It was so hot that everyone inside the church was fanning frantically. This is despite all the industrial wall fans inside the church were in full blast. During these times, I'm so happy that as a commentator, I have not one but two fans to keep me cool at the commentator's lectern.
Sweating Father of the Groom
The father of the groom was in a suit and couldn't quite bear the heat. He motioned to request me to turn on the priest's fan and point it to him. This is the fan at the presider's lectern. There are several electric fans at the sanctuary and this particular fan wasn't used at that time.
I sort of pitied the old guy and his wife and so I turned on the electric stand fan. I really doubt though that the electric fan made a big difference since the fan at the sanctuary was far from where they sat. Still, they appreciated the gesture.
Sweating Groom and Bride
The groom, also in a suit, wasn't comfortable at all and was busy fanning the bride.
Then I noticed that the fan near the bride wasn't turned on. I don't understand why no one in the entourage, like the bride's parents, saw the fan and simply turned it on.
There were fewer mother-butlers than normal and so I assumed that they overlooked powering-on the fan. Heck, the mother-butlers were not even in uniform! Actually, these mother-butlers were working at the back and the real assigned mother-butlers didn't show up.
Fearing that someone would faint at any minute because of the heat, I motioned and approached the sacristan. This was during the homily. I told him about the situation and asked him to turn on the fan. He was hesitant to go in the front and middle, thinking he'll disrupt the homily.
Fortunately, the mass reader, who also happened to be a mother-butler, took notice and immediately went ahead to turn on the electric fan right in the middle of the homily. It must have been a great relief for the wedding couple.
Lessons Learned
This piece of advice is not be for me, but for the wedding couple. If you plan on having your wedding in the months of April and May, and right smack in the El Nino season, you may want to rethink your wedding attire as well as that of your entourage.
Unless the church is air-conditioned (ours isn't), you will definitely perspire. And the heat may just be too much for your overall well-being. A cooler formal wear for the gentlemen, for instance, is the traditional barong. Just be sure to wear an undershirt, so just in case you do perspire, the barong material doesn't embarrassingly stick to your body like second skin.
