Britain has a temperate climate. In Britain we get a fair amount of rain. There’s really no dressing up that fact or making it seem less of a truth that it is. So why worry about a bit of rain your wedding day? In fact the fewer things you have to worry about on your wedding day the better the day is likely to feel.
I guess it’s sort of okay to worry about things that you have a degree of control over, like whether your dress / suit will fit, but you can mitigate that sort of worry quite easy. You can’t make sure there’s no rain on your big day. Even if you plan to get married abroad you’ll still struggle to make 100% sure that there will be no rain. Unless you’re getting married in a desert. But if that’s the case you’ll have bigger challenges to rise to than a bit of precipitation.
So if you can’t ensure a rain free wedding what can you do to prepare for it? The chances are you probably didn’t factor in the time of year when you booked your wedding. The truth is that when it comes to the likelihood of rain then what time of year you’re getting married probably won’t make difference anyway. I’m old enough to have experienced snow in May, on more than one occasion.
So how can you prepare for the possibility of rain on your wedding day? For starters it’s worth choosing a wedding venue that has a decent amount of indoor space. Most wedding venues in the UK have plenty of indoor space, but it’s worth talking to your venue about how they’ve coped with rainy weddings they’ve hosted in the past. The chances are the staff at the venue are very experienced and a drop of rain will be water off a duck’s back (so to speak).
If you’re planning to hold your ceremony in the open air then be prepared for the fact that plans may need to change just a few hours before your ceremony. I don’t want to unduly worry you, but I’ve arrived at a wedding in belting sunshine, only to have the heavens open a short while before the ceremony is due to start. This happening has never once either stressed out the wedding venue staff, demoralised guests or spoilt a wedding for a couple.
If the wedding venue you’ve set your heart on doesn’t have adequate indoor space it could be worth considering hiring a marquee. There are plenty of hire companies who will not only supply (and erect) a marquee, but will also decorate it according to your wishes.
Every wedding is unique, but the challenges that face couples are not. As with any aspect of your wedding you will not be the first people to face any challenge. Many people will have been in the same position as you in the past, and a quick Google search will likely uncover a solution.
If the long-range weather forecast is making rain look like a certainty then it could be worth buying a load of umbrellas for your guests. This doesn’t need to cost a lot of money, even pound shops sell umbrellas. You might be wondering why I’m not suggesting you tell your guests to bring their own umbrellas. Even if you could contact absolutely everyone and ask them to bring a brolly I still don’t think it’s a good idea that guests bring their own. Speaking as a photographer, and taking into consideration aesthetics, your wedding photos will look at lot better if everyone is holding either matching or colour co-ordinated umbrellas. Also, a lot of people have crap umbrellas. It’s also a universal truth that most people don’t pay for their umbrellas, so they’ll have the name of a brand plastered all over them. This brings me to my last point regarding umbrellas. If you can spare the cash it’s a nice idea to get some custom made umbrellas made. I’ve seen custom umbrellas being sold for as little as £4 a piece. An umbrellas with a design relevant to your special day would also make a nice keepsake for guests to take home with them.
Fortunately Suffolk has less rainfall than almost anywhere else in the country, but a little bit of forward planning could alleviate the fear of a downpour on your big day.
Ultimately none of your guests are attending your wedding to sunbathe. As long as they are kept reasonably dry your guests will be much more focussed on sharing your special day than anything else.
As a final thought, some people actually consider rain on your wedding day to be a good omen!