Florida Rainy Wedding

What do you do when it rains on your wedding day?

Imagine… a beautiful sunny day, it’s not too hot, but it feels nice outside! There’s just a few clouds in the sky, but they’re helping to keep it cool. Your ceremony goes by flawlessly and now you’re taking photos with a gorgeous sunset. I’m talking oranges, pinks, purples, the whole nine yards; it has truly been the best day!

That’s the dream, but what happens when your day is every bit as far from that as you imagined?

The week of the wedding there’s a sure chance of rain, you’re already starting to panic. The day of your wedding you wake up to rain drops on your roof. As the day goes on the clouds are getting thicker and thicker, they’re not just any clouds, they’re the dark heavy ones. What now? Your “perfect” day is far from ruined, trust me! The vendors you’ve hired will be sure to make your day just as gorgeous as you thought (just maybe in a different way!). I’ve asked a local wedding planner, Julie Herman, to help me answer a few questions about a rainy wedding.

When do you make a rain plan?

A rain plan is always in the back of our mind, I mean come on, we live in Florida! I bring a rain coat, clear umbrella for cute photos, and bags for my camera to every wedding just in case I get stuck in a storm. Julie says “I discuss rain plan up front when I know they are planning an outdoor ceremony.  Always have to have a plan B!” It is important to know your options when planning your wedding, just in case a monsoon happens on your special day!

At what point of the day do you decide to move forward with your rain plan?

Julie had a great answer to this question, “It depends on what elements are involved.  For instance, I had a wedding where the dinner was outside so that the inside was only being used as a bar and dance floor.  A week prior the weather was predicting 90% rain. We watched the weather all week and made the decision 3 days prior to go with the rain plan for dinner by moving tables inside for dinner and then breaking down the tables to  open up the dance floor.  We decided to leave the chairs out for the ceremony since it appeared it might clear enough to do the ceremony which it did.  Phew! Otherwise, guests would have had to sit at the tables inside with the ceremony on the dance floor.” Having a back-up plan is a necessity if you’re planning an outdoor wedding and knowing when to use that back-up plan shouldn’t be stressing you out on wedding day, let your hired vendors take that stress off or your shoulders. Your wedding planner is seasoned, it’s probably not the first time she’s had it rain on a wedding!

What are calming tips for your bride during this fiasco?

This is a good question, always remember that regardless of what happens on your wedding day, the goal is to marry your bestfriend. So what if it doesn’t turn out the way you imagined? Your day will still be perfect because regardless of rain, sleet, snow, or hail, your bestfriend will be waiting for you at the end of the aisle so you can start your lives together. Don’t lose focus of the purpose of this day!

What happens first when you start to move forward with your rain plan-ceremony set up, reception, etc.

Julie said “Contact the vendors to advise what the plan is and how the plan affects their services. We all need to be a team.” Which I could not agree more with. It is important to have communication with everyone involved. We, as vendors, need to work as a whole to make sure your day can continue to move smoothly. Rain is just a bump in the road, not a turn in the road, and our job is to make sure your day continues down the right path regardless of speedbumps.

Keep the guests dry… what’s your plan for not just seating, but for getting to the ceremony location?

I thought this was a hard question, as a photographer I mostly am concerned just with the bride and groom. From a wedding planners perspective, Julie had the perfect answer “I have a supply of large umbrellas that my assistants use to help get guests from the cars to the building.” Can you imagine everything that Julie brings to weddings? Checklist: everything that I own… but how does she even transport that?!

All in all, this is your wedding day. Keep a smile on your face and enjoy being with the people you love. This day is about celebrating your new marriage, not about the weather or anything else that might go wrong. Julie mentioned that there is even a myth that says rain on your wedding day is good luck!

-Shelly

Event Planner: Julie Herman