[00:00:06] Speaker A: This is the EMG podcast killer.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: We don't have headphones today, so we.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: Don'T know if this is lining up. No, it is. No, it is.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: You did that visually.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: Watch it like I'm fading it out. Nice and smooth.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: I guess we'll see in post.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Welcome back to another episode of the EMG podcast, Mike. Today we are talking about.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: We talk about summer weddings. Summer weddings. We are in the grand scheme of things. Here we are. It's May of 2024, here in this current state of Montclair, New Jersey, at EMG. And we are getting into our summer months, some of our favorite months of doing weddings. And we wanted to do a podcast on this, not only for the channel itself, but also for some of our future prospective clients that we speak to.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: We want to try to give summer. I didn't wear socks today. Today, because we're talking summer weddings.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Well, you didn't wear socks under that. You didn't do no shows.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: Nope.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: That's. That's, uh. That's disgusting, because I know your feet. All right, so let's. Let's talk about summer podcast. No, not summer podcast. Summer weddings. Um, so today, what we did was, we did five pros. We did five cons, and then we did five things to think about, five tips. Um, now, the. The cons are really the pros, and cons are subjective, right? These are kind of things that we just thought through, because we do these all the time. Um, and you could take them with a grain of salt, but they are things that you could definitely think about. Um, so we're going to start with the pros first. Yeah. Um, well, why don't we go back?
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Let's go battle style.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: You want to go one on one?
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Take the cons. You take the pros.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: Okay, fine. All right, so let's do the pros. Let me go. Let's get this here.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: Oh, here we go again. Let's hope we have it. Here we go. Looking for it.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Okay. Number one. Number one of the pros. I actually love this one. It's beautiful weather, right, for the majority of the. Of the summer. Uh, you're. The. The likelihood of precipitation is. Is. Is not that high, and so you're. You're going to get more beautiful days than non beautiful days.
I really love the summer months of, like, June, and then I really do love August, September. July is, you know, kind of a. Could be a hit or miss with that. With the humidity in New Jersey, at least.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: So here's a con that's also on the con list is weather unpredictability.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: So, yes, odds are you get, obviously, more beautiful weather in the summer months than in any other time of the year. But it can be unpredictable, too. Right.
Like a heat wave, you could hit a sudden thunderstorm. So obviously, anytime you plan something as part of being outdoors, you're going to roll the dice a little bit. Can be absolutely beautiful. It could also be a scorcher.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: So you just take that into account.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Yeah. And it has. One of the tips that we'll talk about is, you know, thinking about where you're going to be getting married to. Right. Because, you know, we're. This is in the tri state area of New Jersey. Um, so we're talking about that because New Jersey can feel, you know, yesterday was no humidity and was gorgeous out. And then tomorrow it could be humid and cloudy. Right. Um, so those are a lot of things to think about, but I. You're more likely to get. Going to get beautiful weather than not. Um, so we'll do number two.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: I'm going to press button number two.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: Love it. Um, I love this one. It versatile themes and versatile decorations. So there are a lot of ways that you can go with your. With your wedding planning in these summer months. You can do a whole variety of different colors. Um, you can do beach themes, you can do forest garden type themes. You can do rustic themes. They kind of all work. Um, we've attended weddings that have been kind of the gambit of. Of them. We've played weddings that have been, you know, rusty, like, down the shore in.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: The summer, and it's all like seashell themes. And then you go to, like, a rustic barn wedding the next day. It's like, totally different.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: And then you're at, you know, Park Chateau, Park Savoy, the. The grove, and it's a little bit more kind of like grand. Right. You could. You could really much do any of the themes, minus, like, Christmas. Right. I mean. I mean, there's a lot of things that you can do. And this obviously can affect, a, where you're getting married, and b, it could affect all the other things that you're doing, like your florals, your. Your. The linens that you're going to be doing on the tables. Also what the bridesmaids will be wearing, what the. What the groomsmen will be wearing, that type of stuff, you know, so you have a lot of versatility.
My advice is just to be a little bit different. Right. You know, try to maybe incorporate some of them together. Right. You could definitely do that.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Here's a con could be more expensive. Right. So demand is way up during that time. And so there is a surge price typically applied by some venues and some vendors. We don't do this, which, it's funny, we never get thanked by our summer and fall clients. We get the aggravation and ire of our winter clients because they've been conditioned to say, hey, I'm getting off season pricing at my venue. Why are your pricing prices the same as they are? But our pricing is consistent. That is atypical in the wedding industry. So you can expect a higher cost in the summer, which is a drawback.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: Okay, you want to hit them up? Number three.
Number three. I think this one is very, very important. It's guest availability. People are more available in the summer months than any other time of the year. Why no school? Right. And work tends to slow down. There are a lot of summer Fridays that happen. Maybe summer Mondays, maybe both.
And so people tend to really book things around these dates. Right. I'll give you an example. We talked about a few episodes ago of things that are happening, right? So more people are making wedding days, wedding weekends. And this wedding weekend can turn into a wedding week. Right. There's activities that are happening and stuff. And in the summer, you could pretty much do anything.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Which kind of almost leads into a con. Just like with the weather, it can be great. It can be bad. Because of people's more open availability. You could be competing with their busy personal schedules.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Correct. Right.
[00:06:05] Speaker B: Vacation, travel, that sort of thing too.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: So I would try. And you know what's so funny is July. We see a dip in July in terms of the number of events happening just recently.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Yeah, probably because. So it is busier, to your point, in June and August, people are traveling. So if you're going to plan a summer wedding, I would say early to mid June or back end of August, people start to come back into their normal routines. It's still summer, but you're more likely to catch people at home.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: If you are going to be doing a July wedding, that's totally fine. Just make sure that you're booking it out at least 18 months out. Right.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: So people know.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: So people know.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Right. And you could send those save the dates early where now you can. You can really kind of avoid that con. Right.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: I don't want to end on a negative. So let me go with this last one here. Or are we up to the last one?
[00:06:49] Speaker A: I'm on. I'm on. Actually, I only did three.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: So you want to do four, first up.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: Let's hit the button. Number four.
[00:06:56] Speaker B: I don't know what I did. This is my last point, though, so we must have been insects, right?
[00:07:03] Speaker A: I hate them.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: I hate a summer wedding under a tent where there's, like, gnats and bugs.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:09] Speaker B: So if you're going to do a summer tent wedding, please figure out how you are dealing with the mosquito population at night.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: I will tell you how you can deal with this, and I promise you it works. Cause it's gone through the john, Carla, my father, research. Okay.
It's all about. It's not about bug sprays or things that you can put in the air. It's all about wind. It's about fans. Fans are the only thing that can keep bugs away, I swear to you. And it's an unbelievable thing. Cause they can't actually fly. Fly against it. So, like. So if you're having, like, an outdoor wedding or a tent wedding, make sure that the fans are included on all aspects of the walls, and that will help keep the bugs out. So there you go. I've just. I've just been going against the. Get against the cons here. Let me give my fourth one. I love this one. I think you can kind of go off of this, too. It's attire options. Right. So I think the great thing about summer is that you have more access to different types of fabrics when it comes to suits and also with dresses.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Right. Right now I'm wearing more of a summer suit. I know. I think you are, too.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Right. This is more of, like, a breathable.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Breathable wool.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: And, you know, there's things now that, you know that you can do in the winter. You're kind of limited to kind of warmer fabrics and stuff like that. And so that then opens up the door to different colors and different things, because now I remember when I was getting married, I did. I did that blue suit, but with that certain fabric, there's only a certain amount of colors within that. Right. Because I was getting married in the. In the late fall. So that's really cool. I love the attire options, especially with your guests, too. Yeah. Right. So if it's. If it's not a block tie wedding, your guests will then have the. The kind of. The variety of what they can bring to the. You know, as they're. As their attire.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: I realize why iii doubled one of these up, because it's kind of the same thing. So I'll give my last con, which is heat and humidity.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: Let's go five, then. Number five.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: Heat and humidity. It could be discomfort. A lot of discomfort for those around.
You know who I think has it the worst? My cousin got married in June, and I was in the wedding, and, you know, for the bridal party, you're there all day, dressed all day, taking photos outside all day. And I think my cousin, as the groom, he knew. He's sweatbed. He went through three shirts. I think, like, he purposely bought three tuck shirts.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Cause he knew. And he needed all three of them by the end of the day.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: That was the wedding that we did in Hobby Hotel du village in June 27 or something like that. It would. That that day was not only humid, it was also a scorching hot day. And I remember the group, he said, I think he brought, like, four or five shirts, and he changed, like, once an hour. That's. That's. That's commitment. I love that. I. You know, Matt Priori, he got. He got married June 26, Thursday last year. While it was. It was hot that day, it wasn't super hot. So you kind of. You're kind of running the risk of that. My last pro, which I actually really love, is the seasonal food and drinks. Right? So if we talk about drinks, there's a lot of drinks that you can do in the summer that you don't necessarily do in the winter. Right. You know, old fashions are really big. You know, margaritas are really big. And a lot of these venues have different takes on them. You know, you can do, like, a BlackBerry margarita or something like that. But also, it comes down to the menu. Right? So, for instance, like, let's just talk seafood, because seafood is kind of, like, I think the biggest variety during the year. A lot of the times, like, chilean sea bass is in season, or, like, a halibut, as opposed to in the winter, where it's mostly just salmon, because the freshwater fisher, that type of stuff, I don't want to get into that, but I think it's.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: We've already talked about mosquito wind. We don't have time for fishing.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: For. For fishing. Yeah. I love it. But the. That's what. Nice. And then the. Those steak options can also be a little bit different as well. It's not as heavy foods. The foods are a little bit lighter. Um, so that. That's really nice.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: So if we go into. Now, uh, let me. Where's number one, Mike?
[00:11:00] Speaker A: On the top left number.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: All right, so here are our top tips for summer weddings. Thinking about how those pros and cons play into it. Number one, think about your venue selection.
Think about the extremes that you could have in your weather. Hot or beautiful. Right. Humid or not. And pick a venue that has the ability to cover you in both scenarios.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: If the weather is beautiful, our ceremony can be in this nice outdoor space. But if not, here's an alternative.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Don't pick a place just because it only has a beautiful garden or something and has no backup plan for.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: You want that one b. You want that alternative to be pretty much just as good as one a. Right. And a lot of the times, you know, it falls into the hands of, like, that, you. If it's raining or it's super humid, it's really uncomfortable, and you push in the envelope like, no, no, no, we got to have it outside. Got to have it out. Have it outside. It's like, at what cost, right. And it's like your guests aren't going to be happy. You're going to be freaking sweltering. You know, make sure that your. Your. Your one b option is. Is just as good as the one a, in my opinion.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Um, okay, number two, attire for summer weddings was something we just talked about. Yeah.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: You know, you got to think about it.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Think about what color palette and how you're wearing and how that plays into the venue and your decor and all of that stuff. To Mike's point, you're going to have a lot of different fabric choices and options to go through.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: Go with lighter fabrics, you know, always breathable. Breathable. Especially coming from two guys that sweat a lot. Light, breathable fabrics 100% of the time. I really love the dress code, too. So you, if it is black tie, you know, that's an option. But also, you have all different types of dress code options that you could do for your guests, especially in this tri sit area, for sure. Number three, the florals. Let's do the floral arrangements. Right. Decors, you kind of have the array of things that you can do. You know, the seasonal stuff in this. In the summer are a lot of roses. Right. Red roses.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: The flowers.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: Yeah, the flowers. Yeah.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: You also could do white. I mean, you could.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Whites. Yeah.
[00:13:01] Speaker B: Any type of white.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Creams.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: Yeah. It's. It's. I feel like it's a lot more colorful in the summer than it is in any other season. Right. Because remember, by fall, there are some.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: Winter weddings that we did where you could tell that the bride and groom really loved summer flowers, and they tried to bring that into the winter, and it looked really weird.
[00:13:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Whereas opposed to summer, I think you have way more options, you know, to bring in the flowers that any type of flowers. And it really looks right.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: And you might do less, like if it's a beach theme, more whites. Right.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: More blues.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: If it's that garden, then you have kind of the variety of the rainbow. If it's that rustic, you can really go heavy on darker and then complementary light colors in there. So I would definitely, you know, Jude, Anthony, I would check out our preferred partner for. For that. To kind of help guide you. Yeah. Number four.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: No, no, no.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: Fourth one.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Number four. Think about your catering and your menu planning. Again, you're going to want to play into the seasonality, whether it be of your seafood choice, but also the fun options that you have to do. Summer themed drinks or summer themed food, appetizers or that sort of stuff.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: So play into the seasonality when designing your menu.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Really good friends Mark got married down at Clark's Landing, one of our favorite venues that we play at.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Great cocktail hour.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Great cocktail hour. He did a Jersey shore station. And so it was all like french fries, like three brothers pizza sliders, hot dogs, like that type of stuff that played into that summer theme. They loved that. They went down the short, the informality of it. I think it's really cool. And you could really have fun with that stuff. Let's end with number five. Right there.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Right there.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: Number five.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: Number five. Think about how you're going to handle unexpected challenges that a summer wedding could present. For example, the most important one and one that we have not talked about yet is hydration.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: I was just.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. Like if I had a nickel for every time somebody went down at a summer wedding, a guest due to heatstroke, we would.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Yeah, we would own a lot of things.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: So think about hydration stations, like at your ceremony, have extra water stations, cocktail hour. Think about if you are in an outdoor tent, do you have, with those fans that are going to keep the mosquitoes away? Do you have some sort of mist thing happening?
[00:15:15] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: You're going to want to keep your guests cool if you're in an outdoor space that doesn't have central air.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
Especially since you're the ones getting married. If you think you're drinking enough water, you're not. Right. Because mix in a little alcohol and it's no bueno. And then a lot of the times because you're drinking. And now the big thing is like all the canned alcohols, right? I'm big on surfsides and sun cruisers. Right. Those are really awesome to drink, but they're like drinking regular iced teas, right? So you don't. You feel like you're hydrated, but you're actually dehydrating yourself. It's so important. We've seen a lot of brides and grooms, like, kind of like, teeters just fall off the cliff 2 hours into it because they lack of hydration. Super important. You know, same thing with, like we were talking about at ceremony. Like, have those things. Cause a lot of times it's champagne, but you gotta have those and make sure it's cold.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: Right. Don't just, like, make sure your venue. And also, big thing is, when it is hot on top of hydration, make sure your freaking venue puts the air conditioning on. Like, this happens more so than not that it's too hot inside. Yeah.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: You're paying for the day. Tell them, drop that down.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: Drop it down to 65. Right. Get it. I want, like, a tundra in there. Cause you're gonna have, like, 200 bodies. Yeah, 200 bodies in there.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: And then other unexpected things, obviously, like, we've already talked about. I don't wanna beat the dead horse, but, like, what happens in the case of bad weather, right. Rain. Where are you moving your ceremony? The bug control, all of those things. When it comes to a summer wedding, think about what happens in the summer and how you might meet those challenges.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: Yeah. But more so than not, you're likely going to have amazing weather. So we want to end on that positive note there. Um, it's not going to be a scorcher, especially if you, uh. Or down the shore. Right. Because you have that wind coming in. It's going to be less humid and stuff. So hope you enjoyed this one. We'll catch you on the next one. And thanks for tuning in.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: See ya.
[00:16:56] Speaker A: You can find
[email protected] or on instagram at elegant music group.
