Venue shopping tip: ASK TO SEE THE RAIN PLAN – so important! Especially if plan A is an outdoor ceremony or cocktail hour or the primary plan for photos is the outdoor space. Make sure the rain plan is something you will love just as much and not be a hastily thrown together poor substitute. Ask yourself if you had to have your day with nothing but the rain plan – where would everyone sit, what would it look like, how is the lighting, can it be decorated, if you have no ability to go outside (maybe it’s hurricane season) where will you be able to take photos? And then make sure you’re not just worst case scenario “okay with those options” make sure you are still excited about them !
Be realistic and be prepared!! There are lots of opportunities for photos with the “good shoes” – your jimmy choos or your manolos or even your badgeley mishka rhinestone encrusted heels. Make sure you’ve got a rain plan for your feet too! Have a pair of boots or heck even crocs that you can use to get around in safely walking between buildings or doing portraits out in the grass. If you keep your feet comfortable, you can switch right back into your fancy shoes for your ceremony, your grand entrance and your first dance. (After that, you’ll be wishing for crocs – trust me!)
If your venue doesn’t have a lot of covered options for photos – be prepared to embrace the weather! Nice umbrellas and a spirit of adventure can make all the difference between “safe” photos that just get the job done and amazing spontaneous moments! Morgan and Ben were like a scene from the Notebook when I screamed that there was a rainbow and pointed frantically at the sky. They rain out into the rain with just an umbrella and their guests were cheering them on!
Keep in mind, when your outdoor ceremony gets moved indoors to the rain plan option – you might have to think about lighting when previously you were just counting on daylight. Bob Manning of Trillium Wedding Films saved the day at Jordan and Mike’s wedding this past fall when we moved the ceremony into the barn and it was so dark with all the doors closed and only the string lights overhead. Luckily he had packed a huge spotlight that he was able to put up which made things much nicer for photos and made it easier for the guests to see them as well!
Now for the throwback photos – Monika and Matt’s wedding was unique because it rained ALL DAY. All day without even a five minute break. Their ceremony was moved indoors into the basement of the barn and we had to do all of their portraits under the cover of the gazebo. Ask any photographer who’s shot at a venue in the rain before – they can tell you where every single porch, overhang, carport, portico, pergola, garage door, and shed is at that venue that makes a dry spot big enough to stand a single human in.
Even the ring bearer, Monika’s little Yorkie was having trouble in the tall wet grass so I was glad to snuggle him. He reminded me of Toto from the Wizard of Oz (another movie about a young woman whose plans were derailed by bad weather).
Sometimes Mother Nature will do you a solid and bring out her best colors as a consolation prize for getting a little wet while you say your vows. Sara and Paul’s wedding day was like that at Lingrow Farm. When rainbows pop up they will almost always be in the darkest part of the sky and may only be visible for a few minutes before they fade. If you see one, drop your fork, leave the dance floor and make a run for it. That’s special effects that can never be created quite the same.
Megan and Jake’s wedding at Fieldstone at Armstrong Farms was moved to the rain plan not because it was pouring from the sky but because the ground outside was saturated from rain the night before. They opted to say their vows indoors in the stone room of the barn’s lower level and then go out and enjoy the post storm light for photos.
The Atrium in Butler, PA doesn’t just have a rain plan – they’ve even got a snow plan! In summer or sunny weather, you can host your ceremony and do portraits out behind the venue in their landscaped garden – but if the weather isn’t cooperative – you can get married in their greenhouse! This was a photo of the ceremony set up for Hollie and James’ December wedding. The greenhouse was fully enclosed, heated and comfortable but still filled with natural light even on a cloudy day. We did their first look, family portraits, and ceremony all in this space.
Don’t let a little rain bring you down – just have a plan!
