There are many things a bride can control on her wedding day, but there is one thing that you can never control, and you certainly can’t rely on it either.   The British weather.  But whatever the weather, you’re going to have to be prepared for it!  So we have come up with some handy tips to ensure your day runs smoothly whatever weather conditions come your way.

Rain

• Don’t forget your umbrella! And make sure you have enough for each member of the bridal party.  How about colour coordinating them to your wedding theme? Umbrellas are available in plenty of colours and can make for some fab photos as you approach your ceremony venue.  They are also available to hire for your special day.
• Baby wipes can be handy on your wedding day for all sorts of reasons, but they are particularly useful for rubbing off mud splashes on the hem of wedding dresses and marks on light coloured bridal shoes.
• You may have dreamt of your venues amazing gardens as you photo back drop, but make sure you have a planned space where you will be able to take photos inside if the weather is not how you expected it to be. Your photographer should be able to advise you, but take a look yourself and choose what you would like in the background.
• If your wedding venue is a marquee, remember that if it rains, you will hear it! Ensure that all speakers have a microphone or move to a different room for your speeches so they can be heard above the noise.
• Some wedding venues disallow confetti inside the building, so if it rains you may not be able to have your all-important confetti shot.  Ask if you are allowed an area where confetti can be thrown and make sure you get plenty of guests to join you there!  Some venues request natural petal confetti only, so be sure to let your guests know.
• To save the bottom of your dress from the wet ground and mud, consider taking an old sheet to lie on the floor and stand on! That way the sheet can get dirty and be thrown away and you keep a lovely clean dress and shoes.

Hot Sunshine

• Ensure you venue lays out plenty of bottles of water on every table and keeps replenishing them throughout the day. Also think about putting one inside your wedding car for before and after the ceremony. You will be surprised how thirsty you are after saying those vows!
• Small fans - These can be bought in shops and are battery powered so will be a god send to your hot guests as they sit for your speeches or are waiting for their photo call. Why not provide one as your favour to each of your guests?
• It’s hot work for guests as they watch you and your friends and families pose for photos. Make sure they have somewhere to sit or stand in the shade and ask for cool welcome drinks to be served to them there.
• Remember that cakes melt in heat! Ask someone to check that your venue or caterers keep the cake refrigerated until you are ready to cut it.
• Simple but essential! Make sure your venues windows all open properly and are actually opened on the day. Also enquire about hiring air conditioning units for your day or check their system works properly.
• Do not dress too early! The sooner you put your dress on the longer you will be in it and wedding dresses are not known for their cooling qualities!
• Don’t forget to take some sun cream! Whilst you are standing about in the sun, you could quite easily get burnt. Also ensure your face cream contains sunscreen of at least SPF15.

Snow

• Make sure your shoes have some type of grip on them or ask someone who does have gripped shoes to help you to your car and to your venue entrance - snow can be very slippery!  Use sandpaper and rub the bottom of your shoes soles to create a light grip.
• Ask someone to ensure that your venue have cleared any snow away from the parking areas and entrance to your venue and spread grit to ensure a safe entrance for your guests.
• Make sure your venue has the heating on! If you are having a marquee reception, enquire about hiring heaters to ensure your guests are kept comfortable throughout the day. If they have fireplaces, ask for fires to be lit.
• Guests will not wait around in the cold to be called for photos. Assign someone in your bridal party to go and fetch the required guests from inside to save people from standing around and getting cold as you pose for photos.
• Give yourself extra time to get to your venue. If you wake up and it’s snowed over night, ask someone to call your transport company and ask them to come a little earlier so you can leave earlier. Make allowances for traffic disruptions and get yourself to the church/venue on time!

Whatever the weather, you can rely on The Designer Card Company to produce gorgeous handmade wedding stationery for you.  Offering everything from Wedding Invitations through to Thank You Cards, The Designer Card Company can provide a whole suite of matching designer wedding stationery to make sure that your wedding theme is continued throughout your whole wedding.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at 6:24 am and is filed under Wedding News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.