Your first problem was allowing yourselves to get so sweaty. For starters, I'd wear a lighter shirt--I get into a lather when hiking uphill even with temps in the upper 30s to low 40s F. Certainly two shirts were far too much! I also like to strip down before I get soaked with sweat. At 50*F I would have started with one shirt and no jacket, even though I might have been a little cold the first 10 minutes. The alternative is to stop after 5-10 minutes of hiking, when you first realize you are wearing too many layers. A slower pace may be needed to reduce sweating, too.

Your second problem was not to put on your jackets when the weather changed. I wouldn't hesitate to put on a breathable wind shirt over my wicking shirt immediately when stopping or encountering cold wind. With a relatively breathable windshirt, your body heat will dry the sweaty shirt underneath and force the moisture through the windshirt fabric. That will also happen with a breathable rain jacket, just not so fast. The windshirt will block enough wind so you stay warm. A wicking shirt doesn't soak up much moisture, anyway. This is a situation where a lightweight breathable windshirt is well worth the few ounces.

If it's really cold and windy, I add a lightweight fleece vest under the windshirt (synthetic fleece absorbs little moisture). If you have insulation you don't want to get damp (i.e.., down), wear it over the wind shirt. A warm hat and gloves can play an important role, too--leave them off when you're sweating and put them on when it gets cold.

Similarly, in warm weather when it rains, I usually just get wet (for me, better a rainwater soaked shirt than a sweaty sauna inside the rain jacket) and then put on the rain jacket when stopping or if the temp drops and wind comes up. Again, a wicking shirt doesn't really soak up that much water.

As you found out, it's definitely not a good idea to let yourself get either sweaty or chilled! The technical term for regulating your body temperature via clothing layers and activity to fit the conditions is "thermoregulation," and it's an important skill to learn. In cold weather, you can practice it while exercising around home.