Summer in the Pacific Northwest is like nothing else. Warm days, cool yet comfortable evenings, zero to very low humidity, and you have light until 9pm! Amazing! It’s no wonder Summer is the most popular season to get married!

If you’re planning your wedding in those sweet summer months, here are some tips to help you take advantage of all our gorgeous summers have to offer!

Summer Wedding Tip #1

Plan a Later Ceremony!

When you think of the summer, you probably think of later evenings, maybe dinner with friends outside as the sun starts into it’s golden hour decent and enjoying some cocktails or late evening desserts. That to me is a perfect summer in the city evening! However, when most couples initially plan their summer wedding timeline, they put their ceremony at about 2 or 3pm! This puts their dinner at around 5pm and with the sun not setting until 8:30 or 9, that becomes one of the hottest parts of the day with some of the most stark overhead lighting from a very bright afternoon sun!

In the Summer you have the luxury of pushing your ceremony back a bit and having your reception at a normal dinner time: around 7pm or so when the evening is starting to cool off and you start to get the most beautiful evening light.

Having a later ceremony also makes for gorgeous light on you while you exchange your vows! When you choose a ceremony which is at 2pm in the Summer, the sun is almost directly overhead, which can cast some less-than-attractive shadows on your cheeks, lips and eyes. Having your ceremony later in the day when the sun has moved further down toward the horizon makes it so you can set the sun behind your officiant and you’ll have beautiful even lighting in your ceremony photos.

Having a later ceremony also allows for your wedding party and Bridal photos to be more comfortable.

If you plan on doing a First Look and having most of your images taken pre-ceremony, with a 2pm ceremony time, your Bridal Photos will be taken sometime around 12-1pm which is a very hot time of day for your groom and groomsmen to be hanging out in their three-piece suits! If you have planned a fuller, heavier dress you might also feel quite uncomfortable being outside for an hour to an hour and a half in the mid-day heat, and the last thing you want is sweat ruining your gorgeous wedding-day makeup!

So, moral of the story is: plan your ceremony a littler later in the day and you’ll be more comfortable and have better photos!

Check out images from ceremonies planned later in the evening below to see what I mean!

Summer Wedding Tip #2

Choose lighter colored suits or replace the jackets with cool suspenders for the guys!

Summers even in our fairly temperate PNW can be HOT, so while you might have chosen light, flowing dresses for your ladies, don’t forget to make cooler choices for your groom and groomsmen!

Summer weddings are particularly great for adding in little pops of color, so adding suspenders and taking away the jackets is a great way to get a more formal look without stuffing your groom and his guys into a hot jacket on a 90-degree summer day!

If you really love the look of suit jackets (and who doesn’t- every guy looks like a Calvin Klein Model in one!) choose a lighter fabric or a lighter color like a nice grey, or lighter blue. Doing so will help to reflect some of that sun’s intense heat and will give an overall light and airy vibe to your summer wedding!

Summer Wedding Tip #3

Consider the use of more greenery and less delicate florals for your table settings

Delicate flowers placed on your table settings look incredible on Pintrest, but keep in mind, if you are having a Summer wedding, any florals that sit in the sun without water will very quickly wilt.

Choose delicate strands of greenery instead, as leaves tend to last much longer in the heat and also stand out particularly well against white table settings!

Also keep in mind that the very popular summer floral Hydrangea tends to wilt quite quickly when left in direct sunlight even if it is in water, so if you are planning on having floral centerpieces for outdoor tables perhaps ask your florist for what types of blooms last well in the direct sun and heat. That way by the time your guests get to their table, you’ll still have a wonderful and fresh centerpiece for them to enjoy!

Summer Wedding Tip #4

Tents: They aren’t just for Rain!

Honestly, if you are getting married near Portland having a backup plan for rain even in the Summer isn’t a terrible idea. White tents actually are really beautiful and provide not only a backup ceremony and reception location if the odd summer storm decides to rain on your parade, but they also provide much-appreciated shade for your guests on a hot day.

Especially if you have elderly guests, consider having at least a portion of your reception tables in a covered area where people can escape from the sun for a bit. You can also set up a gorgeous lounge area in one corner of the tent to add some style and offer a comfy spot to chat while avoiding any sunburns!

There are a bunch of companies who specialize in tent rental and assembly, so work with your event planner or venue coordinator on which companies are familiar with your venue and the whole thing will be set up by the time you arrive!

Summer Wedding Tip #5

Plan time for Sunset Portraits!

When you search for examples of bridal portraiture online, most of what you see are these romantically lit, glowy images of a bride and groom, their hair and skin kissed by soft light as they stand together in a gorgeous natural setting. These images are the most prized by photographers and couples alike, and if you’ve seen any of them then I can imagine you’ll want some like this yourself!

These portraits are taken during a time of the day called “Golden Hour.” Golden Hour is that hour just before the sun sets and is when the light turns a golden hue as it is defused by the landscape it is slipping behind.

In the summer, Golden Hour can start as late as 8:30pm, so if getting those gorgeous glowy images is something you want, planning in a specific time slot to slip away from your reception to do these portraits is something you’ll definitely want to put in your timeline.

Receptions are amazing. You and your partner are now fully relaxed with the ceremony and formalities behind you. You’re now fed and are probably enjoying drinks and dancing with your family and best friends. If you plan on activities such as toasts, a first dance, cake cutting mother/son and father/daughter dances, perhaps even the garter or bouquet toss, your reception can be a busy time! So, if you don’t plan in 15 minutes for these sunset photos, the DJ can very often roll through activity after activity without any break that allows you to sneak away and once that sun is set man there’s no turning back time!

Some couples are just starting to really enjoy themselves at their reception too, so without a prior agreement to sneak away to do sunset photos, your photographer might feel like they are intruding on your fun to come up to you and try to steal you away from your party.

So, if getting images like the ones below excite you, talk about it and make a plan! Your photographer should know when the best time would be based on the location of your venue and the time of sunset. Some venues are nestled in valleys and the surrounding hills make sunset time much earlier than what it says on google, so keep in mind your specific location as well when picking when to take the 15 minutes for these glorious images.

Sunset portraits are some of my favorite of the day. You’ll be fully relaxed and just able to enjoy each other in the beauty of the final minutes of golden light on your wedding day. They are usually very fast as especially in the summer the sun sets quickly, so don’t worry, you’ll be back to enjoy your party and dance the night away in no time!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and that it helps you plan an amazing summer wedding!

Have more questions about weddings? Check out all my other blogs in my ‘Tips and Tricks’ and Wedding Education series where you can find tons of unique and helpful information, compiled from years of working in the wedding industry!