Whether it’s a light drizzle, or a torrential downpour, rain on a wedding day can cause all sorts of havoc.
I’ve seen it completely throw an outdoor wedding off course, and disrupt many a couple shoot- and it’s fairly safe to say that most brides don’t exactly pray for their wedding day to be rained out.
So that leaves the questions- what can you do?
Honestly -there isn’t much you can do – except to EMBRACE IT.
Whether that means dancing in the rain, or changing our mindset and outlook of what you thought your day would be.
You can’t make it go away, and wishing for a different outcome will just make you miss out on the unique beauty that is your wedding day.
And besides:
“Wedding days are not about the perfect, sunny weather moments and smoothly executed plans. It’s about promising to love each other, through the good and the bad, choosing your person above all else and celebrating with your nearest and dearest.
Each wedding day has a 1000 meaningful and memorable moments, and rain can’t take any of that away.
It’s okay to be bummed – I would be too. I know you wanted those outdoor epic photos to remember your celebration by, but the plan b is not by any means less special or meaningful. (It might even be more so – and in case you were wondering – overcast, mostly, windy weather quite often makes for pretty epic photos! )
If it looks like the weather might be taking a turn for the worst, CHECK IN WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER/WEDDING COORDINATOR and work out a plan b – a space where you can take family/couple photos, an alternative ceremony spot/whatever it might be.
MY BIGGEST ADVISE FOR A BRIDE ON HER WEDDING DAY:
Embrace whatever happens, the laughter the tears, the rain or shine – no amount of bad weather can take away the significance and epic-ness of your wedding day.
However your day unfolds- I am there to serve you and document the moments and memories as they happen (even if it means getting soaked) so that you have memories to treasure.
Need some more convincing?
Here are few photo stories to show you how a wedding day (with bad weather) is still the most epic of days.
Rachel and Dylan planned on getting married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony next to the Tugela River, and then dance the night away in a marquee tent for their reception. All was going well, when minutes after Rachel walked down the aisle- the heavens opened up with torrential rain!
Bridesmaids and groomsmen sprung into actions- helping to mop up the water that had now accumulated inside the tent, and making a path for it to drain out.
The beauty was- now that the worst had happened, and everyone was already wet- there was SUCH a vibe. Laughter, and jokes and ‘oh well- let’s just enjoy the rest of this day’.
I have yet to see a more radiant bride, as Dylan carried Rachel around, trying to keep her dress (made by her mom) as clean as possible for as long as possible.
Vows were said in the reception tent, confetti was thrown, and dancing carried on late into the night. (See Rachel’s face as she dances with Dylan at the end- happiness all around.
Aoife and Andrew had a beautiful Urban wedding, and they were lucky enough to have the rain wait until the end of their ceremony, thus only disrupting a portion of their family and couple photos.
So instead of urban street vibe, we found an a few beautiful spots inside their venue (one entire floor was being redone, and make a beautiful setting for their couple shoot)
To this day, theirs was one of the most relaxed, intimate and meaningful shoots I have ever had the privilege to be part of.
xx
PHOTOGRAPHER, EDUCATOR, BOOKWORM and soon to be mamma
about the blogger
I'm a coffee loving, introverted, plant buying and dog hugging human, who loves to travel and taking the road less travelled.
I love that wedding days are love stories, wrapped into one day. I believe moments matter and I love helping other photographers flourish.