Of all the variables that can go right or wrong on your wedding day, none are quite as far outside of your control as the weather. Weather forecasts being as unpredictable as they are, it’s hard enough to plan for an outdoor event a week in advance, let alone a year. However much you may not want gloomy weather to intrude on your bright and happy occasion, the possibility has to be considered. You can’t control Mother Nature, but you can control how you respond to her meteorological whims. In the season of “April showers,” let’s consider some options for those dreaded rainy-day weddings.
Have a Back-Up Plan
If your wedding and/or reception are outside, make sure you know venues contingency plan—and that it’s acceptable to you. Your venue should be able to move you to a sheltered location and still keep things elegant. If you know the back-up plan in advance, you won’t be surprised or unhappy. And you won’t have the stress of worrying about what will happen when. You don’t want your guests and wedding party to spend a day miserable and drenched!
Be Creative With Your Photos
Believe it or not, some of the best wedding photos are taken on rainy days. You just need to think ahead! Invest in a black-and-white umbrella as a great accessory for pictures on a potentially-rainy wedding day. Identify sites at your venue that will still work. (Gazebos and tasteful overhangs make for great backdrops.) An experienced photographer will be able to improvise and make the best out of the last-minute change. Make sure your team has some ideas in place ahead of time, just in case!
“Rain, rain, go away!”
Stay positive. You may not be getting the precise event you’d hoped for, but you’re still getting married! There are lovely decorative touches that work indoors, and most of what you’d planned out of doors will still work. Table arrangements, centerpieces and draping might even hold up better when not subjected to outdoor weather. If allowed, consider some lovely candle arrangements, and see if you can hold some floor candelabras in reserve as a stylish note well-suited to either a wedding or reception site.
If the rain insists on sticking around, you have options, and with some planning and forethought, they can be great ones!