Isn’t it ironic…. Rain on your Wedding Day? Just a little too ironic. You Ms. Wizard cannot change the forecast, nor can you alter the weather during your wedding day. But what you can do is understand your options and discuss this with your vendors ahead of time. Experienced vendors have already discussed this with you and let you know what all of the “Plan B’s” are, but you don’t always know if your wedding vendor is who they advertise. 

Therefore, here is a list of options for you if your outdoor
wedding does not go as planned:

1) Have an indoor space on reserve and make the decision to move it. Sometimes it just doesn’t matter how long you stare at the radar, that rain just won’t stop. A lot of the decision comes
down to timing though. Some venues require a decision to be made days before on an indoor vs outdoor wedding due to setup of chairs and spaces. Therefore, this needs to be discussed with
your venue in advance to determine available spaces, requirements, and flexibility.

2) Wait out the storm and make a last-minute decision. Some venues can audible quickly and can wait until the last minute for a decision to be made on an outdoor wedding. If things are moved indoor last minute, guests will most likely sit at their tables during the ceremony and the ceremony may be held on the dance floor, in front of the head table, in an open space available in a larger venue, etc. If things can happen outside last minute because there is a break in the weather, staff will need time to dry off chairs, set any décor or floral, and ensure a safe, non-slick walk path for guests.

3) Move your ceremony time. Maybe there is a break in the weather at 7:00pm and it will continue to rain through the scheduled ceremony time of 5:00pm. An experienced and easy-
going wedding coordinator can arrange this with the DJ, photographer, and caterer by doing a“soon to be Mr. and Mrs.” grand entrance and go right into dinner. Then you might be able to go from dinner and drinks to a ceremony, followed by speeches and special dances. This takes coordination but it can be done and everything feels planned and accounted for, regardless what some vendors may thing of the idea. Working outside of the norms does tend to freak some people out so just make sure you trust your coordinator fully.

4) Buy 200 cheap umbrellas and let’s do this thang!!! 

Regardless the situation with weather, keep calm and enjoy the day. Rain happens and all you can do is go with the flow at that point. No stress drinking, no yelling, and no crying over Mother Nature. She is an unpredictable force regardless of what those overpaid weather-men tell us.