No matter how much you prepare for your wedding, there’s one thing that you just can’t control: the weather! Sure, your venue probably has a backup location in case it rains, but what about your portraits? You didn’t choose that gorgeous farm with the stunning views just so that you could have all your photos be taken indoors! Today, I’m tackling an important question that all brides ask:
“What if it rains on my wedding day?”
Well, the good news is, that while we can’t control the weather, most wedding professionals have dealt with rainy wedding days enough to be prepared for any situation! The rain may be worrisome to you, but to us it’s not! It’s just another part of the day. So if the forecast calls for a drizzle instead of sunny skies, your only job is to enjoy your day and try to be flexible!
From a photography standpoint, the main thing that changes with rainy weather is the portrait time. Since the bride and groom usually get ready for the day indoors, the weather really doesn’t affect that portion of the day. The ceremony coverage isn’t affected as much either. Yes, your venue might move the ceremony indoors, but that won’t change which photos are taken! I will still get photos of all the big moments. However, since most of my portraits are done outdoors, this is where things can change.
If it rains on your wedding day, we have a few options:
- We can find an alternate location. Often this is a room with great natural light (think big windows or a large door), or a covered walkway, porch, or gazebo.
- We can wait to do portraits until the rain stops.
- We can shoot in the rain and use umbrellas. I have a bunch of clear plastic umbrellas specifically for this purpose!
Often, when faced with less than ideal weather, I use a combination of all three options. Since natural light is the softest and most flattering, I always try to get at least a few portraits outdoors. This looks different for each wedding since each timeline is different.
Here are a few examples of rainy weddings from last year.
My first wedding of the 2018 season took place during an ice storm! The temperature was in the upper 30s and there was a heavy wind! Despite the conditions, Lydia and Joe were troopers and chose to do portraits outdoors anyway. While I usually budget an hour or more for bridal party and bride and groom portraits, we did all of these in under 30 minutes!
At Maggie and Zack’s wedding earlier this year we were able to do all of the bridal party portraits outdoors, went inside when it started raining, then came back outside for just the bride and groom portraits. You can see how wet the sidewalks are in their portraits from the recent downpour!
Bethany and Brian had all sorts of weather at their fall wedding (everything from rain to snow to gusting wind and hail). We used a covered porch to do their First Look, bride and groom portraits, and most of the bridal party photos. Then we braved the elements and got some shots outdoors with umbrellas.
