"It's a cruel, cruel, cruel summer..."

If you don't know what song those lyrics are from, then look it up, because we are about to have a cruel summer - a very hot, cruel summer to be specific! (Flashback to the 1983 video by Bananarama for "Cruel Summer") Forecasters say we are moving from an El Nino into a La Nina climate weather pattern by the end of summer, which creates "heat domes." Without going into too much scientific jargon, it means that we are going to see temperatures that are higher than normal this summer, as well as more potential for wildfires. If you've lived in or visited the Pacific Northwest in the last few summers, then you will know what I'm talking about - and this summer may break even more records.

What does this mean for weddings in Oregon? Well, in addition to planning for rain outside of the months of June, July and August, now we need to plan for heat and smoke in June, July and August. And September really could have anything - we go from a warm rain to a heat wave in just days! That means we need to have Plan B set in place BEFORE the wedding day!

How to plan for heat and smoke

Chances are, you won't be able to plan too far in advance for a heat wave or wildfire smoke. When you start planning your wedding day, and you plan to have a lot of seniors, children or anyone with respitory issues in attendance, you might as well just look at indoor venues. The benefit of having your wedding indoors is that you can control the temperature, there's no sun, shade or wind issues, and it doesn't limit any of your meal, dessert or flower choices!

If you must stay outdoors, look for a venue that has shade. This can bring the temperature down by up to ten degrees for you and your guests! Have the ceremony in the shade and have the reception in the shade.

Making a plan for heat and smoke before the wedding day may look something like: "If the temperature is between 95* and 100*, then we will do _____ to help the service providers and our guests." "If the temperature goes above 100*, then we will have the venue move the reception indoors." "If the air quality index reaches ___ because of the smoke, then we will provide N-95 masks for our guests during the ceremony and move the reception indoors." Making these plans for when changes need to be made will help lower the emotional stress response in the days before the wedding - all of you will just know that it is happening.

Discuss plans with everyone

Make sure you have a conversation about heat and sun with your venue coordinator, your wedding coordinator, your caterer, your florist and your makeup artist. They all need to make changes based on the heat and sun!

• At the venue, it may be moving your ceremony or reception space, renting a tall tent or even adding a misting space.
• Your wedding coordinator will have all kinds of ideas about how to beat the heat and limit smoke inhilation, so make sure you discuss plans with them often.
• A caterer may need to move your buffet inside an air-conditioning building for food safety reasons.
• You might need to look at heat-tolerant flowers for your wedding with your florist, or choosing greenery and hardscape items instead of florals.
• Your makeup artist will need to know about how much you sweat or how oily your skin is, and how to combat that throughout the day.
• Don't foget to consider an updo with your hair stylist, instead of leaving it down.
• Lastly, it may also be a great idea to change your wedding dress to something with one or two layers, that is shorter, or even change from one dress for the ceremony to another cooler dress for the reception.

Creating comfort on the big day

When you are making a Plan B for heat or smoke, there are really two parts to it: logistics and comfort. A lot of the items above are logistics, so let's move onto comfort during a heat wave or wildfire smoke.

First, remember that any employer must meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements for their employees. During a heat wave, this means that employees get extra breaks, preferably in air-conditioning or in the shade, and are provided lots of water. This increases if employees are doing physical work - putting up tents, setting up tables and chairs, moving large furniture or lifting heavy catering dishes. Sometimes these employees are also wearing black - it's more professional, but it also absorbs so much heat from the sun! If there is wildfire smoke present, employees may request or be required to wear N95 masks, or limit their time outside breathing in that air. So take it easy with your service providers - they may need more time to get things setup up, or may need to hire additional staff to keep the work going.

Here is a list of ways to increase comfort for your guests and your service providers during a heat wave or higher temperatures, or smoke in the air:

• #1 suggestion: water stations available and refilled at your welcome area, ceremony space, cocktail hour, reception space, dance floor area
• bring in additional tents for your ceremony space, the DJ, the catering team, and more
• rent market or patio umbrellas for your tables
• hand fans and parasols for the ceremony for your guests
• consider renting large industrial fans to keep air moving under tents
• set up a misting area, away from reception tables, catering and electronics
• hire someone to do additional ice delivery after the cocktail hour, mid-reception and toward the end of the reception
• extra undershirts and white button-down shirts for men in the wedding party (or create fun shirts for them to change into later in the reception!)
• make sure any food trucks or service trailers have a generator to run AC
• consider frozen waterbottles or frozen washcloths for guests to grab
• a small indoor, AC space for guests to sit and cool off - great for vulnerable guests or those experiencing heat exhaustion
• make sure someone, whether it's your venue coordinator, your wedding coordinator, or someone in your family or wedding party, knows the signs of heat exhaustion, heat stroke and more
• adjust the time of your ceremony to be later in the day
• provide N95 masks to mimize smoke inhilation

Planning for the heat and smoke in the air is just part of the logistics that you need to consider when planning your wedding day. You may not have to move to Plan B, but it's a good idea to have it in place so that you, and all of the people you've hired, have an idea of how things might change that day. No one wants a "cruel, cruel summer" wedding day!

Blog post idea from an article by Brides - https://www.brides.com/summer-2024-hottest-wedding-season-heat-plan-8642444