Rain on your wedding day can feel like really bad luck, but the worst thing you can do is let it put a dampener on your day.

advice for rainy wedding days

Well, it wouldn’t be very British if we didn’t have a blog post about the weather would it?! For us Brits, it’s part of our DNA.

We know rain on your wedding day is one of the top things that couples stress about – whatever the time of year – but it’s also pretty much the one thing you have zero control over on your wedding day, so it’s really not worth worrying about; because the weather will be what it will be!

So if you can approach your day with the mindset of ‘it will be wonderful whatever the weather’ then you’re on to a winner. And, trust us, we’ve been to enough wet weather weddings to know that, yes, it really will be wonderful, whatever the weather throws your way.

Just look at the photos of rainy wedding days throughout this blog post; what do you notice? They’re all having FUN! Those couples that embrace rain on their wedding day as part of the story of their day, are the ones that take away the amazing memories, even if their day has been a washout.

With all that in mind, there’s a few things to consider for a wet wedding day:

rainy wedding day TIP #1

// STOP CHECKING THE FORECAST!

Now, this advice is based on literally years of experience of looking at the forecast ahead of wedding days!

If you’re looking at the long range forecast, don’t even bother. A couple of weeks out? Highly inaccurate. A week ahead? Could go either way. Two days before? Might be closer to the truth but still open for debate. The day before? Possibly more accurate than yesterday. Day of: still not guaranteed to be what it says. You get the idea!! Sometimes it’s more clear than others if a weather pattern is set-in, but a lot of the time in the UK, it’s a difficult call. All you can do is be prepared, but remember, whatever the forecast says, you still can’t change it – so don’t sweat it!

RAINY WEDDING DAY TIP #2

// HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN

This is obviously particularly relevant for outdoor ceremonies, but it also applies to any part of the day that could take place outside, such as confetti, drinks receptions, family photos, full group photos, and your portraits.

Most venues will have an indoor space in reserve for ceremonies, but wedding venues can differ hugely in the amount of notice they require to change things around. Some will ask you to make a decision first thing in the morning, others might let you leave it until up to an hour or two before your ceremony. Be prepared for your venue to ask you to make that decision and be sure that as a couple you both know the plan in case one of you is called upon to make the decision quickly.

When it comes to confetti, it will be up to your venue, but for civil ceremonies, most wedding venues will allow your guests to throw confetti as you walk back down the aisle, whereas churches will not.

The inside space of your venue will dictate whether a full group shot is possible, as some simply don’t have a large enough space for an indoor full group photo, so be prepared that this might be one of the photos that can’t be done.

RAINY WEDDING DAY TIP #3

// YOU CAN STAND UNDER MY UM-BER-ELLA…

Often, your venue will have a few umbrellas on standby that you and your guests can grab if you need to, but if you’re having a church wedding, you may want to be more prepared by getting a couple of your own in case the heavens open to and from church. There are so many options when it comes to colours and styles of umbrellas, and if you’d rather not buy some just search online for companies that hire them out for the day!

We always have a small handful of clear umbrellas in our boot ready for such occasions and for rainy portrait photos. Alternatively, if you know that rain is highly likely on your wedding day, you could get a customised one, like Sophie and Aaron did here…

RAINY WEDDING DAY TIP #4

// THE DRESS

It’s white, it will get dirty. Even in the dry, it would get dirty – in the wet, it’s likely the train will be filthy.

We understand your dress is a big deal, but fortunately many brides can approach their day knowing that it will only be worn once and you intend to have the most fun possible while wearing it! In our experience, after the ceremony is done, most brides are happy to just go with it and if that means getting the dress dirty in the name of having a great time and getting some great portraits that will last forever, then it’s totally worth it.

Look at it this way, which matters more to you: enjoying your day, and recording that in your photos, which you’ll look at regularly throughout your lives together, or your dress, which will get cleaned and either be sold or sit in the loft for years…

RAINY WEDDING DAY TIP #5

// THE SHOES

Puddles and mud do not mix well with dainty white shoes and heels! If your chosen venue has fabulous grounds that you want to use for your couple portraits, then it’s definitely worth getting some alternative footwear that you can hop into. This could be fabulous wedding wellies (there really are some great ones around now!) or just some old trainers that your dress will cover. Shoes are more difficult to clean than dresses, so having some backup shoes is good planning. Alternatively, you could just get your other half to carry you, like Andrew did with Natalia!!

RAINY WEDDING DAY TIP #6

// JUST EMBRACE IT - IT’S CONFETTI FROM HEAVEN!

It’s worth remembering that even if your day is forecast to be wet, it rarely rains ALL day. Sometimes it just means that the order of things has to be shuffled a little to make best use of any breaks in the weather, so be prepared to nip outside for portraits if the opportunity arises.

Rainy days can also make for some of the most dramatic and creative portrait photos - if there’s opportunities at your venue, we’ll find them! Overcast skies actually make for the most lovely, flattering light for outdoor portraits - our advice is to approach everything with an open mind, and go with it all as it comes.

In the words of one of our couples, rain on your wedding day is just ‘confetti from heaven’!