What if it rains on my wedding day?

It’s like rain…on your wedding day!

I like Alanis Morissette. But back in 1995 when she sang about rain on your wedding day being ironic I’m afraid she was well wide of the mark. Sure, it can be unfortunate to have a rainy wedding day (especially if you have your heart set on holding your ceremony outside), but it’s certainly not ironic. I may be 20 years too late but someone please buy Alanis a dictionary!

It doesn’t rain in the north of England as much as people think. I’ve got a piece of software that I use to manage the administration aspect of my business, it also helps me with reminders of tasks that I need to complete in the run up to a wedding, one of those tasks is to check the weather forecast 48 hours before the big day, so I’ve managed to accumulate a little bit of data regarding the weather in the UK during 2015.

So far this year I’ve photographed over 30 weddings and it has only rained during 6 of those days. Of those 6 days, only 2 weddings have had what can be considered a torrential downpour all day long. The first was the wedding of Paul & Bev in Llangollen, Wales back in May; the second was on the 14th November during the wedding of Donna & Darrell at The Victoria & Albert Hotel in Manchester. Generally, the weather has been overcast on the majority of weddings that I’ve covered and even if there has been rain, it has only been intermittent showers.

Below is a photograph I took from Saturday’s wedding of Donna & Darrell. I’m quite proud of it and it has been getting quite a lot of attention on the internet. Technically, it’s not a particularly difficult image to create, providing of course that you know how to use your camera and have a working knowledge of off-camera lighting. Oh, and you also need to make sure you have an umbrella. I always have umbrellas in my car!

I often get asked by my couples what will happen if it rains on their wedding day. I try to reassure them not to panic or worry, there is nothing you can do after all, so why waste time and energy worrying about it? The best thing to do is to prepare; perhaps invest in a nice pair of wellies or some comfortable shoes so that you can still venture outdoors for some photographs. Discuss the scenario with your photographer, ask them how they will cope with taking photographs in inclement weather conditions.

In a nutshell – make sure you’ve hired a photographer who comes prepared and has the necessary equipment, skill and vision to work with the weather. And remember, it’s only a bit of water so have fun and embrace it!

I’m pretty much fully booked for 2016 and my 2017 diary is already one-third full, so please get in touch if you’re looking for a documentary style wedding photographer.

Thanks as ever for all of your support,

Peace is free,

Steve. X

Photography is © Steve Grogan Photography.