Summer means summer weddings. According to one survey in 2015, 80% of weddings occurred between May and October. While this means that venue rentals and tent rental services may already be booked for this year, there are many reasons, both practical and traditional, to begin planning now for a wedding next summer.

In fact, the average couple is engaged for 14 months, giving them a little over a year to plan a wedding, according to The Knot's 2014 Real Weddings Study. Here are five traditions associated with a summer wedding:

Getting Married in June

Up until about 2016, June was the most popular month for weddings. Aside from the nice weather, which enabled guests to plan their travel and the couple to plan an outdoor wedding and reception, June is also named after the Roman goddess Juno, goddess over marriage and childbearing. It was believed that June weddings were auspicious and couples married in June would be blessed by Juno.

In 2016, October surpassed June as the most popular month for weddings according to a 2016 survey. There seem to be varying reasons why this has occurred. Climate change is given as one reason; summer months are too hot for outdoor weddings in some parts of the U.S. so fall weddings have grown in popularity. Also, summer may have been a victim of its own popularity, with couples choosing fall dates after being unable to find caterers, tent rental services, bands or DJs, bakeries, and so forth that were not already booked for summer dates. Moreover, the calendar may have influenced the shift from summer to fall, with three-day weekends in September (Labor Day) and October (Columbus Day), whereas June, July, and August have no three-day weekends except when the Fourth of July happens to fall on a Friday or Monday. In fact, Columbus Day weekend was the most popular weekend for weddings in 2015 and Labor Day weekend came in second place, supporting the idea that summer weddings are slipping later in the year due to the occurrence of two different three-day weekends.

Getting Married on Wednesday

Like weddings in the month of June, Wednesday weddings were thought to be especially auspicious. However, practicality has won out and now, Saturdays are by far the most popular day of the week for weddings, followed by Fridays and Sundays. Wednesday is now the second least popular day for weddings.

Having an Outdoor Event

Another tradition that goes with summer weddings is the outdoor event. According to a survey in 2017, more couples were married outdoors (52%) than inside a church (22%). Moreover, party tent rentals from a tent rental service can double as a venue for a wedding reception after the wedding. While wedding tent rentals are traditional, some may be concerned about how summer temperatures may affect their event. However, during the hottest days of summer, tent rental services can supply air conditioning units for rented wedding tents.

Flowers

Flowers are traditional for weddings generally, but there is a particularly strange reason flower bouquets were carried in summer weddings. In the 16th century, people typically only washed their hands and face, believing that bathing could let "bad air" infect the body and cause disease. Carrying a flower bouquet at special events, such as weddings, masked body odor. These days, flowers are essential for creating a festive environment and carrying the theme of a wedding tent. In fact, the average amount spent on wedding florists in 2017 was a little less than $2,400.

Rice or Bird Seed

As a sign of fertility, rice or other grain, fruit, cakes, and biscuits have been tossed toward newly married couples. In the 1980s, a rumor started that birds who ate uncooked rice thrown at weddings could die a grisly death. This rumor has been debunked scientifically, but the rumor gave rise to a new tradition of throwing bird seed rather than uncooked rice. Still, many rented venues, like reception halls and churches, ban the throwing of anything, including rice, bird seed, and confetti, because of the difficulty in cleaning up the scattered pieces and because the scattered pieces create a risk of a slip and fall injury. However, a wedding reception held in a backyard party tent from a tent rental service does not come with such restrictions.

When you want the best tent rental service for your upcoming wedding, rely on Tents For Rent today.