Summer lovin’, had me a blast… Okay, maybe you’re too young for that reference but you can go here to clear up any confusion. (Though that song doesn’t age well. #cringe as the younger among us would say.) Regardless of bad song choices, summer is a great time to get married and so we’re here with lots of summer wedding inspiration.
It turns out that fall weddings are currently the most popular (go here for stats) but July and August are still in the top six months for most weddings. And in Erie, with our big beautiful lake, is summer not a fantastic time to get married? Summer in Erie is a shorter-than-we’d-prefer season with so much to offer. (We’re wondering if summer might not be more popular in Erie than in national stats.)
Asking people to travel to Erie for a summer wedding is a little like giving them a gift, especially if they’ve never been near a Great Lake. Before we move on to summer wedding inspiration, let’s look at…
Things to keep in mind for a summer wedding
The big thing that will affect your summer wedding planning is the summer itself. Depending on the month and the actual time on the big day, you’ll want to check an almanac about predicted weather. An almanac can help you to look months ahead instead of just the usual 10 days.
Extreme heat and humidity need to be considered. This doesn’t just affect your older guests. No matter your age or your general health, heat and humidity can be a serious bummer.
Summer wedding inspirations have to be married to ((ha)) summer wedding considerations.
With that in mind:
Beverages
This can be a big help with the weather. Have lots of bottled water available and get creative in ways to remind them to keep drinking said water. (And make sure the water is not “purified.” That means there are no minerals left and no minerals means no absorption. Get spring water.) You could have little signs all around the event or have your wait staff walking doing constant water laps.
When it comes to adult beverages, perhaps create or have some signature ice laden drinks available. You could even have wedding popsicles! Fun.
Food
Think lighter and crispy and lots of fruit. This is a great wedding season for edible flowers which could be used on cake, in salads, and even as drink garnishes. Again, all of this will help with hydration and cooling and overall comfort.
Miscellaneous
If you’re outside (and of course you are), make sure to have lots of seating in shaded areas.
Put out buckets of mini UV sprays/creams and bug sprays. (Speaking of bugs… citronella candles and oils come in much better scents now.)
Perhaps have buckets of cooling towels available, especially if you know you have a lot of vigorous dancers around you.
Summer wedding inspiration
We’ve written about classic wedding traditions so you can check those out and play with incorporating them into some of the fun summer stuff here.
Summer wedding favors and welcome bags
Think again about how this could be something fun and useful. You could provide cooling hats for your guests or personal fans (of the electric or old fashioned variety), just for a couple of examples. You could also create custom beach towels for your guests.
For favor ideas, you could have tiny potted plants at each table for your guests or ribbon wrapped packets of annual flower seeds or even little six packs of started flowers from your favorite nursery.
You could throw together a cute summer bag filled with essentials like bottled water, UV protection, a little snack, a towel, pain medicine, bug spray. This would be extra nice for everyone in your wedding party.
Think casual for pre-wedding party
Summer is the perfect time for a super casual pre-wedding party. And being in Erie, this could include sand and surf (if, of course, you know of private beaches since you cannot have alcoholic beverages on the peninsula).
Your pre-wedding party could even be a daytime picnic with beach volleyball, kites, and grilled food. If you need ideas, just drive around the peninsula to get some summer wedding inspiration.
Get on a sailboat
Whether it’s a pre-wedding party or part of the actual reception, you could go for a sailboat ride on the bay or out into the lake, depending on the time you want to spend. Of course, you could have the whole thing on the water (check this out).
Summer wedding inspiration: Play games
Who says a wedding reception has to be limited to eating, drinking, and dancing? You could have summer games spread around the grounds. Who in Erie doesn’t enjoy some cornhole or croquet? If you want to get really competitive, you could set up a badminton net. You could have giant jenga or one of those big lawn chess sets. The possibilities are endless.
Decorate with the season itself
You don’t have to do much to make summer beautiful. Summer wedding inspiration is all around you.
Seasonal flowers, candles, twinkle lights, and some balloons and you’d be pretty much done. Keep things simple and let the season do most of the work.
Instead of a photo booth, consider a flower wall that guests can pose in front of.
Consider pies
What says summer more than a fruit pie? You could have a small cake for the bride and groom and then a variety of light, sweet, summery pies for all of your guests. To keep things really neat, you could do mini, single serving pies.
The main thing to consider
Think about your favorite parts of summer. What are your favorite summer memories from when you were a kid? Or… what were memories of summer that you feel like you missed out on as a kid? Now is your chance to make all these dreamy wishes a reality.
Let your own love of this season be all the summer wedding inspiration you need.
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