Huntsville Alabama Wedding Photographers

Worried About Rainy Wedding Day Pictures?

Mar 8, 2022

Wedding Planning Tips // Rainy Wedding Day // Wedding Photographers in Huntsville, Alabama

From day one, the possibility of rain on your wedding day is always in the back of your mind as a bride. Hundreds of southern brides can be found refreshing the weather forecast as their wedding date approaches. Will it rain on my wedding day? Right during the ceremony? Will I be able to get pictures if it rains?

A little rainstorm is definitely a possibility here in the south. While spring is definitely the season where all the photographers are refreshing the weather forecast alongside the brides, there’s a good chance of rain year-round. What’s a bride to do?

This week we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how we deal with rainy day wedding pictures. My goal is to ease your mind when it comes to rain on your wedding day because it really will be okay! While we always pray for sunshine and pretty weather, we’re also confident that we can handle anything that comes our way! Rain is never what you wish for, but it doesn’t have to take away the wedding day magic.

If you’re a little anxious about what your wedding pictures will look like if it rains, this wedding planning tidbit is for you. We’ll be diving into some of the most commonly asked rainy wedding day pictures we hear, sharing rainy day wedding pictures, and hoping to share some encouragement for all the brides hitting refresh on their weather app!

Worried about rainy day wedding pictures

Where Do You Take The Pictures?

The number one thing photographers look for is good light. You’ve probably heard terms like “golden hour” tossed around, or maybe noticed that we keep making you stand near a window. There’s a reason photographers are obsessed with light – we know how important it is to a picture!

When it’s raining, it just means we look for good light in different places. A floor-length window is one thing we’ll look for. Even better – a room full of windows! Any indoor place filled with natural light from big windows makes us happy on a rainy wedding day! (Shout out to Huntsville Botanical Garden’s window-filled Conservatory for being a photographer’s rainy day dream.)

We also look for porches or overhangs just outside the venue. If we can keep you dry while taking advantage of the natural light, we’ll do that whenever possible.

Every once in a while, the venue doesn’t have an indoor location with enough natural light, nor does it have convenient porches or overhangs. In that case, we break out the flash! Especially when we’re trying to fit the entire bridal party into one spot, flash is sometimes the best way to create a beautiful picture while keeping everyone dry.

Your unique venue determines the exact locations we’ll use, but we know what we’re looking for! We’ll always use the tools we have to create the best pictures possible for you.

Will We Get Any Outdoor Pictures?

On a rainy wedding day, we’re always keeping an eye out for a time to slip outside. Even if it’s just for a few minutes with the bride and groom, we take advantage of the rain break when we can! We’ll only do this if there are sidewalks, a parking lot, or some other place to keep you out of the mud.

Most rainy days don’t rain all day long. There’s often a time when we can at least get outside for a few minutes, even if we need to stick really close to the venue. This is the biggest encouragement I can give to a bride facing a rainy wedding day! We’ve had it happen, but it’s rare that we don’t have any opportunities at all for some outdoor bride and groom portraits.

(P.S. This is one of the many reasons we love a First Look! Having a First Look gives us many opportunities throughout the day to take advantage of a rain-free moment, both before and after the ceremony. If you don’t have a First Look, we’re limited to the small window of time between the ceremony and sunset.)

What If Our Ceremony Moves Inside?

You’ll want to have a solid rain plan in place ahead of time so you’re not scrambling last minute. You don’t need that extra stress! Your wedding planner or venue coordinator will be a great resource to think through rain plans.

And it will be okay! Really and truly! Your ceremony will be really special, whether it’s outdoors or indoors. We promise that your heart will be filled with joy either way. I know it feels astronomical just thinking about having your ceremony plans change due to rain. No bride wishes for that. After it’s all said and done, though, most brides find that the excitement of the moment outweighs the disappointment of the change.

What About the Reception Detail Pictures?

When the ceremony moves inside, it’s often held in the same room as the reception. This means the setup team might need to flip the room between the ceremony and reception.

Because the reception isn’t set up ahead of time, you’ll want to give us a few minutes to take a pull-back picture of the entire room before guests enter. If this doesn’t work for your particular venue, we’ll be working hard to get lots of great close-up detail shots.

How Do We Do The Exit?

Rain puts a damper on a grand sparkler exit, of course. So what to do?

It’s okay to do an indoor exit! We’ll have your guests line up, just like they would outside. There’s usually an aisle, dance floor, or some other place with enough room for everyone to gather. If you want to plan ahead because there is rain in your forecast, have a collection of bubbles, ribbon wands, or glow sticks to use for your indoor exit! (See our super popular Tidbit on Sparkler Exit Alternatives!)

You’ll run through the cheering crowd all the way to the door. Recruit a couple of groomsmen to give you an umbrella cover as you dodge to your car – which can be waiting just out front.

You Got This!

While no bride wants rain on her wedding day, we hope this little peek into how you can still get amazing wedding pictures on a rainy day will take away some of that forecast-induced stress! We’ve seen dozens of rainy wedding days. In the end, everything turns out just fine. The bride and groom are happy, the guests enjoy themselves, and the pictures will capture the love and joy.

Our advice: have a solid rain plan in place, hire a coordinator who can be in charge of last-minute room flips or location changes, and embrace the day as it comes!