How to Prepare for Rain on Your Wedding Day

You put in months of thought and planning for your wedding. Have you thought about how to prepare for rain on your wedding day?

Checklists, spreadsheets, and timelines detail every minute of your big weekend. But all the organization skills in the world can’t control one thing: the weather! Midwest weddings will always run into the challenge of unpredictable forecasts. The good news? With the right mindset and tools, you CAN prepare for rain on your wedding day.

Set the Right Expectations

Perfectionists understand: when you invest hours into an event, you want every detail to go according to plan! This is one area where you must give yourself grace and have an open hand. You cannot control the weather. During your months of planning, remind yourself of this often. If it rains on your wedding day, you’ll be able to handle the circumstances much better if you’ve mentally set the right expectations.

What does this look like?

1. 1. 1. • Making a commitment to yourself to focus on what matters: your marriage and enjoying being surrounded by all the people you love most in one place

    

   1. 1. • Embracing the unexpected and going with the flow: you’ll feel much more relaxed and still have beautiful memories of your day when you can accept a change of plans with a smile

    

   1. • Not obsessing over things outside of your control: One of the best pieces of advice I can offer is this: do NOT spend the weeks or days before your wedding checking the forecast constantly. Trust me: if you fixate on your weather app, you will only drive yourself crazy, stir up anxiety, and lose sight of what matters. After years of photographing engagement sessions and weddings, I can promise that the forecast is wrong half of the time anyway. It changes daily and hourly, so don’t allow something so unpredictable to dictate your mood.

 

Anticipate the Rain and Make a Plan of Action

Once you have your mindset in the right place, you can make a rain plan.

Start by hiring vendors you trust to be on top of any situation.

1. 1. 1. 1. • Is your ceremony outdoors? Ask your venue what their backup plan is if it rains. Can you see the space your ceremony would be moved to, and look at pictures from other ceremonies that have been rained out? Do you have to make the final call the day before the wedding, or can you decide a few hours before the ceremony? Choose a venue with a policy that gives you peace of mind.

       

      1. 1. • Before you hire a photographer, ask what they’ll do if it rains. Ask to see a full wedding gallery from a rainy wedding day. Make sure you feel fully confident that you’ll walk away from any weather situation with beautiful photos you love.

       

      1. 1. • Hire a planner that can handle the logistics of last minute changes so you can be present and relaxed all throughout your day.

       

      1. • Find out what tools for touch-ups your hair and makeup artists provide if you get caught in the rain.
           

 

Make a Backup Plan for Photos

1. 1. 1. 1. • • If there are scattered, light showers, you can still take photos outdoors. Decide beforehand if you’re ok with getting your dress a little wet.  If you are, go for it!

             

            • • I walk into every wedding day with cute umbrellas for my couples and their wedding party to use in case it sprinkles. We can still make the most of outdoor portrait locations with these umbrellas on hand. Clear umbrellas work best as they allow natural light in, which gives you beautiful skin tones! You can purchase your own here.

             

            • If it’s pouring rain and thunderstorming, have one or two backup locations in mind. It’s best if your backup locations can still use natural light: a covered area outdoors or a room with floor to ceiling windows and light colored walls indoors. These locations would ideally be at your venue or hotel. If not, work with your photographer to choose ideal options. They should be familiar with what’s available and close to your venue.If there are no options with natural light? Make sure your photographer is comfortable using flash.

 

Be Flexible with Your Timeline

Even if it rains, it usually doesn’t last the entire day. Leave wiggle room in your timeline so you can sneak out for sunset portraits if it rained earlier in the day.

When you have a healthy mindset, hire the right vendors, and make a good plan, you will prepare for rain on your wedding day with ease! And if it does rain? Know that you did your best, and your day will still end with you married to the one you love. 

Want more advice? Read past couples’ experiences with wedding day rain here.