So you want to get married in July in Tallahassee, Florida. Through my 7 years as a Tallahassee wedding officiant,  I’ve learned a few things about having a Tallahassee wedding ceremony in the Summer. Here are my tips and idea on How to have a July Tallahassee Wedding Ceremony

1. Always have a Plan B because it might rain. Summer time in Florida gets a lot of rain. There’s no pattern or way to predict what the weather so I highly recommend having a back-up plan and an umbrella on hand in case of rain.

Rain on your wedding day is good luck. Always have an umbrella handy and a backup place for a ceremony….just in case!

2. If you’re having the ceremony outside consider having your July Tallahassee wedding ceremony early in the morning before it gets SO hot.

Have your ceremony early in the day and in a place with a lot of shade. This is a beautiful morning Tallahassee wedding ceremony at The Southwood House in Tallahassee Florida.

3. Provide water for guests. I suggest placing a tube with ice and water bottles behind the last row of chairs in the ceremony so guests can easily grab a cold bottle of water on the way to their seats.

4. Have an inside reception. July in Tallahassee is HOT. There’s no way around it. Tallahassee is a beautiful place for outside wedding ceremonies so I understand the desire to have your wedding outside. There are a lot of venues and parks where you can have a beautiful outdoor summer wedding ceremony then have a nice reception inside. This is a great because then you and your guests don’t have to spend too much time in the heat.

An inside luncheon wedding reception at the Southwood House in Tallahassee after a morning wedding ceremony in the front lawn.

5. Have an inside ceremony. Most venues have a way of transforming a space into a beautiful indoor area for a wedding ceremony. Planning to have your summer time ceremony inside elements a lot of concerns (heat, rain, bugs, sun) and allows you to focus on everything else. A lot of the couples I’ve officiated weddings for that have had their July ceremonies will go outside for pictures so they still capture the beautiful Tallahassee area.

This an inside wedding ceremony at the Capital City Country Club in Tallahassee that I officiated in August 2015.

This was the inside wedding ceremony setup for a July 2015 wedding that I officiated at Hotel Duval in Tallahassee, FL.

6. Have a short and sweet ceremony. Your wedding ceremony is important. There are a lot of nice ways to make your wedding ceremony sweet and simple so that it doesn’t leave you and your guests melting in the heat or  bored of of their minds.

7. So you’re having an outdoor wedding ceremony in July- embrace the heat! You must know that it’s going to be hot so maybe consider adding some fun to the heat. At a recent wedding I officiated at Lichgate on High Rd in Tallahassee they had an ice cream truck for guests to enjoy after the ceremony; they called it “ice cream hour”.

While you take pictures have an Ice cream hour in-lieu of a cocktail hour.

8. If you do chose to have your July Tallahassee wedding ceremony outside prepare for mosquitoes. Some venues will spray for mosquitoes. If allowed, you could have tiki torches around. At a wedding I recently officiated the couple had placed a basket with bug spray right as guests walked into the park.

Kristin and Alex had their Juily 18 Tallahassee wedding ceremony in the morning right on their screened in back porch. It was shaded, protected from bugs, and full of happiness. Afterwards they were heading straight to a celebratory breakfast.

9. Pick me as your Tallahassee Wedding Officiant 😉

All in all, July is a great time to get married in the Tallahassee Florida area. The town is not overcrowded with college students, you don’t have to deal with football schedule, everything is green and lush… just to name a few. Deciding on when to have your wedding is always a bit stressful. If you’ve always wanted to get married in July then do it because there’s a lot of ways to have a beautiful wedding in Tallahassee in July.