How to rock the rain on your wedding day?!
Make a timeline Plan B! Plan B is an alternative timeline a professional photographer should create with you prior to the wedding day. Some photographer Plan B’s is to just “wing it”. Sometimes that works, sometimes that doesn’t. Especially when I need to photograph dozens of people, I need a plan! If you know the forecast a few days prior, you can create an AWESOME plan B that will make you skip in happiness, knowing that you got all the photos you wanted! When you hire a professional photographer, they should be flexible in the timeline, a
nd be smart and figure out the best time frame do any outdoor photos, and if not any outdoor photos, figure out the best spot for indoor formal photos.
Steps on How to Create a Rain Plan B with your Photographer
#1: Don’t Stress about rain on your wedding.
Easy to say, ain’t it. Did you know though that when it’s cloudy, you can avoid harsh shadows under eyes that would occur in the direct sunlight. When it’s rainy on a wedding day, I feel more “free” and I have more flexibility in where we can go for portraits when the rain stops. Also, when it rains, you can make some killer magical off-camera-flash portraits! In the end, just remember that the day is about your relationship, your marriage to your soulmate, rain or shine!
#2 – When you visit your venue, look where the awnings are.
When you know where any awnings or porch coverings are, if it pours on the wedding day and you still want romantic photos outside, then make your photographer go out in the rain with their assistant and umbrella to take photos of you two under the awning. Yup! This is one reason why I love my wedding assistant, because they help in carrying the bridal dress train, hold umbrellas if I need to shoot out in the rain. I also find it helpful to visit the wedding venue within a week or two of the wedding, that’s when I scope out location options for family formals, wedding party photos, and bride and groom portraits. I would hate to try to figure stuff out on the wedding day! Every minute is precious!
#3 – Take your normal timeline, make a copy, and tweak it according to the forecast.
I am obsessed with my Dark Sky app, which shows a graph of precipitation that’s broken down in 10 minute increments. If the forecast shows that it will be more than 50% chance of rain during your portrait time, then pencil in portraits for a time during your day when it will be 30% chance or less of rain. For example, you might want to have your rain plan involve a first look with portraits earlier on in the day. Or, you could pencil in portrait time during the reception, and let your DJ know too, just in case the photographer doesn’t communicate this to the DJ.
Tip: You can’t change the ceremony or reception time, but some things you can change are:
- do a first look and do portraits, wedding party, or family formals before the ceremony
- plan for some portraits or formals during the reception. Don’t hold guests back from dinner, so you should eat first, and then sneak outside while everyone else is eating, or do it when there’s not much going on yet. Once you get dancing started, it might not stop!
There you go, there’s how you create your Plan B! If your photographer is really amazing, your photographer should work with you to establish the rain plan B. If something doesn’t go as planned on the wedding day, you should still have flexibility and grace, and enjoy the day anyway with your favorite people on earth!
Do you fear that your wedding day will be a total washout? Then you can book an After Wedding Session with me, at any point after your wedding! Most clients end up having wedding days where we work around the rain. Or, if you just want to have a different portrait experience for wedding photos, call me at 541-787-5464 to book a session!
