On August 10th 2012 the skies opened up and it rained, and then it poured, and then buckets of water just dumped a deluge of wet on Betsy’s wedding. Your worst nightmare right? Well, I’m excited to introduce the first of our “Rainy Day Guest Bloggers,” Betsy. She is as sweet and her day was wet and she’s generously agreed to share her rainy day memories, musings, and advice. Hopefully Betsy’s story will assuage your fears about rain on your wedding day.

“Blame It On the Rain”

by Betsy W.

As a kid, I always secretly loved rainy days. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being outdoors- swimming and playing soccer and spending endless hours on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, but rainy days were the best opportunity to stay inside with a movie or a new book. I used to tell people I loved the rain because I was born on a rainy day in July.  I guess I shouldn’t have been suprised when the universe delivered exactly what I loved on August 10,2012: RAIN. And lots of it.

 But first, let’s back up. Like any other bride, I started checking the weather forecast for that sacred day the minute we booked our venue. I googled weather patterns, checked the farmers almanac, and kept clicking the button for the extended forecast on weather.com. 

 It was the Tuesday before our wedding when I began to accept that we might have a bit of rain on our wedding day.  I ran to Target to check out the umbrella selection. I found exactly what I wanted, navy and white striped golf umbrellas. The only problem, there were only three left in the store. What was I to do? Call my mom (of course)! Luckily she was already out taking care of her endless week-of-wedding errands and was near another Target store. She pulled in and found four matching umbrellas (yes, I made her read me the SKU number on the tag). So we were all set, just in case. We had 7 matching umbrellas.

 As each day passed and the wedding day loomed, I optimistically and characteristically held out hope. It won’t rain on our wedding day. Why? Because it just won’t.

Well, I was wrong. It rained. It rained hard. Luckily, the whirlwind of a wedding day rendered me incapable of realizing what was happening around me. I was focused on my new husband, surrounded by our very best friends, who never uttered a word about the rain.

Plus, I knew we were in good hands. We chose to get married at a beautiful barn set on acres of green, lush grounds. We had planned on taking some outdoor pictures and our courageous Snap girls stuck to the plan. We pulled up the barn and I think it was Trish, who opened the limo door and said “Are you ready to do this? We want to get one shot outside.” I think I probably just nodded my head yes, in agreement. The next thing I knew, the entire bridal party was lined up in pairs, holding the navy and white umbrellas, LAUGHING!  Looking back, it was one of my most favorite moments of the day.

After that, we all rushed inside. While our guests were enjoying the cocktail hour, Mariah and Trish set up various shots inside the barn for just Nick and I. Were these photos exactly what I had pictured? No. Are the amazing and bright and full of love? Yes.

After the day was over, all I could think about were the wedding photos. I rationalized the outcome over and over again in my head. I had seen rainy wedding photos on blogs before and thought they were unique and amazing- moody even. After a few weeks, I broke down and emailed Mariah. To my delight, the pictures would be up soon. When I saw the photos, every fear and anxiety I still held about our rainy wedding day melted away. They were perfect and still are.

So here are my 2 tips if you end up being a rainy-wedding bride:

1. Embrace it. Umbrellas, Hunter boots, cute cardigans. Just go for it.

2.  If this isn’t obvious enough by now, hire good photographers. Not every photographer could have taken a rainy, windy day and produced amazing photos.  Mariah and Trish can read the light, ease a worried bride and set up amazing shots, no matter the conditions. 

Thank You to Betsy for sharing and writing such a great blog post! We’ve got a couple more rainy day brides weighing in soon. Stay tuned {to the blog…not the weather channel}.