After months of planning out every detail of your nuptials, the last thing you want is for intense weather to ruin the experience. While you may have created a contingency plan for rain and other scenarios, you also want to create a strategy for battling the heat in the event the heat becomes unbearable. In recent years, hot weather seems to linger a bit longer and it is not unusual for events in the autumn to fall in the middle of a surprise heatwave. Though an unpleasant surprise, there are many easy ways to handle this twist of fate.

Consider the Event Specifics

Your plan should always be catered to the specifics of your event. Handling a heatwave during an outdoor event, for example, tends to be more involved than enduring extreme weather in an indoor venue. There is a likelihood an outdoor event will fall during a period of extended heat or humidity. Talk to a venue manager in advance and learn about your options with moving the event inside. While it may not always be possible, especially if you wait too long to ask, working with management often creates the easiest solution.  

Put the Comfort of Guests First

One of your primary objectives when handling a heatwave during your wedding is keeping your guests comfortable. Sitting through a ceremony can be very difficult when the heat is causing friends and family to shift in their seats. If you learn that the temperature is going to be high on your wedding date, send a message to guests encouraging them to dress for comfort. Stylish shorts, materials that breathe, and shorter dresses are perfect options for battling the heat without totally ruining the aesthetic of your event.

Hydration is also key when the temperature rises. Heatstroke and other ailments tend to come about when a person doesn’t drink enough water and spends extended time in direct sunlight. By providing bottles of water, you reduce the odds of this happening. Other ways to keep the crowd cool include individual paper fans, misting bottles, and canopies that provide shade.

Get Creative With Cooling Down

Hot weather is a problem to be aware of, but it is far from the worst situation you could encounter. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and find clever ways to keep the scene cool. Ice cream tends to be a perfect fit on a warm day. If you want to provide a fun and tasty way for your guests to beat the heat, offer some frozen treats. From hiring an ice cream truck to park outside the venue to laying out a build-your-own sundae bar, there are many ways to personalize this idea.

Offer Skin Protection to Everyone

Whether guests will be outdoors for extended periods or merely for short windows throughout the day, exposure to sunlight can be dangerous. Since plenty of people forget to slather on the sunscreen before heading outside, you can do your part by providing friends and family with complimentary lotions that boast ample SPF protection. From handing out goodie bags to including baskets of bottles in the bathrooms, you can tackle this task in a number of creative ways.

Don’t Forget Your Own Needs

Sudden heat can also be a problem for the happy couple. Hot weather mixed with pre-wedding jitters can produce far more sweat than you’d like. Be sure to have blotting paper or powder nearby to avoid ruining your makeup, or have a friend ready for touchups in the event you can’t stop the sweat. A little preparation can help you avoid looking like an overheated mess in your photos. 

Though you can’t control the weather, you can easily plan for battling the heat in advance. If there’s a likelihood of a heatwave rolling through on your big day, sit down and devise a strategy to help you keep the scene cool no matter what.