“It’s like raiiiiiin on your wedding day”
In the words of Alanis Morrisette’s song Ironic (which ironically isn’t about irony at all, just some really unfortunate stuff. It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife indeed!).
Rain sucks at the best of times, so on your wedding day it’s really not ideal. I often get asked what the plan would be for photographs on a wedding day if the worst was to happen in the form of the heaven’s opening.
The main thing I always stress to my couples is simply just not to worry about it. Weather is one of the few things on a wedding day that cannot be controlled (without paying an eye watering amount of money). Bad weather can happen anywhere at any time of year, getting married in the height of summer won’t guarantee you a rain free wedding, especially not if you’re getting married in the UK.
PLAN FOR THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST
The best approach regarding the weather for your wedding day is to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Hiring umbrellas for guests has become quite common over the last few years. It saves you from having to fork out hundreds and also prevents you from being left with a load of umbrellas you don’t want at the end of it! Brolly Bucket are a wonderful umbrella hire service that covers all of the UK. They stock a large range of umbrellas to suit the style of your day at prices that won’t break the bank.
Out of the many weddings I’ve shot, I’ve only ever had persistent rain that’s lasted literally all day a handful of times. Usually on a rainy wedding day there will be a break in the rain. During this time I’d come and grab you to get you outside pronto to do some couple portraits!
RAIN VS GROUP SHOTS
If it’s raining when we do your group shots we’d simply do these inside rather than outside. I’ve never shot at a venue where there’s been no indoor space for group shots. The only thing to bear in mind is there may not be enough space for bigger group shots (dependant on your venue). So these may need to wait for later in the day where there may be a break in the rain or they may not be possible at all, we could have to break them down into a couple of smaller groups.
Another thing that may not be possible is an outdoor ceremony. I adore outdoor ceremonies so I’m always gutted when they’re not possible due to the weather. However it’s better for your outdoor ceremony to get moved inside rather than you and all your guests getting drenched. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding at a wedding venue it’s highly likely that your venue will have a back up plan in place to move the ceremony inside if needed. If you’re doing a DIY wedding in a field it’s worth coming up with a back up plan for your ceremony that’s under cover, for example in a marquee, if it’s needed.
IF YOUR DRESS ISN’T DIRTY, YOU HAVEN’T HAD ENOUGH FUN
For your couple portraits if we do get chance to do these outside between showers brides often worry their dresses will get filthy from saturated ground. There’s a really simple way we can avoid this as much as possible, this is by lifting and carrying the dress to where we want to shoot and placing it down. Dragging the dress along saturated ground would draw a lot of water up the dress and would make it really dirty but this is very easily avoided by lifting and placing it. Spoiler alert: Your dress WILL get dirty regardless of whether it rains or not, just don’t worry about it! If your dress isn’t dirty you haven’t had enough fun!
Most importantly don’t allow the weather to ruin your big day! Rain can actually make for some gorgeous photographs, all you have to do is embrace it! For couple portraits we can go for a wander out in the elements armed with an umbrella!
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