Rain on your wedding day? Here’s what to do

Why rain doesn’t have to ruin your plans, your photographs or your wedding.

I’m not going to tell you that every couple secretly hopes for rain on their wedding day.

Most don’t.

You probably didn’t spend months planning your wedding while imagining everyone sprinting between buildings underneath umbrellas.

But I will tell you that rain doesn’t have to ruin your wedding day.

And from a photography perspective, some pretty incredible photographs can happen when the weather decides not to cooperate.

Especially here in Wellington, where becoming emotionally attached to a long-range weather forecast is probably not the wisest wedding planning strategy.

So if the little rain-cloud icon starts appearing in your forecast, here’s what I’d actually recommend.

Have a wet-weather plan you genuinely like

The best time to work out what happens if it rains is well before it actually does.

If you’re planning an outdoor ceremony, ask your venue what their wet-weather option is.

And actually go and look at it.

Where will the ceremony happen?

Where will your guests go afterwards?

Can drinks and canapés still happen comfortably?

Are there covered outdoor spaces?

Where could we take photographs?

Your wet-weather plan shouldn’t feel like the disappointing wedding you’re forced to have if the weather goes wrong.

If you’re choosing your venue now, I’d actually make this part of the decision.

I’ve written more about this in my guide to choosing a wedding venue, but finding somewhere where you’d genuinely be happy with both Plan A and Plan B can remove a huge amount of weather-related stress.

Don’t check the forecast every fourteen minutes

I know.

This is easier said than done.

But wedding weather forecasts have an extraordinary ability to consume your entire brain during the week before the wedding.

Forecasts change.

Weather moves.

And “rain” can mean anything from a ten-minute shower to several hours of weather that appears personally offended by your wedding.

Keep an eye on it so you can make sensible decisions, but try not to let a tiny weather icon dictate how you feel about the day before it has even happened.

Bring umbrellas

Simple, but incredibly useful.

If rain is looking likely, having a collection of good-sized umbrellas available can make moving between locations much easier.

I’d generally keep them simple and neutral rather than assembling an accidental rainbow of branded golf umbrellas.

Clear umbrellas can work beautifully too.

And if you have a wedding party, having enough for everyone is much better than discovering six people are attempting to fit underneath two.

Allow a little extra time

Rain tends to make everything take slightly longer.

People move more carefully.

Cars need to pull closer.

Dresses might need lifting.

Umbrellas need opening and closing.

None of this is particularly dramatic, but a little extra breathing room in your wedding day timeline means nobody needs to rush because getting from A to B took ten minutes longer than expected.

We don’t necessarily need sunshine for beautiful photographs

Beautiful wedding photography isn’t dependent on a clear blue sky.

Overcast weather can actually give us gorgeous soft light.

Clouds can create drama.

Wet surfaces reflect light.

Mist can completely transform a landscape.

And when it gets darker, rain combined with flash or city lights can create photographs that we simply couldn’t make on a perfectly sunny afternoon.

Different weather gives us different possibilities.

That’s part of what makes photographing weddings interesting.

You might still want to go outside

If it’s absolutely pouring sideways, I’m probably not going to drag you into a paddock for forty-five minutes and tell you this is all part of the experience.

But if there’s light rain or a break in the weather?

We might head outside.

Even five or ten minutes can be enough.

You can keep warm and dry inside for most of the day and then take advantage of a little gap when it appears.

This is another reason I love keeping wedding portraits relatively relaxed rather than treating them as one enormous scheduled photoshoot.

We can work with the day we’re actually given.

Think about your shoes and your dress

If we’re heading outside after rain, the ground might be wet.

This doesn’t mean you need to swap your wedding shoes for hiking boots.

Although I would respect the commitment.

But having another pair of shoes available can be useful, particularly if you’re getting married somewhere rural.

And your dress might get a little dirty around the bottom.

For some people, that’s completely fine.

For others, the idea causes genuine distress.

Neither is wrong. Tell your photographer what you’re comfortable with and we’ll work around it.

Wind may actually be the bigger issue

A little Wellington-specific public service announcement.

Sometimes I’m considerably more interested in what the wind is doing than whether there’s a little rain.

Light rain can be easy to work with.

Horizontal rain accompanied by wind strong enough to relocate your veil to the South Island is slightly different.

Again, we adapt.

We find shelter. We change locations. We photograph inside. We wait for a gap.

You don’t need to solve the weather yourself.

Trust your vendors

This is one of the biggest reasons to surround yourself with experienced wedding vendors.

Your venue will know how they handle weather changes.

Your celebrant will know what needs to move.

Your planner or coordinator will keep things happening.

And your photographer should know how to adapt the photography plan.

You shouldn’t spend your wedding morning directing a wet-weather logistical operation from the makeup chair.

Let your vendors do their jobs.

Rain doesn’t change the reason everyone is there

If it rains on your wedding day, you are still going to get married.

Your favourite people are still going to be there.

There will still be hugs and speeches and champagne and ridiculous dance-floor behaviour.

And I’ll still be photographing all of it.

We might make different photographs than we would have made on a perfectly sunny day.

But different doesn’t mean worse.

So make a good Plan B, bring some umbrellas and then try to release yourself from the responsibility of controlling the Wellington weather.

Frankly, none of us have that kind of authority. x