It appears we've officially entered the dog days of summer: The sun is high, the heat is fierce---and the deodorant is working overtime!
A few weeks ago I attended an outdoor wedding ceremony for a dear old college friend. As beads of sweat dripped down the back of my neck, and my legs plastered themselves to the chair, I tried my best to keep my focus on my friend, the beautiful bride, as she recited her vows to her now husband. However, I'm not going to lie: it was hard. I was hot, sweaty--and distracted.
Outdoor ceremonies are romantic, fun, modern...but they can also be one other thing: HOT! This got me wondering: What can a bride and groom do to keep their guests cool, comfortable, and focused on the ceremony?
Here are Three Hot Ways to Keep Guests Cool:
Idea #1: Program Fans
Program fans are beautiful multi-taskers: they not only keep guests cool, but they also keep them informed about the order of your service. And, since program fans can be personalized to match your wedding colors, fonts, etc., they also give you one more way to express your creativity and accent your wedding theme. Guests can fan themselves as they follow along to your ceremony---a program perk they're sure to appreciate. :)
Idea #2: Personalized Water Bottles
When temps are high and humidity flares up, you know what they say: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! To keep guests perky (not parched), hand out bottles of water as they sit down for the ceremony. Water---and specifically, water bottles---are great because they are plastic and have caps, so you don't have to worry about stains, slippery spills, or broken glass (none of which is on your "dream wedding" list, I'm guessing).
For fun, you can jazz up your H2O with personalized water bottle labels (like the ones above). These labels are made with waterproof vinyl, so the ink won't bleed through from condensation. You can personalize the colors to match your wedding theme, and the text can be changed to whatever you want, too: monograms, your wedding date, or even a cute caption or quote.
Idea #3: Sunglasses
Most of the time I love my blue eyes---except when I'm outdoors, when the sun's rays practically render me blind. The squinty-eyed look is never attractive (or comfortable). Why not spare your fair-eyed guests the discomfort by passing out sunglasses before they sit down. Plastic, colorful glasses are a fun way to accent your wedding colors and theme, but you could also find quirky shades at thrift shops and such.
The great thing about sunglasses is that they can double as wedding favors, too: You could tie a wedding favor tag to them and personalize it with a special note of thanks. Guests will appreciate the fashion-meets-function aspect of their wedding favors, too. :)
I'd love to hear from other brides, grooms, and even wedding guests: Did you hand out, or receive, something helpful for your hot, outdoor wedding ceremony? Do you have additional ideas on how to keep guests cool? Feel free to share!
Colorful sunglasses on ceremony chairs - Drew B Photography
