What if it rains on my wedding day?

Well it might, we do live in the UK after all! So what on earth do we do if the forecast suggests rain on your wedding day?

“But seriously, what if it rains on my wedding day”

This question is honestly one of the things my couples seem to worry about the most. And the thing is, it might rain on your wedding day. We live in the UK and things can be a little unpredictable on the weather front, at any time.

Plus I’ve heard of people go all the way to Italy for a sunny wedding and it’s still rained on them there. Good weather isn’t guaranteed, so I’ve put this blog post together as a guide to help reassure you that you’ll have an AMAZING DAY, even if it rains on your wedding day.

Your rainy wedding day guide

Yep, the dreaded ‘R word’. Honestly, don’t worry about it. Firstly because no matter how much worrying or weather-app-checking you do, it won’t change the weather anyway. But mainly because your day is going to be incredible no matter what. You’re marrying your one and only! Who cares if it rains?

And just so you know, it bucketed it down on my wedding day in April 2012. We had to do the confetti and group shots indoors and headed out with umbrellas and not a care in the world for our couple pics. Did it ruin our day? NOPE. Was it still the best day of our lives? YES. (Except you know….the kids being born though the wedding day was significantly less painful!)

Still care?! OK, I don’t blame you. Seriously though, if you’re properly prepared for it, it can be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Here’s 6 ways to prepare for rain on your wedding day.

Pack clear umbrellas

Clear umbrellas are a rainy wedding must-have. The light will already be pretty limited if it’s raining, so the last thing we want is big black umbrellas blocking out even more light! It may seem like an unnecessary expense. But if it does rain, those clear umbrellas will be your new best friends.

Side note: I do take two of these to every single wedding, so I can get some nice portraits of the two of you. But I simply can’t provide one for all of your wedding guests!

Don’t be too precious about your clothes

This one applies in all weather conditions! Regardless of the weather, you may as well make your peace with it now: your clothes will get trashed. But honestly, who cares if they get trashed? You only bought them to wear on this ONE day, so give them the outing they deserve! Have fun, go crazy, dance in the rain (literally), get muddy, get wet, slut drop, do the worm, breakdance! Celebrate as much as you possibly can and don’t give a single damn about the state of your clothes. Besides, dry cleaners can work wonders. I’m personally a big fan of ‘party time’ outfit changes (I LOVE an evening jumpsuit!) So if you’re generally worried about your clothes, pack a spare outfit to change into later.

Bring spare shoes

Of course you want to look your best for the ceremony. But it’s always a good idea to have a backup pair of more comfortable, more waterproof shoes to slip into afterwards. Maybe wedding wellies? Or wedding Crocs?

Have a rainy day contingency plan

‘Hardly ever’ isn’t ‘never’, so even if rain is highly unlikely, it’s always worth making sure you’ve got a backup plan just in case. If any part of your day is going to be outside, make sure you have an indoor contingency plan. If nothing else, you’ll sleep better.

Always best to ask your venue what their rainy day contingency is. Most good venues will have one, and if not, make sure you work with the venue (and your planner, if you have one) to come up with a plan.

Sometimes the rain hits just as you hoped to do the group photos or confetti, and it’s well worth being prepared to be totally flexible on this. Both in terms of timing and location!

Get creative

Have a look at ideas from rainy day weddings and steal all the ones you like! There are so many great ideas out there of what you can do on rainy days so have a little look. If you find any cute photo ideas we can do if it rains, send them across to me so I can get excited too.

And if I grab you and ask you to run out into the rain with me for some photos? Say “hell yeah!” and run out into the rain with me. I promise, we’ll have a great time, and the photos will be awesome!

Laugh it off

Because after all, it’s only a bit of rain. The situation will completely change depending on how you approach it. So if it does rain, make it all part of the fun, not the end of it.

If you see it as the worst thing in the world, it’ll ruin your day. If you laugh it off, embrace it, have fun with it and take it as part of the adventure, I guarantee it’ll be one of your favourite things about your wedding day.

“Oh my God, do you remember the rain?!” It’ll become part of your unique wedding story.