Worried about Bad Weather for your Outdoor wedding? How to Prepare For Bad Weather On Your Wedding Day
Planning an outdoor wedding, and wandering what to do if it rains on your wedding day? Or what to do if the weather isn’t exactly what you are hoping for?
This entire day was the epitome of bad weather! It was stormy and raining, up until about an hour before we were set to start hiking up the mountain. But it led to the most amazing stormmy backdrop, and the best sunset I've ever seen in the next photo!
The most amazing sunset popped through the clouds after the storm for their photos!
Planning any wedding can be stressful enough! Often, it’s a day that we dream of for a good portion of our life, and of course we want it to be perfect.
What could be worse than a wedding that is ruined by one thing or another?
While the day is ultimately about you two and your love (and the rest is just extra), they are pretty important extras, otherwise we wouldn’t spend all this time imagining exactly what would make the day absolutely perfect!
When you are planning an elopement or any outdoor wedding, weather can sometimes be a huge influence on what you are and are not able to do during your day, as it can make many adventure activities unbearable, or even unsafe. It can also make it uncomfortable for guests who have to stand out in the weather for your ceremony, etc.
So you are probably wondering….
First off, I want to stress, that some of the poorest weather have turned out to create some of my absolute favorite photos. Most photographers will tell you that sunny days are actually some of the worst for photography, so if you want amazing photographs, pray for rain! (but not a torrential downpour!)
When we summited this mountain for this Kananaskis hiking elopement, we had blue skies and a gorgeous sunrise. But a half hour later we were socked in by fog, and then pouring rain! You just never know what the weather will give you.
20 minutes earlier….
Tip #1 for Planning for Bad Weather on Your Wedding: Don’t be afraid to be flexible.
While our dream wedding/elopement might be crafted in our imagination and we can hardly imagine changing it, there are a few ways that being flexible can drastically improve the odds of success!
- The day of the wedding, timelines can (and should) be flexible. If you planned a certain activity for the morning, but morning looks like rain and the afternoon looks beautiful, absolutely move the activity to the afternoon if it is feasible. Do a sunset ceremony instead of a sunrise one, and take more time to be cozy together in the morning.
- Especially if you are in the mountains, or somewhere else that the weather can change dramatically, don’t be afraid to change your location. The top of one mountain may be snowing, but only 20 minutes away it could be a beautiful bluebird day. Change your trail, change the elevation, change the scenery. It’s all going to be amazing!
- Have a back up indoor location just in case. Even just picking a restaurant, distillery, museum, etc, that the two of you can go to get warm or stay dry will make a difference.
“What happens if it rains on my wedding day? “- These two love birds had pouring rain the entire morning of their intimate wedding in Nanton, but just before they were scheduled to say their vows, the storm cleared and the sun came out. They went from moving the ceremony chairs from outside, to inside, to outside again. Just be flexible!
Tip #2 For Planning for Bad Weather on Your Wedding: Be aware of historical forecasts, and choose a season and a date that is more likely to be free of inclement weather.
Depending on what location or background scenery you are dreaming of, destination can be a huge factor on what kind of weather you can expect. Many islands get seasons of heavy rainfall, the Canadian Rockies are covered in mass amounts of snow in the winter, hurricane season is prominent in some tropical destinations.
Google is a great tool for looking at average temperatures and weather in destinations all over the world. Before deciding on a date, check if you have to worry about the cold, snow, heavy rain, or other natural disasters happening. Don’t expect beautiful sunshine in Scotland in the winter, or a rain free day on Vancouver Island in winter months. It would just be setting yourself up for disappointment.
Instead, do your research, and pick a day that might (crossing fingers) have the weather you dream of!
“How to predict wedding weather?” - This hiking elopement in Banff was in the late fall in high elevations so they could have the beautiful larch trees.. While we got the beautiful trees, we also got rain, and snow! Shoulder seasons can be beautiful, just make sure you come prepared.
Tip #3 Planning for Bad Weather on Your Wedding: Dress to impress (Mother Nature, that is)
Bad weather truly is subjective. As a photographer, I absolutely love moody skies, snow flakes, and rain dripping down cheeks. But if you aren’t prepared for it, it can make you miserable.
While we cannot control what the weather does, we can control how ready we are to embrace it.
Here is a list of items that you might want to pack depending on what bad weather you could be expecting.
Snow:
Gloves, hand warmers (you can never have too few), multiple layers, fleece leggings for under your dress, blankets to wrap up in, toques,
Rain:
Umbrellas, rain gear, mud boots, gloves, hand warmers, forced air dryers to dry out gear back at the hotel or wherever you are staying, plastic bags to keep electronics or other valuables in such as vow books.
“What to do for a cold outdoor wedding?” - Three days prior we had above zero temperatures, then two days before the wedding had almost a foot of snow, and the day of the wedding was -20 degrees Celsius. Weather changes quickly, bring something to warm up in!
Tip #4 for Planning for Bad Weather on Your Wedding: Be safe.
Depending on your skill level, a little bit of inclement weather may just add to the experience of your day. A little bit of rain will just increase the amount of mud you get to play in while 4x4ing, a sudden cold spell may allow you to go skating on a fresh mountain lake, and a fresh snow fall may mean that you can go sledding.
But none of this will be enjoyable if someone gets hurt.
Proper gear is essential for planning for bad weather on your wedding day. Make sure you have a first aid kit, GPS or other form of communication if you have an emergency, proper footwear and clothing, and a backup plan if things go wrong.
The most important part of your wedding day should be that everyone has fun, it is 100% memorable, and there are no regrets. But if the change of weather makes something unsafe, and someone were to get hurt, you would never be able to enjoy the memories as well as you would have otherwise.
Hire a guide if you are worried about inclement weather conditions. They are trained to give you the safest experience possible, so if they say a hike is unattainable, roads are not driveable, ice is not skateable, listen to them and be flexible. There’s nothing that adds more stress to a wedding day than being in an unsafe situation.
Looking for more ideas on how to plan for bad weather for your elopement?
All of my clients have free access to an >80 page guide on how to plan your Intimate Wedding or Elopement, and all of these details are in there, and more! Let’s chat and see if we are a good fit so that I can capture your story for you to cherish for years to come.