Summer is the most popular time of year for couples to tie the knot—and with good reason. The weather is glorious, the colours are bright and beautiful, and your guests can show up in those gorgeous floral dresses they’ve been dying to wear. However, summer weddings do come with their own set of challenges that brides and grooms need to plan for. Your venue may be able to handle these problems better than you could on your own (like if a sudden summer storm floods the grounds or there’s an unexpected heat wave), but it doesn’t hurt to think ahead. Here are some things you should keep in mind while planning your quintessential summer wedding:

Keep it cool.

Now for the most important part of a summer wedding: keeping everyone cool. It’s an easy way to make sure everyone is happy and comfortable, and it will also help keep your sanity in check. Here are some ideas for how to do it:

• Keep drinks cold
• Keep food cool
• Have a backup plan if the weather is too hot (and be prepared for rain!)

Check the weather and plan accordingly. If you’re an allergy sufferer, it’s important to be prepared for your wedding day. If there’s a chance of rain, keep your gown and all other fabric items away from the outdoors as much as possible. That way, if it does sprinkle (or worse), there won’t be any mishaps with water damage or stains on your white dress!

Set the mood with music.

Music is a great way to set the mood and create a theme at your wedding. Music can set the tone, make guests feel more comfortable, and help you remember memorable moments. You should choose music that is appropriate for the time of day, venue and guests. For example, classical piano music might be more appropriate for an evening ceremony than heavy metal rock music would be!

Ice, ice baby.

Ice is the ultimate party must-have. It can keep drinks, food, and attendees at the perfect temperature.

To really make ice shine as an essential component of any wedding day, get creative with its uses. Put it in flower arrangements to keep flowers fresh and bright; place it on top of tables so guests aren’t distracted by hot plates; use it as table centrepieces that won’t melt when the sun comes out (because we all know how quickly those things can disappear).

And if there’s one thing you’ll need on a hot summer day, it’s water—especially when taking pictures outside! Make sure you have plenty of bottles available for both yourself and your photographer so they don’t pass out from heat exhaustion halfway through their shoot. 

Your guests will love you for your extra effort in keeping them cool and their allergies at bay!

It’s summer, so have fun with the food.

Our personal favourite is a 3 course meal of summer delights. Start with potted smoked haddock, sourdough crostinis, herb salad. It’s the perfect time of year for a lamb dish, so our pan fried lamb fillet, crispy lamb shoulder, dauphinoise potatoes, pea & mint puree, spring onions, radish, greens, lamb jus is the perfect option for a main course. Finish the meal with our summery trio of Rhubarb. Rhubarb & vanilla brûlée, rhubarb & rosewater sorbet & rhubarb & apple jelly. Yum!

For a vegan option, start with our delicious caramelised roscoff onion tart tatin with chicory & grapes. Its got to be our salt baked celeriac, hasselback potatoes, spinach, beetroot & carrot ribbons for your main and finally enjoy our homemade summer berry sorbet.

Summer Desserts/Drinks/Cocktails

As you’ve probably noticed, there are a lot of summer weddings happening right now. And if you’re anything like me and have ever been to one, then you know how hard it can be to stay cool while eating ice cream while standing in the blazing hot sun. Luckily, this is where I come in: with tons of great dessert ideas! We’ve got all the best ideas for your wedding – from plated fine desserts, dessert tables or even a trio with 3 mini desserts. Have a look at our sample menus to get some ideas.

We hope these ideas have given you some inspiration to make your summer wedding a real celebration. If you’re still looking for more ideas, don’t forget to check out our other blogs on wedding food, including more tips and tricks on how to make sure all of your guests get something they want. 

If you have any other cool tips for summer weddings, please leave them in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you! Planning a summer wedding, get in touch today to start planning with us!

The Taste Team x