With summer just around the corner, it means the Kiwi wedding season is almost here. As couples begin their final wedding countdown, it’s a good time to think about the summer wedding essentials that are necessary for a hot summer wedding.
We love the sunshine and the predictable weather that summer brings which is why it’s our favourite season for weddings. But with all that sun comes a whole lot of heat. Protecting yourself and your guests from heat-related complications are extremely important at a summer wedding.
Summer wedding essentials to combat the heat
With this in mind, we have come up with our top five summer wedding essentials to help you organise the last-minute details that will help you and your guests beat the heat on your wedding day.
Shade
There is no better way to escape the sun than to find a cool piece of shade. It’s just not always practical to duck off to the nearest tree during a wedding ceremony.
The best way to ensure your guests have easy access to shade is to provide sun parasols for each person. Leave the parasols in a tub at the ceremony location and have guests help themselves.
Having mobile shade means guests can escape the sun and enjoy the ceremony at the same time.
Shade is just as important, if not more important, for the wedding couple.
If your venue doesn’t have a shaded area for the ceremony, consider erecting a wedding arch at the altar.
Wedding arches can add great detail to your ceremony while providing you with a cool spot to say your ‘I dos’.
Here at Markovina Vineyard Estate, we have several shaded areas that couples can choose from for their ceremony location. And, as we only host one wedding per day, couples have the freedom to change their minds depending on how hot the summer sun is that day.
Fans and cooling mists
Sometimes the summer heat is just too powerful to run away from. When this happens, we need something fast and effective to cool us down.
Much the same as the summer parasols, we suggest providing enough fans for the guests and bridal party. Fans are an age-old cooling method and there are some beautiful and cost-effective designs available today. Fans are light, easy to use and won’t get in anyone’s way. Best of all, fans provide each person with the light breeze they need to beat the heat.
Water mists are also very effective for quick cooling. These are cool sprays that guests can apply to their face or neck if they feel too hot at any point during the wedding. You don’t need a mist for every person but it is important to have cooling mists available to guests whenever they need them.
It’s often best to keep all cooling and shade items in the same place so guests know where to go to cool off.
A sun-safe station
The New Zealand sun is known for its harsh effects on our skin. As the day heats up, it’s common to feel the sun’s heat rapidly burning us.
The last thing you want is for you or your guest to come away from your wedding a deep shade of pink.
While we should all take responsibility for ourselves, we can sometimes forget the basics when we’re having too much fun. We also tend to forget to bring the more-practical items such as sunscreen along to a wedding.
A sun-safe station is where guests can go to lather up in sunscreen and perhaps even throw on a hat. It’s important to reapply sunscreen several times a day and, with a sun-safe station available, the chances of forgetting to do this become very slim.
Bathroom refresher baskets
Summer wedding couples are very accommodating when it comes to providing the necessary tools for their guests to cool down. Bathroom refresher baskets are one of the top summer wedding essentials as they are a great way to freshen up throughout the day.
Bathroom refresher packs are placed in both women’s and men’s toilets and provide all the necessary items for a quick freshen up.
These items include:
- Deodorant
- Face wipes
- Breath mints
- Tissues
- Hand sanitiser
- Hair combs
- Plasters
- Safety pins
Water, water, water
We can’t stress the importance of drinking enough water during a full day in the sun. For you and your guest, this is the most important of all summer wedding essentials.
The combination of alcohol and sun is a recipe for dehydration and the only way to combat this is to drink plenty of water. The risks associated with dehydration can be easily avoided when the guests and bridal parties are conscious of their water consumption.
Dehydration can lead to all sorts of complications, none of which you’d want for yourself or any of your guests. From nausea to fainting, dehydration can be very serious.
Water should be available throughout the day from a self-serving source. Guest should be able to get a glass of water at any point whether it’s from bottles or dispensers.
We love summer here at Markovina Vineyard Estate and we’re looking forward to another amazing wedding season.
We urge all wedding couples to be vigilant with their summer wedding essentials so they can fully enjoy their day and beat the heat where necessary.
Markovina is a stunning wedding venue throughout the year. If you’re planning a wedding and you’re looking for the perfect venue, give us a call today to have a chat.
