Fear-Taming Tips for Rain on Your Wedding Day!

Introduction

Kate is one of my 2018 brides, and when I asked her for a few tips for future brides, she sent me an entire blog! I met Kate and Bart through a couple of friends, and when they hired me to photograph their wedding, I was over the moon! Not only are they an amazing duo, but they had some crazy awesome plans for their wedding day! Bart is the huntsman for the Essex Fox Hounds. So, they live within a couple of yards of dozens of hounds on a gorgeous hunt club in Peapack. Not only did they have a fox hunt planned for the morning of their wedding, they were also going to get married at the top of the hill of the Essex Hunt Club. A dream view to say the least! Rain on the wedding day? Plan for it, and then flow with it. On their wedding day there was no stress, no worry, and these two didn’t even notice the rain.

All systems go, and it was the most romantic wedding. Read how Kate planned in advance and handled the inevitable!

A Balanced (and Budgeted) Back-up Plan

We were determined to get married up on this grassy hill (it was really a field that the horses go out in, ha!) on the farm where we live. When the forecast showed a consistent light/medium rain. We were worried and started to work on Plan B, C, D, etc. At the end of the day, I wasn’t ready to sacrifice the beautiful landscape, fresh air, and photos for a dry, indoor ceremony. So we kept it short and sweet and encouraged guests to bring umbrellas – at the end of the day, it’s just water (you won’t turn into a pumpkin or melt, and it’s nothing a little hair and make up touch-up can’t fix). You’ll be dry before you even make it to cocktail hour. Additionally, and important to note, it’s easy to say ‘oh, just get a tent’, but when you look at rental costs, you could easily go over budget.  If budget isn’t an issue – get the tent.

Don’t Go Crazy with Shoes

I opted for a pair that were about $100 and had a thicker heel. This way I would still wear them, not sink through the goop and not be in tears if they got a little wet or muddy, which they did. If you’re dying for the fancy shoes, snag a backup pair for the elements and change into your pretties once indoors.

The Pictures

Oh god, the pictures. You cannot beat, and I repeat for the people in the back – CANNOT BEAT rainy day wedding photos.

Enjoy Your Moments

Don’t worry about your guests too much, enjoy your moments. We had an adults-only wedding. In 2018, most adults had access to weather reports and planned accordingly. I spent so much time worrying about everyone else I probably got an ulcer. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to view the sea of umbrellas and smiling faces over the hill as I walked down the grassy horse-field-aisle. If you’re having outdoor components to your wedding, be sure to note that on the invite so people can be prepared. Nearly everyone I talked to commented on how romantic it was to have that rain present.

Stock up On a Pretty / Photo-Worthy Umbrellas

We didn’t do this. We were saved by Lauren who had a stash handy.

Own it. 

At the end of the day, the weather makes the decisions and there is nothing you can do the change the weather. Months of planning go into this one day, so decide what’s important to you and your future spouse, and plan it out from there. Bart and I weren’t bothered in the least to get married in the rain and we really wanted to have our field ceremony, and I think when people saw the smiles on our faces – they realized what we were all there for and focused on the beautiful moments and less on the weather.

At the end of the day, you’re going to be so elated to be getting married that you probably won’t event notice the rain – I didn’t realize how much it was actually coming down until we saw the glittery drops in the background of our photos.

More Rainy Wedding Day Tips from Past Brides

“I thought I was going to be upset on the day, but when it was raining I was just calm and thinking “well, this is what it is, we will deal with it” and now it’s such a minor part of the memory. I’m just glad the photos turned out so beautiful because that’s what I get to keep forever in addition to the memories. It feels like a metaphor for life- it’s never going to be perfect and wonderful all the time. Plus you’re marrying someone you can dance in the rain with and make a happy life, whatever the weather. It just makes me that much more confident that I married the right person.” – Amanda, 2018 LKP Bride

Engagement session in the rain? Why not?

“In the middle of taking pictures, I remember saying to Lauren ‘Now only if they clouds would go away and the sun would come out.’ Lauren looked at me and said ‘No! You don’t want the sun to be in the pictures. This is perfect!’ and I had no idea what she was talking about. (Maybe that she was was just trying to be nice to the bride…) until I saw all of the pictures. The clouds provided a perfect backdrop for us to have the most perfect pictures!” – Courtney, 2017 LKP Bride

What are the chances that it downpour in the middle of their engagement session AND wedding day? But it did. And I’m so glad it did. Look at this adorable little out-cove we found! I’m always finding little treasures in midst of a change in the forecast!

“Leading up to the wedding I was so paranoid about the possibility of rain or bad weather. Our plan was to do all of our pictures outside on the beach and then have an outdoor ceremony. I downloaded the Dark Sky app and probably refreshed it 5x a day and sent screenshots to my parents and Connor. While we all kept telling ourselves not to worry about it, it was impossible not to! Fast forward to our wedding day, we woke up to the most beautiful weather and sunshine. We were so busy getting ready with hair and makeup then doing pictures in my dress that I didn’t even realize the weather had started to change. When we went outside to do our first look I realized it was sprinkling and it continued to rain our entire hour of pictures. While I wasn’t THRILLED with it, we were just so happy to see each other at the first look and then so busy with the pictures. We honestly barely even noticed it.

I know we may be biased, but our pictures and video came out absolutely amazing. The overcast from the rain actually made everything look beautiful so the hour of mist hitting our faces was 1000% worth it.  Plus it stopped right before the outdoor ceremony, so my bridesmaids and I had some time to touch up our hair and makeup. By the time we walked down the aisle you never would have even known about that little patch of weather. Looking back we are so grateful to have the gorgeous pictures and wouldn’t change a thing, even the rain!! For any brides nervous about the possibility of rain my best advice would be to just be prepared. My mom ordered a dozen clear umbrellas just in case and knowing we had them definitely made me feel better. And in our case they were needed and came in handy for our bridal party and parents to stand under them to stay dry!” – Kristin, 2019 LKP Bride