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Rain on your wedding day? Don’t panic!

For most couples, rain on their wedding day is their worst nightmare.

Sadly, for couples getting married in the UK, the possibility of having a wet wedding is pretty high no matter the time of year, so my advice?

Be prepared!

With a little forward planning and a positive attitude, please believe me that you can still have the best day of your life, regardless of what the weather throws at you. Here are a few suggestions to help you get rain-ready.

white lace umbrella

Talk to your wedding venue

When you visit wedding venues, ask them how they cope with wet weddings.

Do they have an outdoor ceremony area and an indoor ceremony area?

If they have both, how quickly can they relocate from one to the other?

Do they set up both the outdoor and the indoor ceremony areas if the forecast isn’t looking good on your special day?

Get rain-ready hair and makeup

If you’re having makeup done by a professional, chances are that they’ll have waterproof makeup to keep you looking great.

If you’re planning on doing your makeup yourself, investing in quality waterproof makeup will make a big difference. And definitely buy a waterproof mascara!

Having a hair dryer and good quality hair spray on standby throughout your day is also a good plan in case you get caught in a downpour.

ushers with umbrellas in Caswell House garden

Have brollies and wellies on standby

Often wedding venues are well prepared for rainy days. Most will have umbrellas, and some provide towels to put down to help prevent your dress getting muddy etc, but it’s always a question worth asking about this.

An idea might be to get some matching umbrellas and wellies for your bridal party so you all look co-ordinated in your group photos.

I really love the translucent umbrellas and always have two in the back of my car in case of emergency! As well as helping to keep you dry, they look great in photos as they don’t obscure the light from your happy faces and sparkling eyes.

Be flexible

Many couples envisage having their group and couple photos outdoors, and have scheduled a specific time in their timeline to have those photos taken. So it’s a good idea to allow some flexibility. It very rarely rains all day long, so it will likely just mean that photo timings need to change slightly, and when there’s a break in the rain, you and your photographer make a dash for it.

Failing that, there are usually doorways and other undercover areas that can be used instead.

father and flower girl under a clear umbrella

Embrace it

If it rains, it rains and there’s nothing you can do about it, so please don’t let it affect your mood and spoil your special day. Trust the people around you. They are all there to make your day the best it can be, come rain or shine.

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Featured wedding venue:

Caswell House, The Cotswolds

lorna richerby
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lorna Richerby

I’m a wedding photographer based in North Berwick, on the East Lothian coast – shooting weddings across Scotland, the UK, and wherever your day takes you.

Most people feel a bit awkward in front of a camera. My job is to make you forget I’m there – blending into the background, watching for the real moments, and making sure you feel completely at ease from the moment we meet.

Eight years in, I still genuinely love what I do. If you’re looking for a photographer, I’d love to hear about your wedding.

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