Rain on your Wedding Day - Pt 1 Ceremony

A question that is coming up a bit at the moment is "what happens when it rains on a wedding day?!" The answer is, we battle on! The date has been booked for months, all the planning in the world can't unfortunately control mother nature, so we make the most of the weather that we are given! 

So we have some examples of weddings that have battled the elements, to show that you do get beautiful photos on the day, and we've also included some tips on what will help make the most of your day. Some of our favourite images have been from days where we finish up completely soaked and windblown! 

We tend to start putting together a wet weather plan about a week out from the day, if it is looking like the weather won't play nice. We take in to consideration what will happen at the ceremony, your family photos, and of course your time in between for the photo session. 

The first thing to consider if it is looking like rain on your wedding day is your ceremony. If you have an indoor location, such as a church or hall, then it is much easier! Just make sure that you have plenty of umbrellas on standby to help get people to and from their cars. Plus, some extra volunteers to help the bride and bridesmaids make it from the car unscathed! For people with outdoor ceremonies, backup options include contacting your reception venue to see if they would have an available space, or to look at a marquee. If it is just light showers forecast, then you can probably get away with some extra umbrellas. But for more serious weather, you will need more shelter. 

We photographed a wedding who had arranged for a marquee on the river foreshore in case it rained, and on the day the marquee was a blessing as it sheltered everyone from the wind, especially handy when the bride had her hair out in loose curls! 

Once the ceremony is over, at an indoor venue you can have congratulations and family photos indoors if it is raining outside. It's best to check this prior to your wedding day, and to also see if there is another wedding coming in who will need the space for setting up soon after you had originally planned to walk out down the aisle. You can see some samples from St Michael the Archangel and St Mary's Cathedral below. 

Using the church for family photos after the ceremony. Also how to keep a wedding dress dry!

There are times where the weather is just too severe and people need to seek shelter asap. In these instances, we may change the schedule and arrange to have family photos taken at the reception location earlier than the pre dinner drinks time. We usually do this as a last resort, as no matter what there will always be one more family member we are waiting on who got lost, or are still waiting for their taxi to pick them up etc. 

So that is the ceremony covered, next we will move on to the photo session with tips and ideas. As you can see, with a little bit of planning you can ensure that bad weather won't dampen your day!