How to Make Sure Rain Doesn’t Ruin Your Wedding Day
Rain is on the the minds of virtually everyone here in California - and rightfully so - parts of California are 200% over the historical average for rainfall year to date. But this post isn’t to talk about this water levels or the fact that Albert Hammond’s song It Never Rains In Southern California should be permanently archived.
We’re here to talk about how not to let rain ruin your wedding day and how to create a wedding back-up plan.
As you’re planning your wedding, it’s important to think about how adverse weather will affect certain parts of your day. If you’re a couple who is having their ceremony and reception inside, rain may not affect you as much but still consider the fact that you have to get from point A to point B or that you may have wanted to do first-look photos and post-ceremony photos outside. Now for those couples who are doing the ceremony outside, it’s incredibly critical that you have a backup plan. If for some reason your planner or coordinator doesn’t bring up the need to discuss a backup plan (which they most definitely should!) - be sure to create one yourself! So let’s get to it!
What does your venue say?
One of the benefits of doing a wedding at a large venue or major hotel / resort is the ability to pivot from outdoor to indoor with relative ease due to the amount of space available at the wedding venue. Even still, ask the venue what your options will be if you have to do the wedding indoors. Get all the details about when they make the rain call, how they do setup, if there are any additional fees/reduction of fees, and ask to see pictures of the ceremony setup in their recommended location.
If you’re doing you are looking at venues that are more boutique in nature, they may not have alternative spaces and would require you to bring in a tent for your outdoor ceremony. You have to be honest with yourself and ask if you’re okay with this alternative - and it’s okay if you’re not. But knowing this information up front makes it easier to decide how you want to go about the planning process - especially as it pertains to selecting a venue. As one of the largest expenses, you want to ensure that your venue is able to fully accommodate your wedding vision - rain or no rain.
What do your vendors say?
Considering that it takes 12+ vendors to successfully execute your wedding day, communicating with them is an absolute MUST. The great thing about them too is that they have been part of plenty of weddings, including those that implement backup plans in the final hour. While some may advise that you only communicate with them regarding weather plans closer to when you’re going to make the call, my recommendation is that as soon as you contract with them, you ask them how they operate when it rains. Having this knowledge in the back of your mind helps you plan accordingly and prevents you from scrambling to have last minute conversations to pull together the plan a few days prior to your big day.
“So what you’re telling me is that I basically have to plan two weddings at the same time….?”
Yes, but also no. What you’re doing is adjusting your plan A if it is a particular element that would be drastically impacted by rain. That’s all.
Consider how you would feel as a guest if there was no backup plan and you were subjected to sitting in the rain or standing in a corner bracing for cover while you watched the staff trying to figure out what to do with everyone. If you wouldn’t like that, your guests won’t either, so take a bit of time to run through your day, talk with your planner, and have a ready to execute back-up plan in place if the sunny skies decide they want to take a nap on the day of your wedding.
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