How to Manage a Rainy Day Wedding for Gorgeous Photos

As a wedding day approaches, couples are hustling to get their final details together and communicate the final plans with their vendors. As a wedding photographer, it is up to me to determine how to get great photos, rain or shine.

Colton and Megan’s wedding was hosted at the gorgeous elegant and rustic Almquist Farm venue in Hastings, Minnesota on June 15th, 2019. However, when Colton and Megan looked at the rainy forecast, they felt worried about how everything was going to work out for photos. I could tell Megan was such a sweet bride just from her emails and I could tell how much she valued great photos. She wanted an outdoor ceremony just as much as I did, but sometimes no one gets a choice if rain is on the menu for the day.

If I’ve never been to a venue before, I always Google search and social media search for all the photos I can find of the property inside and out to better visualize where I could do photos prior to the wedding day. After looking online at images of the venue, I noticed there weren’t any covered areas to do outdoor photos outside. However, I did find a photo of a white pergola that they have on the side of their reception building. Unfortunately, a pergola doesn’t have a closed roof, but that’s when my idea came that saved the rainy day plan for photos!

While discussing rainy day plans with Megan, I suggested she should bring a giant tarp or two so we could put it on top of the pergola for a DIY roof cover. Fortunately she had some on hand and all the groomsmen worked together to put it up and it worked GREAT!

BEHIND THE SCENES….

THE RESULT…

We got a few photos under the tarp covered pergola and then it stopped raining and we got more photos done and it offered the BEST variety!!

Another bonus backup option was that Almquist Farms was prepared with a huge bin of CLEAR UMBRELLAS! This allowed us to do the first look with umbrellas for a rainy and romantic feel. The umbrellas brought Colton and Megan closer and they both loved the variety of rainy and non-rainy images. Additionally, having enough clear umbrellas allows everyone in the bridal party to have an umbrella so we could do all the images outside until it stopped raining!

Thankfully, Colton and Megan chose to do a first look, which allowed them to get all the essential photos done before the ceremony and avoid any bad weather after the ceremony.

Overall, Colton and Megan had a great attitude about the whole day. I’m so thankful for such sweet clients who trust me and value putting in the thought and effort to make their wedding day fun, special, and organized so all the plans and details come together seamlessly!

Megan’s testimonial about working with Lindsey White Photography:

“I absolutely LOVED working with Lindsey! She was so helpful in our planning process and was always checking in to make sure planning was going well. She even sent me her own magazine with so many helpful tips and suggestions for photos on the wedding day. She was so fun to work with on our wedding day and always kept us smiling. It rained in the morning as we were doing our outdoor first look, but Lindsey had so many amazing ideas and the pictures she took actually made us happy we had some rain! We had two 2-year-olds as our flower girls and Lindsey was jumping around and throwing things in the air to try to get them to smile for some pictures. She really puts her all into her business. We got our pictures back a couple of weeks ago and I truly don’t think I’ve ever seen such amazing wedding photographs. She captured our day perfectly and I can’t stop looking through them all. I highly recommend Lindsey!”

KEEP SCROLLING FOR 18 RAINY DAY TIPS…

18 TIPS FOR TAKING CONTROL OF A RAINY DAY:

– Don’t be totally afraid of the rain!

– Your dress will get wet, it may get a little dirty, but DON’T let it hold you back from getting great photos! Your photos are forever and you can always dry clean your dress. Don’t stress about a perfectly clean dress for the ceremony because most people are looking at your smile and the emotion filling in your eyes and won’t care or judge you for a little dirt or wetness because you decided to go all out for the best photos. Life isn’t perfect, nor can your dress be if you really live your wedding day to the fullest. I always say, if your dress isn’t at least a little dirty at the end of your wedding day, you didn’t truly have fun! Plus, you can always pick up the train of your dress for photos.

– Find ways to use the rain to your advantage for different types of moods and looks in your images.

– Overcast skies means vibrant colors!

– Have a backup plan inside or with a tent, but don’t be afraid to try to do an outdoor ceremony with a little rain and lots of umbrellas! (It makes for an intimate and romantic feel) Outdoor/natural lighting is always the better option when possible. If you do a tent, try exploring a clear roof top for beautiful light pouring in! Text everyone you know to bring umbrellas, or order extra umbrellas in bulk prior to the wedding and sell the extras after the wedding!

– For outside photos without umbrellas, you’ll need to find a porch, a covered valet area, a pergola with a tarp over it, or some other covered area that is big enough for however many people will be in the photos.

– Clear umbrellas are always the best option, and white are a good backup option. Black or colored umbrellas can cast dark shadows or colors on skin tones. I’ve bought 20 clear umbrellas for my clients to use for photos, but ask your photographer if they have any too!

– Having a tent backup outside for the ceremony can be better lighting than a dark ceremony inside.

– If you plan to have your hair styled down and not in an updo, it may fall flat, so have a backup hair curler to touch up curls before the ceremony!

– Have extra makeup on hand to do touch ups if the rain starts to come down suddenly.

– Bring a change of shoes and/or socks!

– Bring a raincoat to put on over your dress or suit until it’s time for photos.

– Bring lots of towels to dry off chairs.

– You’re allowed to get upset when it rains, but then shrug it off and make the most of it! They always say rainy weddings are good luck!

– Have a backup dress for the reception if you want to do a running in the rain photo at the end of the day.

– You may need to make some timeline adjustments to predict for when the rain may come. This may mean doing a first look instead of not doing one to make sure there’s time before the ceremony in case it rains after the ceremony or there’s not enough light after the ceremony. This may mean having extra photo time before and after the ceremony in case it rains when you were supposed to do bridal party photos and now you may need to move them to after the ceremony.

– Never assume the rain will stop and use all the time possible for photos whether it is raining or not! If it doesn’t stop raining, at least you have images! If it does stop raining, we can always go back out to take some more photos.

– Mark your family photos in order of importance so if it’s not raining we can start with the important ones in the ideal outside light and location, but then if it starts raining halfway through, then we can do the rest inside or wait until later if needed.

I hope these tips can help you prepare and feel confident navigating what to do if you end up with a rainy wedding day! Don’t let the fear of rain steal your joy. You can’t control it, and I promise we will make the best of it!!!

VENDOR DETAILS:

Photographer:
Lindsey White Photography

www.lindseywhitephoto.com
lindseywhitephoto@gmail.com
Instagram: @lindseywhitephoto

Bride’s Dress:

The Wedding Connection

http://www.weddingconnectionmn.com/

mnweddingconnection@gmail.com

Bridesmaids Dresses:

Azazie

https://www.azazie.com/

Florist:

Lakeside Floral: lakesidefloralmn@gmail.com