Wedding ceremony: Celebrant tips in case of a heat wave

Dear bride & groom,

You are dreaming of an outdoor wedding ceremony in a beautiful French venue? As outlined in another post, rain is an essential factor to take into consideration but beware of the sun! What is your contingency plan in case of a heat wave?

Based on the high number of sunshine hours and low chance of rain over the summer months in most part of France, you are very likely to enjoy a magical outdoor wedding ceremony with the sun shining and blue skies, however if the temperature is too high, it may have a huge impact on your wedding ceremony.

Many couples make sure they have a contingency plan in case it trains, which is an excellent idea, however only a few of them give some thought to what they should in the event of a heat wave, which is an increasingly frequent occurrence.

I have the pleasure to celebrate over 100 wedding ceremonies over the past 8 years therefore I have decided to draw on my experience as a wedding celebrant in France to give you a few tips.

I have celebrated several ceremonies in extremely hot weather conditions, which caused many major inconveniences:

• Before the ceremony starts, guests rush to be seated in the shade when possible. Despite my encouragements, guests refuse to sit in the sun and prefer to stand in the shade even if it means standing far away from the actual ceremony area.

• When guests do not sit where they are supposed to they leave empty chairs, which is far from ideal from photos, particularly if the empty chairs are in the front rows.

• No matter how beautiful and meaningful your wedding ceremony is, no matter how hard your celebrant work to make your ceremony as personal as possible, all efforts will be in vain if all your guests can think about is to rush to the nearest water point.

• If the sun is too bright, your guests will be tempted to keep their sunglasses on, which is fine if your ceremony is a low-key event on the beach but less so if you had a more official and formal affair on the grounds of a majestic chateau. Besides, you may struggle to recognize your guests on your wedding pictures if they all wear sunshades!

• You will be unlikely to enjoy your own wedding if you are sunstroke!

• Your wedding celebrant who, as a professional will neither sit nor wear sunglasses, will undoubtedly struggle to read their script because of the brightness and will also suffer from the heat, which can have a negative impact on their performance.

To conclude, save yourself unnecessary stress and inconvenience and consider the heat as an element just as important as rain is.

Rule n°1: Once you have decided on the time of your wedding ceremony, visit your wedding venue at the same time a few days or weeks before your wedding day and check where the sun is. Will your ceremony spot nicely shaded or will it be exposed to the blazing sun? If you cannot come across to France before the Big day, ask someone to do it for you (your venue manager, your wedding planner or your wedding celebrant).

Rule n°2: Check the weather forecasts. If it looks like your wedding spot will be in the sun and that temperature is expected to exceed 30°C (86°F), I strongly advise that you choose another spot. If no alternative is available on your chosen wedding venue, allocate a portion of your budget to the rental of parasols, marquees, shade sails, umbrellas, etc. (exactly as you would do in case of wet weather).

Rule n°3: Take good care of your guests and make sure they keep cool: Arrange for the distribution of small bottles of water. Make sunshades, fans, sun block cream, sun hats, cooling sprays, etc. available to them.

Rule n°4: Take care of yourself: You will probably be more concerned about your guests’ well-being than your own but you do not want to suffer from dehydration and pass out at your own wedding! Take short breaks away from the crowd, freshen up regularly and drink lots of water.

For more tips on summer weddings, Click here