Mar 19, 2012
Brides toast outdoor weddings as fruit growers fret forecast

Above-normal U.S. temperatures that have depressed natural gas prices and threatened some crops are being celebrated by brides with outdoor ceremonies and cocktails in March.

A streak that led to the fourth-warmest U.S. winter on record will continue for the next three months, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. States in the south, mid-Atlantic and New England regions will have at least a 33 percent chance of warm weather from March through May, NOAA said.

Unseasonable spring temperatures mean Washington’s cherry trees may reach their peak bloom before planners of the capital’s National Cherry Blossom Festival expected. Crops such as apples and apricots could be damaged by frost. In the winners column are brides-to-be who book weddings during the less- expensive off-peak month of March while enjoying May-like weather.

“Two years ago we had a snowstorm in March,” Tara Buchanan, a wedding planner with EBE Events and Entertainment in Philadelphia, said in an interview. “Now these brides are over the moon that they’re able to have outdoor ceremonies and cocktail parties in March.” The Bloomberg Businessweek