Celebrate Intimate Weddings

with Relationship Speaker/Author/Coach...
Larry James

Getting married in Arizona? It's not called the "Valley of the Sun" for nothing. However, you rarely will find yourself freaking out about the weather in Arizona. Outdoor weddings are romantic and beautiful.

The ideal weather encourages lots of couples to plan a destination wedding in the Greater Phoenix area. Most wedding vendors are experienced in handling all the details of your wedding by telephone and e-mail. For a stress-free destination wedding hire a wedding consultant. Do that and you can sit back, relax and enjoy your wedding.

Keep hydrated. Drink lots of water. Everyone knows water helps keep you cool. Give guests ice-cold bottles of water as they are seated.

Given the right weather conditions and location, an outdoor wedding can be as romantic as it is beautiful. It may seem like a no-brainer, but sunscreen is a must. Remember to apply it before you put on your makeup (for the rehearsal and the wedding).

Can you take the wedding inside? Make sure you have accommodations available, such as a tent or indoor facility, for possible inclement weather. Always have a "plan B." With only 7.66 to 8.32 inches of rain per year, our area offers an ideal setting for outdoor weddings. The Greater Phoenix area has more than 325 days of annual sunshine. If the forecast is for rain the weekend of your wedding, a good alternative is to have a brief rehearsal inside just in case. The ideal outdoor wedding location has an indoor location waiting just in case. Many brides and grooms opt to have their ceremony outside and reception inside.

Probably the most confusing and often debated weather event in Arizona is our so called "monsoon". During the wet monsoon (July, August and September) we get 32% of our normal yearly rainfall. Average monsoon rainfall (July, Aug. and Sept.) is 2.45 inches.

Finding the best place to hold a wedding ceremony in Arizona can take time because many top wedding venues and wedding locations book up months or years in advance. The near ideal weather in Arizona allows for many outdoor wedding venue options. Country clubs, resorts, golf clubs and private gathering spots are abundant in Arizona. If you want to get out of the sun, you can choose hotel, convention center or other large scale wedding facilities.

I am happy to share my "Preferred Wedding Venues" list as my way of assisting you in selecting the perfect venue for your wedding. It has been my experience that the staff of these venues are easy to work with and will do everything they can to make your special day memorable. For a list of "Preferred Venues" click here.

Check my handy "Arizona Sunsets" page. I have listed 52 weeks of approximate sunset times for Saturday plus average temperatures for the Greater Phoenix Area.

It is wise to plan for approximately 25 to 30 minutes of sunlight after the actual sunset time. If you will be taking any pictures "after" the wedding ceremony, you may want to begin the ceremony about an hour before sunset.

Unlike parts of the United States in the Midwest and East, Arizona has two wedding seasons. When everyone there is having June weddings, I usually take some time off in June or July because most of my weddings are outdoors and those months are when things begin to heat up here. The busiest months for weddings in Arizona are March, April and May and October, November and December.

In the desert, we do December differently. The winter grass is growing, and the palms are swaying in the breeze. We decorate our houses and the cacti in our desert yards with chile pepper lights while wearing our t-shirts and shorts. We also drive around town looking at the Christmas lights in our convertibles with the top down.

Arizona winters (December & January) may require heating for an outdoor evening wedding and cooling is a must if your wedding day falls in the heat of summer (June, July & August). Yes, those months are the hottest, but fortunately it really is also a dry heat. The humidity is usually very low.

Here's the breakdown. On Average:

July is the warmest month. December is the coolest month. March is the wettest month. June is the driest month. June has the most clear days. December has the most cloudy days.

Records:

The highest recorded temperature was 122ºF in June of 1990. The lowest recorded temperature was 16ºF in January of 1913.

Copyright © - Larry James.

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