Happy Spring! I’m currently sitting in our office with a baby sleeping on the floor and rain drizzling outside. As our busier season approaches, I find myself checking the weather app on a regular basis to see what my week may be looking like. It’s crazy working a job that’s so dependent on weather! When I see rainy days ahead for scheduled photo sessions, it’s pretty easy for me to reschedule for a different day. But one thing you can’t reschedule due to weather is your wedding day! It’s so crucial to know that no matter what your weather forecast is on your wedding day, at the end of your day you will be husband and wife!! And there’s nothing better than that! ♥︎
With that said, I don’t think it’s bad to prepare for the weather you will be dealing with! Just like we tell our winter brides to prepare for the cold weather, we like to tell our spring/summer brides to prepare for rainy weather! So today I want to share three tips for rainy wedding days!
1. Don’t start watching the forecast too far out! I know, I know… this is SO much easier said than done. I was that bride with an outdoor wedding and it was tempting to sit and look at the extended forecast every day (or even a couple times a day if we’re being honest!). BUT where did that get me? It got me stressed! Haha! One day it said our wedding day would be sunny and 75 and the next it was raining and 40 degrees.
I recommend waiting to check the forecast until the week of your wedding! I personally am not a meteorologist, but whenever I’m looking at a wedding day forecast, it’s 48-72 hours before the actual wedding. That way I have enough time to prepare for a potential rainy wedding day instead of scrambling the morning of/the day before when you have your rehearsal and groom’s dinner to focus on.
Leading up to wedding days, I like to use the AccuWeather and Weather app. Usually between the two apps, I can see what the weather will most likely be! AccuWeather is my favorite for the hourly forecast and the Weather app is what I use for extended!
On the actual wedding day, I use an app called DarkSky. It is pretty accurate to show when we will have gaps of clear sky to head outside and shoot! Depending on the forecast, we can adjust your timeline to shoot during break in the weather system.
2. Bring proper rain gear! Caleb and I have 10 clear bubble umbrellas that we bring on wedding days that show a chance of rain. But you may want to have a handful of umbrellas prepared for other people to use in a pinch if it’s raining. These are the umbrellas we use!
If you have a rain coat, bring it along! We’ll do everything we can to keep you dry for your photos, but it’s never a bad idea to have something to throw over your dress or your groom’s suit in between locations.
Shoes! I know you really want to wear your beautiful shoes you have picked out to go with your dress… but if we’re being honest, they typically do not show unless we put you in a pose that specifically shows them off! So for portrait time, put on shoes that you are ok with getting a bit wet. You can switch your shoes before the ceremony and at that time we can take a few portraits that shoe off those beautiful shoes!
Be sure to pass these tips along to your bridal party! They won’t be outside as long as you, but they will certainly appreciate staying as dry as possible!
3. Embrace the rain! Caleb and I have worked in some crazy weather on wedding days. Everything from -50 degree windchills, 110 degree humid heat, thunderstorms, tornado warnings, etc! Our goal is to provide you with beautiful photos/videos, so we are going to do everything we can to make your day as enjoyable and relaxing as possible to create the best end product!
It’s easy to think if it’s wet outside, let’s stay inside for photos (which we can certainly do, too), but let this be an encouragement to trust your photographers/videographers, go outside and embrace the weather! It’s worth it! We’ll make sure you stay as dry as possible! 🙂
I hope this is a helpful post for our upcoming brides! If you have any questions, shoot me a message! Happy wedding season!
It may be cheesy, but you never know when a rainy wedding day will give you a beautiful rainbow! 😉
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