By Jocelyn Voo

(LifeWire) — Ahh, warm weather weddings: Nothing evokes a festive mood like triple-digit temperatures and man-eating mosquitoes.

The happy couple’s event planning may have you worrying about the elements, but there are lots of strategies for surviving warm weather weddings without feeling like you’re stuck in the Sahara.

What to wear

In hot and humid temperatures, walking the line between overheating and looking inappropriate is tricky. Your best bet is to err on the side of caution, says Sharon Naylor, author of 35 wedding books, including “The Essential Guide to Wedding Etiquette.” Watch advice on what to wear to wedding »

“Even at an outdoor wedding, guests need to adhere to the wedding formality dress rules,” the Morristown, New Jersey-based wedding expert says.

This means women should wear formal or semi-formal dresses, but can opt for lightweight fabrics, like linen or silk chiffon, and breezier cuts, like Grecian-style “goddess” silhouettes. At minimum, men should wear a button-down shirt and tie with suit pants, but can remove the jacket and tie for comfort.

Plus, it never hurts to check with the newlyweds-to-be. “Guests can absolutely call or e-mail the bride and groom to ask about the dress code,” Naylor says.

If you’re like Jonathan Wood, 27, who served as best man in a beachside summer wedding a few years ago, just take a cue from the couple. “I was in a full tux, but everyone in the wedding party — including the bride and groom — was barefoot, so I went sans socks and shoes and wore the legs of my trousers rolled,” says Wood, a photo editor at a Greensboro, North Carolina, book publishing house.

Outdoor obstacles

In theory, an outdoor wedding on the lake sounds like a romantic moment. In reality, the guests can be eaten alive by insects long before the cake is cut.

Luckily, there’s a more subtle way to take care of the problem than lugging along an economy-size citronella candle. Take preventative measures by covering exposed skin with a bug deterrent that contains eucalyptus oil or lemongrass oil, which are natural bug repellents.

Also, make sure to wear sunscreen, as having red, burned skin at the reception is sure to add to your discomfort.

Airborne allergens pose another potential pitfall. If your allergies are severe, check with your doctor. To deal with runny noses, take along a handkerchief or a pack of travel tissues.

Beating the heat

Tissues and handkerchiefs also can combat the inevitable perspiring that comes with high temperatures. As best man, Pete Warrington, 26, was fighting to stay on his two feet in the 95-degree heat of a Methodist church in Meredith, New Hampshire, that lacked air conditioning.

“It wasn’t so bad when we were sitting in the back before the service, but once we were standing up front, it was like a Swedish sauna — without the jump in the snow afterwards,” says Warrington, a software engineer from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. “We had no programs, no fans, and we couldn’t remove our jackets or ties.”

Warrington was wise enough to grab a paper towel from the bathroom before the ceremony, but when that no longer worked it was all he could do to not pass out. “Luckily, one of the bridesmaids went down before I did,” he laughs. “Kind of took the pressure off.”

After the ceremony, drink iced liquids, dab your face with cold water and change your dampened clothes, if you can. In all likelihood, the reception will be more casual and you can remove your jacket and tie. You might even get to enjoy some air-conditioning.

1. Talk it out-Discuss what marriage means to you and how you envision yourself growing old together

2.Something Old-Look into time honored traditions of your backgrounds.

3. Something Borrowed-Select from poems,songs and romantic movies. Look under “vows” using the search engines on the web or pick up a copy of “The Complete Book of Wedding Vows” by Diane Warner

4.Pen to Paper- write and then repeat out loud. Practice makes perfect

5. Short and Sweet- Keeping things simple has the most impact.

(Taken from Chronicle books @ www.chroniclebooks.com)

By Audrey Irvine
CNN

(CNN) — One of my girlfriends recently got engaged. Before we could even bask in her happiness, the conversation turned to the dreaded guest list.

Audrey Irvine was not only invited to her cousin’s wedding in 2004, she served as a bridesmaid.

Fun questions like, “So, honey, do we have to invite your great aunt, whom you haven’t seen since you were 10?”

So, who should get an invite?

Too often, women are pressured into inviting way too many people to their weddings out of a sense of obligation. Parents, prospective in-laws and grooms can turn a simple wedding into a grand affair.

And as soon as that engagement ring catches her eye, that occasional lunch acquaintance feels entitled to share in your happy nuptials.

Then you realize too late that the majority of people at your wedding don’t really know you or what has been going on in your life up until your big day.

This quiz is something I shared with friends years ago and feel inclined to share with other women.

Here are 10 questions couples can use to trim that guest list and weed out the people you really don’t want at your wedding.

1) Name the city I’m living in now (Good one to weed folks out, especially if you have moved a lot. Don’t use this if you’ve lived in the same place for 10 years).

2) Name at least two of my closest friends.

3) Name my current employer and my past employer (Again, if you’ve remained in the same job for 15 years, this does not apply).

4) Do I have any kids?

5) Do you know the name of my fiancé? Bonus question: Where and when did we meet?

6) Do you know where my parents are and whether they are still alive? (Imagine a friend at your wedding asking how long have your parents been married when they divorced years ago).

7) Name at least two of my hobbies.

How old am I? (My favorite is when family friends would query, ‘Are you 28 now?” Imagine their surprise when I proclaimed, ‘yeah, 10 years ago!’)

9) Where did I go to college? (Some people might not remember whether you attended college or even graduated.)

10) Name my last boyfriend before this engagement. Bonus question: if you can name the last two and why we broke up. If you get the bonus question right, that might automatically get you in.

Scoring helps determine whether you get invited.

If you score 50 percent or below, you definitely are not getting invited.

If you score barely over 50 percent, you are on the waiting list. If someone who scored better than you cannot attend, you might get an invitation. This barely acceptable person who might be invited may get you a great gift because of their guilt for scoring so low.

If you score over 60 percent, you get an invitation.

Now, you don’t have to be as extreme as I would love to be and send these questions with the save the date card. However, imagine if, over the course of your engagement, you pitch these questions to a few prospective guests just to see how they do.

In the end, what matters most is a beautiful wedding day and a sustained marriage.

Wouldn’t you like to celebrate it with loved ones who are invested in your past and present in addition to your future? Plus, it will help you avoid the embarrassing introduction of your new husband to someone who didn’t even realize until that moment that you didn’t marry your college sweetheart, whom you haven’t seen in 15 years!

You have spent months and months preparing for your special day. How could anything possibly go wrong? Murphy’s Law! A few weeks ago a bride had locked herself in her room because the weather was a proverbial flood. This is where your attendants can help. Give one of them access to some funds to deal with anything financial that could come up. Make another in charge of your guests and their issues. But keep the best and most positive person for yourself.  You may need a “The glass is always 1/2 full” type of gal to help you turn the most stressful moments into something you can laugh at when all things appear to be going wrong. Remember……. you want your day to be memorable, not perfect!

Do you keep it or just eat it? The tradition of keeping the top tier began in England and was supposed to be eaten on the Christening of the first child…a year later… It then became tradition to drag the cake out of deep freeze and share it with those closest to you for good luck. I had one bride who was going to eat it at her third month anniversary. That’s when all the females in her family became pregnant. (FYI-It’s not the cake’s fault!)

I offer a complimantary cake on your first anniversary. For those of you that will be coming from far away and may not be back soon, I offer to have the 6″ cake sent to the hotel room for the bride and groom- as you will be getting very little of it at the reception any way! (It can’t hurt to ask your baker to offer the same too.)

I did have a bride that wrapped the cake up tight and planned on taking it back home on the plane. The groom/now husband dropped the cake and stepped on it going up the escaltor and then the security guards demanded they open the box as the went through the security check point. They decided enough was enough and got some champagne and 2 forks and went at it on the ride home.

Here’s what another shared:

 ”Today is my 4th wedding anniversary. The top layer of my wedding cake has been in the freezer for 4 years now. We saved it for that good luck thing. So far, it’s just been in the way of the ice trays and Rocky Road ice cream.

Let me break it down for you, why that dang suggary mess is still in the freezer:

Year one - he was in the county jail. No time together.
Year two - he was in prison. Once again, no time together.
Year three - he was working out-of-town without me. No time together. Though I actually got a phone call on that anniversary.

Today will be the first anniversary we’ve actually spent together. Finally, we can thaw out that blobby mess of the top layer of our wedding cake and debate on whether or not it will kill us to eat it. ”

I don’t know of any one who has sat in divorce court and said “Damn, if we had only kept that top tier we wouldn’t be here now!

Want to laugh or add you own to this website? Go to http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=28399

It’s hard to tell what is right. The old wives tale that if it rains on your wedding day, you will be lucky or great weather on your day means you picked the right location because 90% of the reception is based on the view from the deck/windows. Lakeside weddings are not a huge hit in the rain. Try this website to get the most up to date info on what your day will be like!

http://www.weather.com/activities/events/weddings

p.s. Remember, if you are getting married in New England and you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes because it will probably change.

Here’s a huge shout out to my Brides of May! A donation of $337.00 was made to the Meredith Emergency Food Fund thanks to Avidy, Amanda, Gail, and Jennifer. Here’s wishing you much love and happiness!

Susan

When I am working with a bride, I require a deposit to book the date. I do not expect to get a deposit at this first consultation and the only time I show any urgency in receiving a deposit is if your wedding date is becoming popular one. Beware the vendors who want your money that instant. Make sure you understand what the refund policy is before you give anyone even a nickel.

Any money you give me is 100% refundable, for any reason, up until 2 weeks prior to the wedding date.

I am always humbled when I meet with my brides for the first time. Each one of them brings their own sense of energy and excitement, and are always going way out of their way to plan the “most memorable wedding ever” for their guests. So the next time you attend a wedding and then the reception, notice the napkins, the place settings, the floral arrangements, the lighting, the little baskets in the bathrooms! Each one of these things has been done, with you in mind, so you will share in their special day.