The faith of couples is amazing! Standing in full hot sun, underneath a cloudless blue sky and a 80% humidity, some remark, “we thought we might get a break” on a mid-January afternoon wedding. Flowers and guests begin to wilt at outdoor weddings when the temperature exceeds 35 degrees. It’s difficult for a photographer to capture smiles on the guest’s faces when sweet is running down it. Children are crabby and video seemingly melts in the camera…well, you get the idea.

While hot weather wedding speeds up the minister, it slows down the funky chicken at the reception, if anyone can even muster the energy to dance.

Here are some tips for a hot outdoor wedding:

1. Shade. Find some shade. Make some shade. Get under some trees, rent some lawn umbrellas, or offer the elderly some hand-held umbrellas. Don’t face the sun during the ceremony and don't make your guests face the sun. Position your ceremony where the sun 's Direction is to the side of your wedding. 

2. Bring sunscreen. If you must have a wedding with anyone facing the sun, make sure ample sunscreen and UV400 sunglasses are available. Fair skinned people can burn in a matter of minutes and suffer for days afterward.

3. Avoid strenuous activity. Don’t try to do everything the day of the wedding. Set up tables early in the morning or the night before. Get help setting up chairs. Don't use metal chairs period. After ten minutes in the sun they will sear any flesh they come into contact with.

4. Provide lots of ice-cold drinking water at one or more locations. Just like having a guest book attendant stop people for signatures, have someone dispensing water. No, not beer, water!

5. Fans sometimes turn hot air into hot air with friction. Misters on fans are like spraying your guests with a garden hose and are noisy enough to drown-out your Ave Maria. Big rental companies rent authentic portable evaporative coolers. Spend the extra few dollars to provide this source of quiet cool air when the dew point is low enough.

6. Bring a handkerchief. This elegant, and often over-looked item is the perfect complement to any hot-weather wedding ensemble. From the breast pocket of a stylish tuxedo or the hand of the beautiful bride, the discrete patting of a handkerchief can be a relief on one’s face. Hand fans with the wedding program printed on them are becoming popular.

7.If your antiperspirant doesn’t work cutting the lawn in February, it probably won’t work at your wedding either. Since you will be soaked with perspiration during the ceremony and photos, you might also consider bringing at least a change of underclothing for the reception. Bridal parties should travel to the wedding with tissues under their arm pits, nothing worse then sweat stains on your dress as you walk down the isle.

8. Call 000. If anyone suffers the symptoms of heat exhaustion, don’t wait for the coma. Place cold cloths on wrists and the forehead and get medical attention immediately. Slim people will dehydrate and faint quicker than most.

9. Plan. Make a detailed schedule of the day and try to follow it. Make sure you have time for everything. Don’t add stress and rushing to a hot summer day’s schedule. Stay inside with air-conditioning as long as you can and get back inside frequently as your wedding day goes by.

10. Your minister, DJ or musicians, florist, parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, vocalist, and all your guests are praying you have an indoor wedding. Can you take the wedding inside? Remember when you hire a musician with wood instruments to position them in the shade and out of the wind. The sun and wind will dry out the instruments and they will not be happy.

If you have planned an outdoor wedding and the weather on your day resembles Perth's hot weather, don’t cry over it. Nothing can be done about the weather, but you can prepare for it. Be sensitive to your guests and be wise about your plans.

But remember to drink plenty of water thru out the day and have something to eat before you leave for the wedding.