6 Tips for Making the Best of Rain on Your Wedding Day

Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? Not only does having rain on your wedding day make for great poetry or music lyrics, but it can be super stressful! We’ve photographed rainy wedding days and even through the part where we get soaked, we still like to think of a rainy wedding day as a good omen! To help bring that good luck to you on your wedding day, if rain is in the forecast or if a surprise storm hits, here are our favorite pieces of advice for making the best of rain on your wedding day!

 

1. Professional Hair and Makeup

If you are hesitant about hiring a professional hair and makeup artist for your wedding because maybe you are trying to save on costs, having a storm in the forecast is hopefully enough to move the needle and convince you that you need one! A professional hair and makeup artist is invaluable on a wedding day in the heat, rain, or snow.

We really suggest using one any time of the year for every professional photo shoot that you do, but when you are facing weather challenges, it is a must. The right hair and makeup artist will make you look incredible in your pictures, and they will know how to help get you set up for success on your rainy wedding day. Their makeup products are meant to last all day long, and they will help you with an updo hairstyle to outlast the storm! We want you to look incredible, and to love and make the best of your rainy wedding day!

2. Clear Umbrellas

When you think of rain, you think of umbrellas. Umbrellas have been around to keep rain off of people since at least the 1700s! We definitely encourage you to have umbrellas to help you make the best of your rainy wedding day, but we are going to tell you why not every umbrella will work for pictures. The most common kind of umbrellas are black, red, or have a cute pattern on them. Are these umbrellas adorable and perfect for normal life situations? Of course! However, they WILL leave a color cast on you in pictures. Black umbrellas will leave a black shadow over you, which will darken up your skin, and red umbrellas or umbrellas of any other color will leave that color on your skin. No one wants to have red skin or a green polka dot wedding dress!

To fix this problem, we highly recommend that you use clear umbrellas. You can find them at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, or on Amazon. These umbrellas are ideal because they will not leave a color cast on you and your dress, but instead they will let the soft light from the sky come through! Your skin and dress will look the same as it would in a normal cloudy day situation without rain. We have a couple clear umbrellas that we bring with us to weddings, but if you know it’s going to rain on your wedding day, we highly recommend you buy some for your family and bridal party to use in pictures. They will look cute and keep everyone dry!

3. Pick a Venue that can be Indoors or Outdoors

When you are planning your wedding and there is a strong chance that you may have rain on your wedding day (spring weddings), be sure to book a venue that allows you to use the inside or the outside areas. Doing this gives you an automatic Plan B if it is needed. The ideal wedding venue would have large windows indoors to let in the soft light from outside, which will be great for pictures, and will create a nice, warming environment! Talia Event Center is one of our favorite venues that fit this description because they have large windows in each of their main rentable wedding areas!

If you are planning an outdoor wedding, our best tip would be to rent a big white tent to hold your reception in! White tents are great for receptions because they create a definite space and area for you and your guests to celebrate, and they create gorgeous light for pictures! Any area that is white and clean makes for a great location!

4. Keep to Your Timeline, but Plan on 100% Rain

When you are planning your rainy wedding day, the best idea is to keep your expectations low and to expect to have rain 100% of the day. By having low expectations like that, rain all day, or only a bit of rain for part of the day, it will still equal an awesome experience! We also recommend keeping your timeline the way that you would want it to be on wedding day with perfect weather. Enjoy your wedding and do the things that you want to do!

5. Take Care of Yourselves

It’s so important to take care of yourselves when you are focusing on making the best of rain on your wedding day. Be sure to bring towels for you, your family members, and bridal party just in case you do get a little wet. Also bring an extra pair of shoes that you don’t mind wearing with your wedding dress. Have your groom bring an extra pair of shoes and socks as well. There isn’t much that is worse than walking around in wet shoes and socks all day long! When it comes time for your luncheon, dinner, cocktail hour, or reception, think about serving warm drinks. Hot chocolate, coffee, or wassail will cheer you and your guests up! We’ve seen some of the cutest reception hot chocolate bars at weddings!

6. Plan for Some Fun and Creative Pictures

If it looks like rain is in the forecast for your wedding, it doesn’t mean that your pictures are going to suffer! As long as we have time without thunder and lightning we can create some awesome and creative images just for you! We’ll definitely be brainstorming and thinking up new ideas to use especially for you guys!

 

Rain on your wedding day doesn’t have to be a horrible situation! Using these tips, planning on using our wedding guide, and keeping communication up with all of your vendors can make for a magical day! After all, a rainy wedding day means good luck in so many cultures!