Bringing the Outdoors In: What to do With Rain on Your Wedding Day

Outdoor weddings are becoming increasingly popular and it’s no wonder why. With nature bringing its own decorations and the beautiful sun shining down on you, not to mention that there’s just something so sweet and romantic about being married outside, getting married outside seems like a very, well, natural choice. But what if it’s not so picture perfect and bad weather threatens to spoil your big day? It’s been considered for years to be good luck if it rains on your wedding day but you may not see that at the time. Never fear, though. There are many tips that you can use if clouds start looming.

The first thing you must do is ensure that you have a back-up plan. Make arrangements at an indoor location just in case of bad weather. Choose a nearby hotel space, a church, or other facility that will hold a large group of people. Find out from this contingency venue if there will need to be separate facilities for the ceremony and the reception. Book them and find out all the details just as you would if you were planning on having that as the only venue for your wedding. Do ask them though if there is a discount or if some of your money can be refunded if you don’t end up having to use it. Be sure to include this second location on the invitations so that you don’t need to meet everyone at the first location beforehand.

If finding an indoor place to have the festivities slips your mind and it rains on your wedding day, there are still many things that you can do. The first is to bring items that will make your guests feel more comfortable. The first of course, being a tarp that will cover the guests and you, your betrothed, and the officiate. This will keep most of the rain away. Make sure that the tarp is sturdy and strong enough to stand up to some fairly heavy rain.

Other items that you may want to bring for your guests include umbrellas, towels, and a few extra raincoats. Have these ready at the place where guests will arrive so they don’t need to get soaked before arriving at their seats.

Although many couples about to get married try to get as much done in advance as possible so they can focus on themselves during the big day, try not to do too much outdoors beforehand. It’s not really that much of a challenge for the wedding planner to be at the site a little early to set up the arch and anything else you will be using during the ceremony and reception but it is a slightly bigger deal to have to haul things away in the rain and be left with nothing to use.

And lastly, keep the focus on the meaning of the day. Don’t let raindrops ruin your wedding day for you! There is always something that can be done and with just a little creativity and advance planning, you can make your guests and yourselves comfortable.