow! Everything is fixed!
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  • T
    Savvy July 2018
    Talia ·
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    I wanted to get married on the farm. My mom and dad got married there in the 80s and they had just their parents there. We have a small, dirty, farm shack of a home so having a party inside isn’t really much of an option either. And no, I don’t take offense to it. We asked about it and they gave us an answer. We believed the answer. Maybe we shouldn’t have. I don’t know.
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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    Deciding to actually care about the well being of your guests and moving the time of the wedding really shouldn't be that hard. Caring about people shouldn't be a challenge. Wanting people to be healthy should be a priority. And quite frankly wanting people to leave your wedding not talking smack about the heat and poor choices should really be something you want.

    Why are you insistent on having the wedding at the hottest time of day in the hottest month of the year?
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  • T
    Savvy July 2018
    Talia ·
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    I’m sorry if you feel like I don’t care. Again, I just don’t know what you want me to do. I can’t pull money out of thin air. My full time job doesn’t allow for over time. My husband gets two weeks off a year in August and those are the only weeks he’s allowed off. We have no choice but August.
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  • Brittney
    Expert June 2018
    Brittney ·
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    Could you invest in some giant cooling fans? The kind that have water in them.

    It sucks to just blow hot air around. What about a bunch of mist blowing fans?

    I also agree that you should move the time to later in the evening, but that combined with the fans could help.


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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    Move the time of the wedding. 7:30 would be significantly cooler than 4. Why won't you see that option?
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  • C
    Dedicated August 2019
    cassondra ·
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    Give paper fans or some cutesy little fan as a favor! Also, are there just FAN options? could you rent from an outside company and put some near or in the tents? We are in the midwest and went to a end of summer wedding at 4 pm, i dressed accordingly and honestly it wasn't miserable. Sun set around 7 pm, everyone danced their asses off and happiness and joy was had by all. If I absolutely had to I would buy walmart fans and set it up lol.

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  • Pegs
    VIP July 2018
    Pegs ·
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    Agreed. 7:30, even 7 for that matter, sounds much better than 4. How is that not possible?

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  • C
    Dedicated August 2019
    cassondra ·
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    Also- I just want to say... we did THREE weddings last year in august and I'm 100% sure they thought about their guests when they chose to not have fans and we all survived. Make due with what you have and enjoy your day. If you want it at 2 pm in the middle of the desert then go get it girlfriend. Nobody is gonna die from being outside for 4-5 hours.

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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    Survival of your guests shouldn't be the standard. Not having a death is hardly something to crow a about
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  • T
    Savvy July 2018
    Talia ·
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    In all due respect, are oh even reading what I am saying to you? Honestly. I’ve said multiple times I’m open to changing it. I said the time of the reception is 6, “right now”. We’re open to changing it. When I say “nothing can change” I mean in terms of the venue/ situation. Time can be changed.
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  • Pegs
    VIP July 2018
    Pegs ·
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    I'm the first to defend a bride and say, "Hey, it's your wedding. Have at it." But this situation is a little different. It's a sense of not even being able to enjoy the moment because of unbearable humidity and heat. What if the forecast calls for 95 degrees and 70% humidity that day? I'm never one to complain, but I probably wouldn't step foot at that wedding.

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  • Pegs
    VIP July 2018
    Pegs ·
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    I'm not sure I caught that but yes, definitely move it to a later time. I think everything will be just fine.

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  • C
    Dedicated August 2019
    cassondra ·
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    This isn't a life or death situation. She's asking them to sit in chairs, watch her get married and eat food and enjoy themselves. I hardly think anyone's in any type of harm or danger.

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  • queenbee
    VIP October 2018
    queenbee ·
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    If I was a guest I’d probably complain the entire time and possibly leave early if the heat was bad! Even when I’ve been to weddings in the summer and they had AC I was dying. My cousin was married last June in Connecticut outside with no AC and it wasn’t terrible. But by August the heat and humidity at an outdoor wedding in the northeast would most likely kill me 😂 Can the tent company offer any type of fan to at least keep air circulating? Or maybe you can rent a few large fans. I would definitely let people know to wear more casual, shorter dresses and lighter suits/no jackets for the men. And maybe have some sort of ice cream truck or stand to help cool people off!
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  • C
    Dedicated August 2019
    cassondra ·
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    If they're from the midwest they are probably used to it.. They know the weather and know how to dress themselves accordingly. Come or don't come, that's how I feel about it.

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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    Ceremony still at 4 or 4:30 still not a good idea, still hot. Plus what are people to do in the gap time? And 6 isn't 7:30. That extra hour and a half will make a difference. We are trying to help you. Really we are. Bbq at 8 sounds fantastic! Keep the party going until midnight or later? That's a wedding people will remember and for good reasons
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  • M
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    Mim ·
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    You brought up survival (although jokingly). Are you honestly unfamiliar with heat exhaustion and heat stroke? They can have devastating effects on people's health, including death, particularly for children, the elderly, and people with other health issues
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