It’s the same every year in Arizona – we’re bragging about our amazing weather all through March and April, then like a train out of nowhere, the unbearable heat hits without warning. My 15-month-old and I love to sit outside in the mornings, but that’s officially over for the season. I tried to suffer through it today, but I was sweating and eyeing the pool by 8:00am. Ugh!

I surely don’t envy you girls who are on bridesmaid duty during the hot summer months, and I myself have done it before, so I know what to expect. Here are some tips for making the heat a little more bearable…
1) Bring a cooler with ice packs. You can take this with you while all the outdoor photos are being taken. An ice pack on the back of the neck, feet, or wrists can provide instant relief.
2) Stay inside in the air conditioning until you absolutely have to go outside. This might seem obvious, but there are so many bridal parties who suffer through standing around in the heat when they could run indoors to escape for a couple minutes.
3) Take your heels off unless there are photos being taken. Wearing spa sandals will keep your feet cooler – and your feet won’t sweat like they would in regular flip flops.
4) Drink water! Throw a bunch in the cooler with your ice packs. Skip the champagne until later – it will just make you feel tired in the heat.
5) Bring umbrellas for the bridal party – if you have to stand in the heat, these can provide shade.
6) Use tissue as a barrier between your underarms and dress – sweatmarks are not a good fashion accessory.
If the wedding is outside, you’ll have to suffer through it, but it won’t be as bad if you’ve taken care to stay cool before the ceremony. Plus, you’ll hopefully be so caught up in your happiness for the couple, you won’t even notice….for a few minutes anyway.
-Keri

















If the kids in the wedding are very young, it’s always good to have them walk together. If you have a junior bridesmaid, she can follow up behind them and scoot them along if anyone decides to take a break on their way to the front (I’ve seen this happen – pretty funny stuff when the flower girl sits down on the aisle to play with her petals). Once the little ones are ‘on stage’, make sure a bridesmaid and groomsman are assigned to take care of them. My brother and sister-in-law just held the kids’ hands and they managed pretty well, though of course they were disinterested after about five minutes. If the parents are seated as guests, it’s definitely more likely that your flower girl or ring bearer may want to go sit with them. If this happens, my advice is to let them. That’s much less of a distraction that hearing them sqeal, “Momeeeee!”


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