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Could you be doing more to maximise the comfort of yourselves and your guests on your big day? A gorgeous summer wedding doesn’t need to mean a formal ceremony at 1pm, three hours sitting at tables and guests struggling in heavy suits. From choosing a suitable venue to providing guest comfort essentials there are plenty of thoughtful ways to make the most out of your summer celebrations. In my experience, here are 10 top ways to keep your guests comfortable: By CAITLIN FORD 1. Adjustments To Your Timeline • Push back your ceremony time and avoid the peak midday sun. Ceremony times around 3pm or 4pm means providing a cooler and sun set backdrop for your wedding breakfast and evening reception. • Shorten sun exposure by limiting outdoor ceremonies to 20–30 minutes. 2. Prioritise Shade • Choose a venue with tree coverage, or parasols rather than relying solely on tents or canopies, which can trap hot air. • Especially think about any elderly guests or children who you wouldn’t want to be in the sun for too long. 3. Guest Comfort Essentials • Place paper fans, sunglasses, or parasols on ceremony chairs or in welcome baskets. • Stock restrooms with ‘comfort baskets’ that can include face mist spray, blotting paper, sunscreen, deodorant, and bug spray. 4. Hydration •Guests must stay hydrated! Ask your venue to always keep water readily available for guests, remember that alcohol hits faster in warm weather. •Serve cooling seasonal drinks such as iced tea, lemonade, Pimm’s, or signature spritzes. Why not put a frozen spin on your cocktail hour and serve cocktail slushies? 5. Dress Code • Skip heavy wool or stiff synthetics. Encourage your guests to wear more breathable fabrics such as linen, cotton, silk, in lighter colour palettes. • Plan for backup clothes, advise the groom and groomsmen to pack a spare shirts. • Provide flip flops for guests to change out of enclosed and uncomfortable footwear. 6. Hair and Makeup • Go for styles such as updos that keep hair off of the neck to keep cool. Reduce the use of heat styling tools, this will also keep your getting ready room a lot cooler. • Invest in good setting sprays and makeup products that will last in the heat, speak to your makeup artist for tips to make your makeup last. 7. Summer Menus and Cake • Keep dinner refreshing and design a menu around seasonal items. Think about smokehouse or BBQ style foods served with seasonal local salads, fruit-based desserts or sorbet and ice cream. Avoid heavy meals like roasts. • For evening food our chefs highly recommend woodfired fresh pizzas, these always go down a treat with guests. • Protect the cake! Keep your wedding cake fridged or somewhere cool until the moment it is cut and served especially if you are opting for buttercream. 8. Additional Extras • Search for unique suppliers that will relieve guests in the heat and keep them entertained, ice cream cart hire, slushie machine etc. 9. Photography • Optimise the golden hour! Delay photographs until later in the day to avoid spending long amounts of time in direct sunlight. • Look for shaded spots around the venue that still offer an enchanting backdrop. 10. Evening Reception • Even as the sun sets it can still remain hot, especially with all the body heat on the dancefloor. Make sure that the evening space is well ventilated or can be air conditioned. • Bonus points if you can have terrace outside and enjoy the summer evening breeze. 7 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Venue About Keeping Cool in Summer During your wedding venue search it is important to look beyond the breathtaking spaces and consider how well they could accommodate you and your guests in the warmer weather. Your guests are an integral part of your wedding day; they share the cherished moments that brought your love together so you will want to make sure they are well looked after. Here are my top key questions to ask your venue to help you understand how they aim to keep everyone cool. What facilities do you have available to help keep guests comfortable during particularly hot weather? Are there shaded outdoor areas and cool indoor spaces available throughout the day? What alternative arrangements can be made if it becomes too hot for our planned outdoor celebrations? How do you ensure guests stay hydrated throughout the wedding day? Are there any ways to adapt our wedding day timeline to avoid the hottest parts of the day? Can you accommodate any additional cooling essentials we would like to provide for our guests? What is your usual approach to managing exceptionally hot weather on a wedding day? One question that I get asked the most: What is the best time of day for a summer wedding ceremony in the UK? Traditionally most ceremony times take place between 1-2pm often during the hottest time of the day. But if warmer weather is forecast why not consider a later ceremony time around 3-4pm? This will put your guests at ease and won’t have to worry about be in the scorching sun for most of the day. Don’t panic though as this doesn’t mean you have to cut your day short and squeeze all your celebrations into a few hours. A previous wedding of mine still had guests arrive around 1pm where they could help themselves to a refreshing welcome drink in the cool indoors. Why not add to this with rustic lawn games set up in a shaded spot outside! Honestly, the best ceremony time should feel perfect to you and will be different for every wedding. Consider factors like the facilities of your chosen venue, the contrast between indoor and outdoor spaces and how this will make the day flow seamlessly. Remember that the forecast on the day can still be unpredictable in those summer months, it could still be likely to have torrential rain as opposed to glorious sunshine so be prepared and plan for both! I have seen firsthand how all of these small but important details don’t go unnoticed by guests and make a significant difference to their experience. It will be the small but thoughtful details they will remember as opposed to how extreme the weather was. Personally, I think that the secret to a successful summer wedding is designing a celebration that is both personal to you and that creates a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for your guests no matter what the British weather decides to bring.
Discover what a twilight wedding is, timeline tips, and how to save. Book a tour at our exclusive Kent venue today. Call 01732 789 800 to learn more.
Discover the secret to planning a beautiful, small, intimate wedding at an exclusive-use venue. Contact The Glasshouse on 01732 789 800 to book your tour.
