Navigating Rain on Your Wedding Day with Confidence and Authenticity
Everything you need to know to transform a rainy wedding day weather forecast into a canvas for stunning, timeless photographs.
A simple overhang at the Peabody Library’s main entrance provided plenty of cover for outdoor portraits at this black tie wedding, despite persistent rain.
As the fantasy author Douglas Adams famously wrote in the introduction to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t panic. Having photographed more than two dozen rainy weddings in my time as wedding photographer, please be reassured: You can still have beautiful photos, including portraits. Rain on your wedding day may feel like a setback, but I see it as an invitation to slow down and make magic with emotive photos that telegraph how beautiful your day looked and felt.
Trust Your Photographer to Worry About the Photos
Yes, seriously. You have enough to think about, and I’ve done this many times—even in the midst of a hurricane. In the week leading up to the wedding, if there is a chance rain in the forecast, I’ll check in with you and your planner to confirm ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception rain plans. I’ll also send along weather-tested tips on what to pack and how to prepared your wardrobe, hair, and makeup to withstand the added humidity. Finally, rest assured I’ll have done some extra scouting as needed to find a location or two we can use for your first look, couple’s portraits, and wedding party and family portraits.
Ample umbrellas, a switch to an indoor ceremony, and extra flooring in the reception tent ensured this wedding celebration amid a hurricane went off without a hitch.
After the rain ended, this couple snuck out with me for a few minutes of outdoor portraits around sunset time.
Your Photographer Can Scout Locations for Gorgeous Rainy Day Outdoor Photos
If it does rain, I will work with you and your planner to take advantage of any dry spells to maximize outdoor portraits. And even if no dry spells appear, all I need to create outdoor portraits on a rainy wedding day is a porch, overhang, or covered walkway. If you really start to look around DC, you’ll start to notice many such spaces—many of which are even ‘Plan A’ portrait locations when the weather is beautiful!
This groom and groomsmen stayed perfectly dry under the cover of this picnic shelter. As the photographer, I was more than happy to step into the rain myself to keep them dry and capture this moment.
Take Things One Step At a Time
Don’t think about your entire day and what will happen if it rains. That will only overwhelm you! Definitely know the rain plan for your venue, but then don’t give it a second thought until 10 days out from the wedding day. At that point, if rain is a possibility in the forecast, check in with your vendors, but let them do the work of handling the rest of the day.
While it’s not productive to worry and stress over your photos, there are a few steps you can actively take to ensure you’re well-prepared for rain on your wedding day.
Groomsmen who forgot their umbrellas hand their suit jackets to dry with the help of a steamer to hurry things along at District Winery.
Yes, We Should Pack Umbrellas
Ensuring access to an adequate number of umbrellas is the most impactful action a couple can take to ensure beautiful rainy wedding day photos. In the case of light rain or drizzle, with umbrellas it’s possible to still do great portraits out-of-doors.
A matched (or semi-matched) set of plain black, clear, or white umbrellas photograph best, and don’t cast odd color shadows onto the people holding them: someone standing under a pink umbrella will look pink in photos, while someone under a green umbrella will look green, and so on. That said, unmatched or colored umbrellas are vastly superior to no umbrellas at all!
I discovered years ago that it’s nearly impossible to purchase clear umbrellas with overnight shipping. As a benefit to all of my couples, I own a set of ~20 matched clear umbrellas, specifically to loan out to my clients for their wedding party or family as needed on a rainy wedding day.
If I’m not your photographer, and you’re sourcing umbrellas on your own, there are two schools of thought: aesthetics, and last-minute availability. From an availability perspective, black umbrellas are the quickest and easiest to find—if you’re scrambling at the last minute, this is almost always the way to go. Many people already have black umbrellas at home, and they’re also easily available from major retailers like Amazon, or brick-and-mortar stores like CVS and Target.
If you have enough time, clear umbrellas are available in quantity online from retailers like Amazon, but typically require at least one week to arrive. Also pay attention to whether the clear umbrellas you’re ordering are the “bubble” type designed for one person (in which case, don’t try to share) or the traditional wider shape (better for sharing).
The difference between bubble and traditional shaped clear umbrellas. Left, the groom carries a bubble-style umbrella, while right, the bride carries a clear umbrella in the wider traditional umbrella shape (less common in clear umbrellas).
Confirm Your Wedding Rain Plans Ahead of Time
Likely, when you selected your wedding venue, one of the features you considered in your choice was the venue’s contingency rain plans. But in the time that has passed, your attention has likely turned to other wedding planning matters.
Regardless of the forecast, no later than 3-5 weeks before the wedding day, confer with your wedding planner and venue point-of-contact about your rain plans and related considerations. Revisiting the rain plan—for indoor or covered ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception options—but also finer details, such as adequate space and provisions to remove and store wet jackets and umbrellas—will ensure your wedding day proceeds beautifully and your guests feel well taken-care of, regardless of the weather.
While as your photography team, we will ensure your photos are gorgeous and fun, there are some other wedding day elements that you’re including, such as transportation, lawn game rentals, and so on, that may merit tweaks in case of inclement weather.
A rain-soaked backdrop can create a romantic atmosphere not just in garden settings, but in urban ones too.
A Supplemental Rainy Day Bag Can Help Make Sure You’re Comfortable
When there's rain in the forecast, I advise couples to pack an additional "rainy day bag" with extra essentials that aren’t relevant on a dry day, but can make a big difference in your comfort and sense of adventure on a rainy day:
Extra shoes and socks: Even if the rain stops, the ground may remain wet—which can lead to wet shoes and socks if we stray off of paved surfaces for the perfect photo. Pack a spare pair of dry shoes (and socks) for each of you to keep on hand, just in case. These can range from a backup pair of dress shoes, to rain boots you already own, to comfy sneakers that double as your dance floor shoes.
An old towel or two: Extremely useful for dabbing raindrops off suit jackets, drying off a bench before sitting down for a portrait, or even for a bride to stand on to keep her dress clean in an outdoor spot. A towel is incredibly useful and incredibly underrated to have if you need it.
An attractive sweater: While it doesn’t need to be a sweater, a (faux) fur, jacket, or other warm outer layer that looks attractive (especially paired with a wedding dress) can make a huge difference in your comfort level on a wet day. Being damp when the sun goes down—even indoors—can be very uncomfortable. And if you feel uncomfortable, your body language will likely show you’re uncomfortable in photos.
Extra hairspray and waterproof mascara: This one probably goes without saying, but just remind your hair and makeup artists that you're going to be having one heck of a day in the humidity, and to prep you to look your best accordingly!
Remember your humor, and that rain oftentimes makes for photo magic you would never get on a dry day
Seldom is a wedding day such a washout that the whole—or even most—of the day feels the impact. Yes, your transportation might change, or we might tweak photo locations. Good vendor teams working together have even been known to play fast and loose with the timeline on wedding days, to make sure the day flows as it needs to, while still sneaking the couple—or even the whole wedding party—outside for photos if the weather clears. A couple with a sense of humor, who are willing to trust in the expertise of their team, and take their day for what it will be, tends to be relaxed enough in the face of rain to make the most of the opportunities the day presents.
Beyond that, rain tends to bring out a romantic vibe. It makes for good cuddling, and snuggling close under umbrellas and overhangs. Getting damp tends to loosen the mood, and remind us all that life is an adventure. Colors look brighter, and beautiful reflections come out. And rain late at night is my favorite—it presents the opportunity for some photos that you’ll just never achieve on a clear night.
