How to embrace rain on your wedding day by a Sudbury Wedding Photographer.
Let’s do this!

1. Have a rain day plan for your ceremony/reception.
If your ceremony is outdoors, plan a back up location. This could be under an event tent, maybe indoors, or maybe it’s opting to purchase enough clear umbrellas for everyone and just rock the rain under umbrellas.

2. Have a rain day plan for your photos.
Not only do you need to think of a space to do couple photos but for your wedding party and family photos. Finding a space for 2 people to do photos is easy, but trying to find a space for that 20+ person extended family photo might be a little tougher.

Two things to keep in mind for photos – What is the behind where you plan to have people stand and what is the lighting situation like? Indirect bright natural light is your best option but with some churches, or event spaces this may not be possible to find. In which case have a chat with your photographer about their lighting options for a poorly lit space for family photos!

Or you could always bring out the clear umbrellas or choose to just embrace the rain entirely and jump in the puddles!

3. If possible, change the day or time.
I know for most wedding situations this isn’t possible but if you are having a small intimate day on your own property or without the help of many outside vendors, this could be an option.
I have been know to accommodate this exact scenario a few years back.
The wedding was at their family camp and come Saturday morning, it was raining all the cats and dogs. The entire day was planned outdoors with NO indoor options to accommodate the ceremony or the amount of people attending so the bride reached out to the few vendors they were working with and everyone was more than happy to come the next day. It was a sunny day and not only did it make for a better experience for the clients but it made a better working environment for the vendors as well.

If changing the day isn’t possible, potentially shifting the times of major parts of the day would make a difference to hit a time when the rain stops for a brief moment. (ie. Maybe a first look and doing all the major photos before the ceremony because it’s calling for rain later in the day and why take that chance?)

In the rare times this could work, it is 100% worth it!

4. When all else fails, look to the magic of ‘old wives tales’. Hang the rosary beads on the clothes line, say a prayer, put your trust in the higher powers that be and maybe, just maybe, the clouds will part and the sun will shine just in time for you to say ‘I do’.

5. This is a tip for a rainy Sudbury wedding and for a non rainy Sudbury wedding… even just life in general.
Let go and flow with the day. We can be so quick to control things but what magic are we missing in the moments life doesn’t work out because we are stuck in our disappointment instead of actually looking for the beauty in the reality that is in front of us! Open your eyes and be ready to witness miracles unfold right in front of you!

It’s like the mornings in life when everything seems to be going wrong and you just can’t get out the door to work and you are LATE and your boss is gonna be pissed. As you get on the road (finally) you get stopped behind an accident and have to take an alternate route to work and as you are driving, the AHA moment of shit, if I would have left on time, I could have very well been in that accident. Life works in mysterious ways. Instead of seeing how everything in life is working against you, can you see how life is happening FOR you. Yes, even if it rains on your wedding day!

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Maeve and John’s wedding started out rainy. They embraced with rain with umbrellas and small breaks in the rain. Eventually we did have to move the couple photos to a location with some coverage.

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Here are a few links to find some clear umbrellas!
One caution I will say about umbrellas is colour matters and not just for the matching the decor kind of reasons but because of colour cast. Colour cast is the colour that is bounced onto skin from the colours around us. Clear or white umbrellas are best, not only because they don’t bounce weird colours onto your skin making you look like an alien or umpalompa but because it allows the light to still reach your face so you don’t have harsh shadows that make you look like a raccoon!

Multi – Pack of clear umbrellas
Single clear umbrellas
Tear drop / Bucket umbrella
White Golf size umbrella
or if you enjoy a little fun

Decorative lace umbrella – not really good for rain but from the sun!
or this lace one as well!

This black with lace accents will actually protect from the rain!
or the white one here!

This one has beautiful flower details and will protect from the rain!

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