In the Case of Rain: What To Do if it Rains on Your Wedding Day

I woke up from a restless night’s sleep because the nerves and excitement were just too real for me to fall into a deep sleep. When I woke up and came downstairs to my dad making waffles I just remember thinking “this is it; this is my wedding day!” We’d already decided rain or shine that the ceremony and reception would take place outside - in my parent’s back yard. So, when the forecast was being completely nutty that morning and going between 0 and 100% chance of rain, I just knew we’d roll with whatever we were given.

We made it through the ceremony and even had some humid sunshine at a couple points. Right as we got announced into the reception and we began getting our food, the heavens let loose. It was a complete and utter downpour. But I remember watching as everyone got umbrellas, gathered under the tents, and the desserts (thankfully not all out) under the tree were all moved inside. But in that moment, there was nothing I could do to change the fact that it was raining. So, we just decided to embrace it! And thankfully, so did our guests (our friends are the best)!

Greg and I did our first dance holding an umbrella. The rain let up a bit for the mother/son and father/daughter dances. But as I was dancing with my dad, and tears started rolling down my cheeks, I had a moment of confusion as to whether or not they were raindrops. Turns out it was a combination.

At the end of the night, the rain had let up and the heat had subsided. So, when I looked out over the dance floor, I saw some of our closest friends and a rainbow that was perfectly placed over our reception. It couldn’t have been better.

The reason I share all of this is because I know rain is a possibility in the midwest for an outdoor wedding. But you don’t have to fear it or spend too much energy worrying about all the what-ifs! Plan well and then hold the things you don’t have control over loosely!

I want to reassure you that even if it rains, you will still have beautiful portraits! Overcast skies mean vibrant colors, less chance of squinting, and beautiful directional light. In fact, I wouldn’t go back and change a thing about the rain on my wedding day. Realizing that no matter how much I worried I couldn’t change the weather freed me up to enjoy the uniqueness that the rain gave our wedding. So, here are a few things to remember:

All I need to create natural light portraits on a rainy wedding day is just a porch or a covered spot and umbrellas.

Let me worry about the pictures. You don’t even have to think about that. If there is a chance of rain, I’ll be sure to do some extra scouting to find a couple of covered locations for us!

Take it one step at a time. Don’t think about your entire day and what will happen if it rains. Definitely have a rain plan for your venue, but then trust your vendors to do the work of handling the rest of the day if rain is in the forecast. I was so thankful for each of our vendors kicking it into overdrive in order to make sure that our guests were still taken care of and things ran smoothly!