You’ve planned a gorgeous outside soiree under the stars, or if you’re just dying to have that photograph of you on your wedding day in front of a picture perfect sunset, the rain forecast for the day is 30% and then all of a sudden, just when you don’t want it to, the skies open up and it’s raining. What do you do!?
FREAK OUT!!! No I’m not kidding, it’s ok to freak out – you’re allowed to. Run around the room and scream, punch a pillow, and swear at the skies. But then you have to pull yourself together and take a deep breath, because everything is going to be OK. If you’ve booked a good wedding planner they already have a plan, and the goal is to make the plan as good as the original one when rain was not on the guest list.
Our job as planners is to take care of everything that can be controlled – and that is A LOT. In fact it’s almost everything except for the weather, we are Asheville wedding planners, not weather planners. And unless you have a direct line to the heavens that’s true for you too. A lot of time can be spent obsessing about the weather, checking the 6 months weather report (it won’t tell you anything) or the farmers almanac (ditto), even hiring a shaman to bless your day with sunshine isn’t going to give you piece of mind or guarantee no rain. If it makes you feel better, do it, obsess– but I’m willing to bet that it doesn’t. Worrying is a very long road, and once you get on it there are very few exits. So it’s better to do the right thing, stop worrying and turn to your planner.
Stephanie form Verge Events is still smiling! Even in the rain, because we know the wedding is still going to be GREAT.
Some places have very distinct wet and dry seasons. If you know the area you’re getting married in – great! You probably already have an idea of when the best month is for a rainless wedding. If you’re not familiar with the area you’ve chosen for your wedding, ask – ask the venue, ask the planner. They aren’t going to be able to give you a guarantee but they will be able to tell you if the month you have chosen is a particularly nasty one.
Unfortunately in Asheville our weather is anything but predictable. It can be sunshine and roses one day and snow the next –there’s the rub of living in the mountains, but boy is it pretty. The good news is that our weather is unpredictable! And that means that as Asheville wedding planners, we’ve been around the block with old man weather a few times and we know how to handle him.
Things not to do:
DO NOT ASSUME IT WON’T RAIN – you need a plan. This is one of those situations where pretending the possibility doesn’t exist or assuming that if you don’t give it a chance to rain it won’t is a very bad tactic. VERY BAD. The universe always wins. So saying to your planner “We’re not going to discuss a rain plan because it’s not going to rain” is OUT.
DO NOT FREAK OUT – ok, you can freak out a little bit but then it’s time to show the weather who is boss and roll out plan B.
Things to do:
TALK TO YOUR PLANNER– Duh! But seriously, we’re here to make sure that you are going into your wedding day with your mind totally at ease so the only thing you need to focus on is saying “I do” and celebrating. If you want an outside wedding or reception your planner will talk to you about viable alternatives in the case of rain. This could be making sure there is a tent nearby or an indoor venue that can be utilized if it rains.
ENJOY IT – that sounds like a jerk thing to say, but this is your wedding day! It’s about so much more than rain. There is a silver lining. I know, I know, not everyone likes a Polly Anna but for real, sometimes there is a silver lining to rain on your wedding day. We have seen some of the best pictures taken in the rain – yes that even goes for bride and groom portraits. Don’t believe us? We asked some of our favorite photogs to hit us with their best rain picture – and boy did they deliver, take a look below!
Who know rain could be so sultry and sexy? Asheville wedding photographers Meriah and Michael Mozingo at Mozingo Photography certainly turned up the heat in these shots, there is no amount of rain that is going to put out heat between these couples. Take a look at their pictures at mozingophotography.com.
Photo Credit: Mozingo Photography
Asheville Wedding Photographer Sunday Grant at Sunday Grant Photography took this wonderful, fun, silly picture – don’t these two just look so happy to be married!? They could care less about the rain. Sunday’s website can be found at sundaygrant.com
Photo Credit: Sunday Grant
And Asheville wedding photographer Galen McGee at Two Ring Studios reminded us that rain clouds make for the most spectacular sunsets, and great pictures! Take a look a Two Ring Studios at tworingstudios.com
Photo Credit: Two Ring Studios
If you do feel like obsessing – there is a great app called Dark Sky (no we are not being paid by them in any shape or form). Many of our photographer friends swear by it and I personally have seen it work its magic! The app originally began as a kick-starter campaign back in 2011. It’s unique in its ability to give you the weather surrounding your precise location using GPS. It can tell you how far away the closest rainfall is and if it’s raining in your location how soon the rain will stop. It will only let you obsess seven days out though, so if you’re a bride that feels better obsessing – you’re probably going to have to get a back up farmer’s almanac too J.
– xoxo Sarah
