OH NO! Rain on Your Wedding Day!
Rain on your Wedding Day is the last thing any couple who’s enthusiastic about the great outdoors wants to do. However, if you have your heart set on a communing with nature during your nuptuals, this is something you can’t avoid. Well, you can avoid it, but you might end up soggy wet and regretting it. As a wedding planner in a very unpredictable area, this conversation is a requirement for every couple I serve. We make plans, and then we make back up plans. So, let’s talk a little about the importance of wedding planning for rainy weather.
How Rain on Your Wedding Day Can Affect Your Vendors
Unless you’re getting married in the desert, there’s always a chance it’s going to rain. We just need to be honest and realistic with ourselves. Couples with unrealistic expectations can find themselves feeling very deflated on their wedding day. Certainly, that’s not how you want to remember the biggest day of your life.
So, we’ll start with how rain on your wedding day will effect your Wedding Vendors. These are the professionals you’ve invested thousands of dollars on for your day. And, the 3 top vendors for any wedding are the most likely to be affected by rainy weather.
Your DJ/Musicians- Up first on our list of vendors affected by rainy weather is your DJ/Musicians. Both live musicians and disc jockeys have invested thousands of dollars in their equipment/instruments. Most have a clause right in their contract explaining that they can (and will) cancel service without a refund if the weather threatens their equipment. No one wants to ruin an investment, including you. Protect your investment in their service as well as their investment in themselves so you’re not left without music and sound on your wedding day.
Your Photographer/Videographer/Photo Booth- I grouped all of these vendors together because they have similar equipment and are all responsible for capturing the memories of your wedding day. But, by not making wedding plans for rainy weather you risk losing their service as well. Just like with your DJ, your Photographer has invested thousands of dollars in delicate equipment that they can’t and won’t risk outdoors in the rain. Keeping them safe and secure is essential to capturing your memories.
Your Catering/Desserts- This part of your wedding should be fairly obvious. Your caterer can’t serve your guests soggy food. Also, I think it goes without saying that your guests don’t want to eat soggy food. In addition, can you imagine the horror of having the rain melt your beautiful wedding cake that you spent hundreds of dollars on?
How to Avoid Tragedy from Rain on Your Wedding Day
Can you imagine your wedding day if you lost your DJ, Photographer, and Catering? It’s the kind of stuff I have nightmares about. These avoidable disasters is why I have the tough conversation with every couple I serve. So, how can you avoid feeling like your wedding day became a nightmare instead of a dream because of rain on your wedding day?
Have a Postive Attitude- The first Major Tip when Wedding Planning for Rainy Weather starts with YOU!! First, you must be realistic with your expectations and admit that there’s always a chance it could rain on your wedding day. Secondly, you must remain positive about that chance. Will your wedding plans change a bit? They will, but will your day be ruined? Only if you let it happen. Accepting the possibility, planning for the worse outcome, and keeping a positive attitude is going to make your day fantastic no matter what happens.
Have a Back-up Plan- Wedding Planning for Rainy Weather means having a back up plan. The number 1 option couples choose is to rent a tent. But this doesn’t mean throwing up a few 10X10 Pop-up Canopies. This just won’t work. First, they aren’t tall enough for decent photos. Second, the rain will come down in between the tents and soak everything. Third, 10X10 is enought space for your DJ’s equipment, but it’s not enough space for a live band, a buffet line, or even a dance floor. You should rent a tent large enough to comfortably fit every vendor and all of your guests with room to move about. Be ready to hold your outdoor ceremony on the dance floor, which means ceremony decor that can easily hide the DJ or Band. Your local tent rental company can guide you on what size you need and your decorator or planner can help with the rest.
Another option if renting a venue and planning an outdoor ceremony and/or reception is to make sure you also reserve the indoor hall in case festivities need to be moved inside. Many weddings I serve plan on an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception. In cases like this it’s fairly easy to just move the ceremony into the reception hall. Keep in mind that your venue, musicians, and catering staff will need to be made awre of the change several hours ahead of time. Moving your ceremony into an area they planned on setting up in means they have to come earlier to avoid interrupting your vows.
Make the Call Early- I know you want to wait until 5 minutes before the ceremony begins to see if the weather clears, but your vendors can’t wait. We require at least 4 hours notice so give us time to move decor, sound equipment, food, etc. in a safe fashion. It’s much better to make the call and avoid the scramble.The last thing any bride considers is herself and her bridal party on her wedding day. You’ve just hired a pro hair dresser and makeup artist to make you and your girls stunning. In addition, that wedding dress? Big bucks, I bet. Even your bridal party spent some money on those killer dresses. Getting hitched in the rain on your wedding day means you ruin the risk of spoiling hours of hair and makeup prep. It also means, ruining that perfect dress for a few moments under the sky. That’s the last regret you want. And you can trust me on that. It rained for the entire week before my outdoor wedding. We had to move it inside of a barn. Even though it was sunny and warm on my wedding day, the ground was too wet to do much of anything outside. Just walking into the barn my dress got stained with mud and grass.
You can read more about how the rainy weather affects local weddings by checking out the related news story by Erie News Now: Rainy Weather: Affecting Outdoor Weddings
Our own Wedding Planner, Eve Frank, was interviewed on how she handles rainy weather on a wedding day.
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