25 Tips for a Great Summer Wedding

Planning on being a summer bride? Here's expert advice about how to throw a white-hot wedding.

Protecting Your Look

8. Choose a summer wedding gown made of lighter fabric, appropriate for a hot-weather summer wedding, and talk to your gown stylist about fabrics that breathe, such as cotton organdy, chiffon, crepe, or voile over silk. You don’t want horrible sweat stains under your breasts, at the base of your spine and at your armpits.

9. Choose a tuxedo fabric that also breathes for the men, and select open-backed vests for the men’s comfort as well.

10. Choose the right shoes. Go for comfort as well as style with thicker heels that won’t sink into soft summertime grass.

11. Skip the train. If your ceremony and reception will be outdoors, skip the long train that only gathers grass stains with every step you take.

12. Prepare for summer hair. Curls and sculpted up-do’s often don't fare well in hot, humid weather, so go for a trial-run hair styling with a pro, explaining your summer wedding date and experimenting with sleeker hairstyles such as a pulled-back chignon or low ponytail. Hairstyles with height just aren’t going to look good for long in hot summer weather.

13. Re-think the flowers in your hair. Individual fresh blooms tucked into your hair won’t have a water source and may be the first to wilt, which is not the best effect on your wedding day.

14. Pack blotting papers and powder. Guard against shine on your nose and forehead by including plenty of blotting papers and powder in your purse or emergency kit, and ask a bridesmaid to let you know when you need to treat your skin shine so that you don’t look oil-dipped in your important photos.

15. Skip the perfume. If you don’t want swarms of bees around you, skip the scent until the evening hours when you can freshen with a gentle spritz. If you or your groom have outdoor allergies, check the day’s pollen counts at nasal-allergies.com or weather.com, and use your regular allergy medication to prevent the sniffles, sneezing, red and watery eyes, and stuffed-up sinuses that can wreck your look and comfort.

Next: How to keep your flowers looking fresh ►

Pages