美国国家公共电台 NPR Say 'I Do' Without The Sweat: Wedding Pros Share How They Beat The Heat

 

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

It turns out that fall has become the most popular season for weddings. And one reason could be that rising temperatures have made summer nuptials¹ a little sticky. As part of our series on heat, NPR's Adelina Lancianese looks into how wedding professionals are keeping guests and cakes from sweating.

(SOUNDBITE OF AIR CONDITIONER RUNNING)

ADELINA LANCIANESE, BYLINE²: The air conditioning is full blast in Alan Furman's SUV as he races to the Coffman (ph) wedding in Leesburg, Va. Furman glances at the white, three-tiered cake in the back.

ALAN FURMAN: Buttercream, it really can't tolerate temperatures above mid- to upper 80s max.

LANCIANESE: He raises a digital thermometer to the air vent³.

FURMAN: That's 52.0 degrees. That gives us a perfect temperature to deliver safely and get it there in perfect condition, intact.

LANCIANESE: Furman is the co-owner of Edibles⁴ Incredible bakery and creates about 400 wedding cakes each year. Just a few miles from the wedding, Furman checks the temperature inside the car again.

FURMAN: It's 42.8 degrees, so it's pretty cold.

LANCIANESE: He's in good shape. This reception will take place indoors. And it's a pretty mild August day in Northern Virginia at a high of 82 degrees. Globally, there are about 74 days like this every year. It's what Sarah Kapnick calls...

SARAH KAPNICK: Mild weather. It's weather that isn't too hot, isn't too cold, very low precipitation, almost none, and very low humidity, as well.

LANCIANESE: Kapnick is a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration. She co-authored a 2017 report that concluded the planet will lose four mild weather days in the next two decades.

KAPNICK: So what that means is that the summers in the United States, they're getting hotter. They're also becoming more humid, particularly in the South and the Southeast.

LANCIANESE: Kapnick says her study was inspired by frequent requests from worried friends who wanted her to predict the weather on their wedding days. And she's not alone. All over the country, couples are planning ahead for hotter weather. Rrivre Davies is a Los Angeles-based wedding designer and the president of the Wedding International Professionals Association.

RRIVRE DAVIES: We try and always convince a client, July, August, even September, you really want to bring in some air conditioning because, otherwise, your guests are not going to be comfortable.

LANCIANESE: Davies says wedding professionals are making adjustments, especially for outdoor weddings. Ceremonies are getting shorter. Some cake bakers⁷ create duplicate cakes of foam⁸ for display during the reception.

DAVIES: It costs more to do a wedding in the heat. You know, you've got to create shade. You've got to bring more ice in. You've got to pay the florist⁹ more because everything's going to be last-minute. It's more expensive, flat out.

LANCIANESE: So Kapnick the climate scientist says it's not surprising that wedding season seems to be shifting.

KAPNICK: People are looking to get married often outside, often during pleasant weather where people can be active. They can be dancing. They can be enjoying themselves.

LANCIANESE: The website WeddingWire tracks the most popular wedding dates each year. Ten years ago, days in May, June and July were most common. But in 2017, September, October and November took the top spots.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DOOR SHUTTING)

LANCIANESE: In Virginia, cake baker⁵ Alan Furman has arrived at the Coffman wedding, an intimate affair at the historic Rust¹⁰ Manor¹¹ House. He whisks the cake inside. And a few hours later...

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

LANCIANESE: ...The Coffmans slice the cake, perfectly¹² intact, to cheers from their family and friends in this audio provided by the venue's event supervisor¹³. As the newlyweds link arms and feed each other forkfuls of vivacious¹⁴ vanilla¹⁵ cake, the temperature is in the low 70s, which means spirits are high. Adelina Lancianese, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED COVER OF PACHELBEL'S "CANON IN D")

1 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

4 edibles   

可以吃的，可食用的( edible的名词复数 )； 食物

参考例句：

• They freely offered for sale what edibles they had. 他们很自愿地把他们的一点点可吃的东西卖给我们。
• Our edibles the wild vegetable. 我们只能吃野菜。

5 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

9 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

10 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

11 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

14 vivacious   

adj.活泼的，快活的

参考例句：

• She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
• The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。

15 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。