Last weekend I was up in Anoka, Minn., for the outdoor wedding of my nephew Jeff and his wonderful new bride, Sheena. The setting could not have been nicer with a big tent in the backyard of my sister’s house on the river. There were flowers everywhere, the weather was 85 degrees and humid, but under the tent we were fairly comfortable.

After the first kiss as man and wife, the wedding party was off to do pictures at a neighbor’s house that has a grand stairway on the back of the house. They were gone for an hour, maybe an hour and half, and when they returned it was time for the speeches by the bride’s maid of honor and the best man.
It was still quite warm out and the sun was shining on the head table. It was clear that Sheena was succumbing to the heat and losing the battle to stay cool. She smiled anyway.

A short while had passed when I found Sheena and her mom sitting inside the house on the couch. It wasn’t long after that Sheena permitted us to take her to an emergency room for IV fluid replacement. Two liters of fluid, a dose of Zofran and a push of sodium later, we were back at the party in time for some dancing, the garter toss and the bouquet throw. Unfortunately, when we returned at 10:45 p.m., most of the guests had gone home.

What had transpired that day was a recipe for disaster for the bride. She did not eat much of a breakfast, just a breakfast bar. She worked all day getting the tent set up for the 4 p.m. wedding. Not enough fluids, or maybe the wrong type, were consumed on a very warm, very humid day. The wedding was in the late afternoon, and I don’t think she snacked on much, if anything, while trying to see and meet everyone. Today I have a recipe for a more successful wedding, indoors or out.

Happy Bride Recipe

Appoint someone as a bride’s assistant to do nothing else but make sure the bride gets enough food, fluids, sunscreen, a change of clothes or anything else to promote her health and comfort.

Have plenty of water and electrolyte replacement fluids, such as Gatorade, on hand. Both the doctor and nurse in the ER recommended Gatorade by name. Avoid or limit soda, alcohol and caffeine drinks; they are not effective for fluid replacement.

Brides may rapidly become dehydrated or overcome by heat because some of those beautiful, floor-length wedding dresses don’t provide for much ventilation. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already on the road to dehydration.

John Haverty, a certified executive chef at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center, writes a column every other week for the Food section. He can be reached at chefhaverty@yahoo.com.

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