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 Food

seafood bar on ice
Photo Credit: Sherman Chu /  Event Planner: Sasha Souza Events

21. The heat can do terrible things to some of your menu items, including making guests sick. So be sure that all seafood, cheeses and meats are stored in super-cooled serving dishes, perhaps on platters made of ice, and that the caterer keeps replacing sun-warmed salad dressings with cooler, fresher supplies every so often. Specifically ask for this cool-food service, as a safety measure.

22. Choose lighter, non-creamy fare for your cocktail party stations and your meal, to reduce the risk of spoilage. Summer menu items of cold, refreshing veggies, cold seafood, mango skewers and gazpacho shots are far more palatable in hot weather than heavier, cream-sauce dishes…and they’re often less expensive.

23. Cover those serving platters. Keep the flies and bees away by choosing chafing dishes and serving platters with lids on them, and don’t decorate your buffet table or stations with bee-attracting flowers.

24. Prevent mosquito and gnat dive-bombers from attacking your cake [they love the sweet frosting!] and keep your cake from melting in the sun—and collapsing to the floor—by having the site staff keep the cake in the refrigerator for the majority of the reception. It can be wheeled out, fresh and cool, when it’s time to cut the cake.

25. Add frozen drinks to your bar menu for your guests’ comfort and enjoyment.

Sharon Naylor is the author of The Bride’s Survival Guide, as well as over 30 additional wedding books, sharonnaylor.net.

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