Here in Springfield and in the greater Ozark region, you can generally count on warm (and probably humid) summer days, with mostly clear blue skies.
However, it’s also true, especially in the late spring and early summer, that this hot Missouri weather can breed thunderstorms, rain showers, and other inclement weather—weather that could possibly rear up at the last minute and threaten your outdoor wedding plans.
Now, to a point, there’s no way to tell whether or not you can expect rain on your planned wedding day, especially if you’re renting the venue months in advance.
With that being said, the fact of the matter is that, usually, Missouri weather (especially in the summer) can generally be counted on to support outdoor festivities—and this includes wedding day ceremonies and receptions.
But what can you do if rain does rear up late in the forecast to threaten your outdoor ceremony?
Well, this is a good question. And here at Linda’s Flowers, we’ve helped to plan a LOT of weddings—some of which have gotten rained out at the last minute.
And we’ve come up with a plan of action that tends to work really well for our wedding parties, and we’re going to share it with you in this blog post.
Let’s dive into it.
1. Plan Ahead
As much as it probably sounds like extra work and an unpleasant thing to do, when it comes to outdoor weddings, planning for a backup rain location is actually very important (in our experience).
The wedding planners who go the extra mile to plan for potential rainfall always tend to have greater peace of mind leading up to the big day.
And on such occasions, if rain did indeed end up making an unannounced appearance, they always ended up being better equipped to deal with it, and in a much better situation to still have a massively successful ceremony despite the inclement weather—due to their pre-laid backup plans.
In some cases, the venue may have a rain plan. Talking to your outdoor venue about what might happen, and what they might be able to do to help you, in the event of rainfall, is a great first step in preparing for the unknown.
On the same note, you should also talk to your vendors about this.
(Note: If you’re looking for a florist, we here at Linda’s are always making backup rainy day plans—so we’ve got you covered if this is on your mind!)
Will your vendors provide you with a backup plan in the event of rain? Do they have a protocol and an action plan built-in for such a scenario?
This is actually key criteria to use when determining your venue and vendors in the very beginning of the process.
Simply put, you may want to skip out on venues that don’t offer some kind of a backup plan in the event of rain—and utilizing ‘rainfall friendly vendors’ is always better as well.
2. Keep an Eye on the Weather
As your big day approaches, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the weather forecasts to see if rain could potentially be in your future.
Now, by this point, you’ve probably already made backup rainy day wedding plans. But it’s also reasonable enough to conclude that you’d rather not use them if you don’t have to.
An outdoor wedding is beautiful. And if you can avoid sacrificing that, all the better.
However, keeping an eye on the weather up to two weeks before the wedding day can help to give you as much advance notice as possible that something might be brewing that you can’t prevent.
Generally speaking, you’ll need to make a final decision 48 hours before the ceremony itself.
It can be really difficult to figure out if rain is indeed going to happen in some cases outside of this 48 hour window—but the best rule of thumb is to just do your due diligence as much as is humanly possible.
Keep an eye on all available weather stations, and try to make the most informed decision possible.
If you need to call in your backup plans, now’s the time to do it.
3. Let Your Guests Know What’s Going On
Generally speaking, any outdoor wedding that isn’t well suited to a rainy day wedding ceremony should include a note on the invitations that says ‘in case of rain…’ followed by rainout instructions that guests can follow.
This way, guests will know far in advance what to expect if rain pops up on your big day.
4. Practical Tips for the Day
If you wake up to blustery weather on ceremony day and you’re not sure whether rain is going to fall or not, but you decide to go ahead with your outdoor venue because you have a pretty close-knit, tight backup plan ready—then here are some tips to help you prepare for the possibility of a downpour.
First off, you can bring a hairdryer and some extra shoes and towels—just in case things get rained on, including you.
You can also make sure that there are blankets and heaters available. And you can even consider implementing a ‘warm beverage plan’—like hot chocolate or cider—to keep guests cozy if the weather turns cold.
And of course, you could order some event tents and set them up, just in case you get some sprinkles.
You can also consider the use of heel protectors to prevent sinking into wet ground, and you can use aisle runners to keep pathways clean.
5. Embracing The Rain
The truth of the matter is that while rain can seem like a big problem for an outdoor venue, it can also provide unique opportunities that may even make your wedding day better.
For example, rain can create beautiful and memorable photo opportunities that you can work with your photographer to capture.
Plus, remember this is a very special day—regardless of what the weather decides to do. And it’s important to keep in mind that the romance and the happiness of this incredible celebration shouldn’t be drowned out by a few rainy droplets.
Rain might make your special day even more unique and interesting.
It’s always in your best interest to be willing to embrace change—especially on a day as important as your wedding day.
So don’t take things so seriously that you allow some moisture to ruin what is otherwise your perfectly planned ceremony day.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, this is what we always tell couples who are planning an outdoor wedding ceremony.
Planning with a positive mindset is actually the key.
You can put as much effort as you want into backup plans to help you stay ahead of any potential inclement weather shifts. But it’s really about staying positive ,committing to the adventure, and treating rain as just another interesting (and even potentially fun) challenge for what will surely be the best day of your life.
So don’t worry too much. Just do what you can, and let the love, joy, and romance of the day take care of the rest.