Extreme weather — and heat in particular — now factors into almost every aspect of summer wedding planning, from picking flowers that won’t wilt (no hydrangeas) to choosing a cake frosting that won’t melt (no buttercream).
Fall and spring may soon replace summer as the peak wedding season. Jamie Chang, a wedding planner in the Bay Area who specializes in destination weddings, said she has noticed clients trending away from summer over the last five years. She said that certain outdoor locations like Palm Springs, Calif., where temperatures reached around 120 degrees in July, shouldn’t even be considered in the summer.
Tiffany Boykins, the owner of Events By Tiffany, in Atlanta, said she didn’t have a single client this summer who opted for a wedding outside. Even cocktail hours, which may have previously taken place at a venue’s balcony or in a garden, have been moved indoors, she said.
Emma and Tyler Young looked exclusively at indoor venues for their July wedding in Atlanta, where they live. They didn’t want to worry about having a backup plan in case of heat, storms or unhealthy air quality.
“We wanted to be able to comfortably invite children and seniors,” said Ms. Young, 23.
Sheila and Evan Styduhar pushed their wedding in Lake Tahoe, Nev., from August to October 2022 after reading about the wildfires there the previous summer. “Even if there weren’t fires close to where our wedding was going to be, we didn’t want to divert resources and bring tourists to the area when the area is trying to survive,” said Ms. Styduhar, 32.
At the suggestion of their wedding planner, they purchased a wedding insurance policy that covered extreme weather conditions, including floods, blizzards and hurricanes. “It’s not something I ever would have thought of,” Ms. Styduhar said.
Crystal Egger, a meteorologist and co-founder of Monarch, a climate consultancy company based in San Diego, advised that couples planning an outdoor wedding check typical weather trends and have a tent as backup. “This is not the same climate our grandparents were married in,” she said.