What if it rains on your wedding day?
Nobody would ever wish for bad weather on their wedding day, but sometimes it can’t be helped. If rain is likely to be forecast, there are a few things you can do to ensure your wedding is still a success. Here are a few tips that I’ve gathered over the years:
Have a Plan B specifically for what if it rains on your wedding day
Always have a backup plan in case of poor weather. This could include things such as choosing an indoor ceremony and reception venue or having an outdoor ceremony that can be moved inside if required.
I suggest you always check with the wedding venue that this is possible. I would never assume that it is. This is because your chosen venue may have (since your booking) separately hired out their indoor reception area even though you are using the venue’s outdoor gardens and space.
Have some ‘Bad Weather’ supplies ready.
Make sure you have sufficient extra umbrellas, rain ponchos, and other supplies readily available in case of rain.
Ponchos can be found quite inexpensively online, so it may be worth placing an order for enough that would at least ensure the wedding party had some emergency cover.
Have Backup Entertainment Ready
If you were planning games on the lawn to entertain some of the guests, have some indoor options ready e.g. board games or a movie for the kids.
As always with these things, it is always better to break things down into ‘what-ifs’ and work from there.
So first things first – what if my wedding ceremony is outside and it started to rain?
If you have a ‘Plan B‘ for an indoor ceremony that would be great. If you haven’t this facility, there are still a few things you can do.
If the rain is light, it is very possible that you could continue with the ceremony as planned and just have your guests use umbrellas.
If it’s coming down harder, you could move the ceremony inside (if this is possible). Alternatively, ask your guests to move their umbrellas closer together to create a ‘roof’ of some kind.
Another option is to delay the ceremony a short period in the hope that the rain subsides (not always possible). If you do choose this option, ensure you have a safe place for your wedding guests to wait, such as a nearby church or reception hall.
Of course, no matter what you do, be sure to communicate any changes to your guests as soon as possible.
Think ahead – if it looks like it is going to rain and the ceremony is only an hour away, check the local weather using a reliable app and make a decision and stick to it.
Will bad weather spoil my wedding photographs?
This is a question that every professional photographer gets asked. Please don’t worry as there are things that I as a professional Dorset wedding photographer can do to ensure your wedding photographs are not ruined.
Here are our top tips:
This may seem obvious, and sure I am biased, but my advice would always be to hire a professional photographer and not just someone you know with a digital camera. An experienced professional wedding photographer like myself, will know how to deal with bad weather.
This is one of the key reasons why you should always hire a professional. That ‘friend with the nice camera’ may take nice snaps from time to time, but when faced with a wedding, when the weather turns bad and you will soon realise that was a big mistake.
Try and choose a wedding venue with lots of options for both indoor and outdoor photography. If you do this and the weather does take a turn for the worse, you’ll have plenty of options for beautiful photos.
Talk to me about your vision for the day and what you expect from your wedding photographs. By doing this, I can be prepared with a backup plan in case bad weather does happen.
On the day itself, be prepared to be flexible and go with the flow. If it’s raining, embrace it! Some of the most stunning wedding photographs I have taken were photographed in bad weather.
Remember to think about a plan B indoor location for the family photos if you’re planning on having these. While you may be happy embracing the bad weather and just going for it your poor old Granny may have other ideas!
With a little planning ahead and discussing things with your photographer and offering some flexibility on the day, you can still get the beautiful photos that you’ve always dreamed of.
Will bad weather ruin my wedding dress?
Bad weather on your wedding day is never great, but ‘no’ it doesn’t have to ruin your wedding dress.
Here are a few other things I can do as a professional photographer to ensure your wedding photographs are not ruined:
The major enemy of a wedding dress is not rain but MUD! If it has been raining and the ground is soft, always ensure you have other helpers on hand to ensure your dress is not trailing on the ground.
As your photographer, I will work with you here and won’t deliberately put you into a muddy area.
Also, be aware that although you would probably not wish to drag your wedding dress across wet grass, it is normally safe to place it gently on the grass once you are in position for your photographs. Then before you move, make sure the dress is lifted again. Don’t worry though, that will always be your decision, not mine!
Likewise, if it is raining, I will have a couple large umbrellas on hand, and we suggest your wedding party and ushers have them as well – the larger white golf ‘brollies’ are ideal for this.
Someone can then hold the umbrella over you and your dress and then just remove it on my signal so that we can still get a nice image.
If possible, we could also arrange to take some shots of you in your wedding dress before the ceremony either indoors or at suitable outdoor location. This way, if bad weather does ruin your dress during the ceremony, you will already have some great shots of you in your wedding gown.
After the ceremony, if your dress has got wet and muddy for some reason, don’t worry! Although not ideal, I can always shoot some photos of you in your dress from the waist up. This way, you’ll still have some beautiful wedding photos to cherish, even if bad weather did spoil your dress.
There’s no need to let bad weather ruin your wedding day.
It’s in the lap of the Gods after all and it is the one thing no one has control over on the Wedding Day.
Just relax, enjoy the day, and let me, as your photographer, worry about getting great shots of you and your spouse! If you would like further information about my wedding photography packages please click here. For other wedding day tips, please visit my blog
