You’ve been checking the forecast and it’s your worst nightmare…rain. All day. On your wedding day.

It happens. If you’re in the southeast, it happens a lot. We love to have outdoor weddings down here, so you have to have a plan.

So take a deep breath and here’s what to do if it rains on your wedding day:

1. Don’t freak out.

This is a given but I also need to say it. There have been plenty of people who got married on ugly days and guess what, they still wake up every day to the love of their life. It’s going to be okay.

2. Talk to your venue coordinator or planner about the rain plan.

Hopefully this was something you’d already planned for if you were having an outdoor wedding. Most venues have rain plans, especially if the majority of the weddings are outside. This could look like a rental tent or moving to another room inside the venue.

You’ll need to know if it’s already going to be set up and what the plan will be so you can start visualizing your day and make any adjustments if needed.

3. Trust your vendors.

You hired professionals for a reason. This means they know how to work with all different types of situations and think on their feet. Your DJ, florist, caterers, photographers, videographers, etc. should be well prepared without you having to tell them what to do.

Just keep them in the loop in case major things like locations are changing because obviously they’ll need to know and plan ahead.

4. Talk to your makeup and hair stylists to see if anything needs to change.

I know this would be so sad, but you may need to change your plans for your hair and make up…mostly hair. If you’re like me, my hair gets REALLY frizzy in southern humid rainy weather. If I had a vision of me having my hair down with loose curls but there was a high probability of rain, I may see if it’s possible to do a simple up-do (as long as it’s within my stylists’ talents).

Do whatever is going to let you look back on your photos and still think you look beautiful and not that the rain ruined your day!

5. Bring extra towels, white sheets, and potentially a clear shower curtain.

Towels probably make sense but you may not have thought about white shites or even shower curtains. If you are getting married in an area with big fields and you had a dream of field photos, it would be a good idea to bring something you can lay down under your dress.

Your photographer probably won’t bring you to muddy areas but even if the rain lets up, the ground will be wet. Having those on deck will let you have a few more location options without completely soaking the bottom of your dress.

6. Bring clear umbrellas.

You can actually get really cute photos in the rain as long as you have clear umbrellas! I usually bring a few with me to the wedding so I can have them for the bride and groom and the bridal party but if you have a specific cute clear umbrella you want to use, bring it!!!

Kate Spade has really cute ones that look perfect in rainy photos.

7. Have a plan for prioritizing your photos.

Sometimes your venue doesn’t have the space for extra photos if everyone is being crowded into one large space. There have been times when we’ve had small 5 min breaks of no rain and we had to decide who was being photographed in those increments.

Talk with your photographer about what your photo priorities are –– bride and groom portraits? Family? Bridal party? The goal is always to get all of the photos, but sometimes it’s a matter of deciding which ones are going to take priority in the best situations for lighting, weather, etc.

8. Think about having a first look.

Y’all know I love a first look and I especially love them when a storm is rolling in… they let us have freedom with the timeline and get as many photos as possible before the rain comes in. When it’s raining outside, the sun goes away a lot sooner, so the more photos we can get during the day the better.

Above all else, focus on the thing that matters –– you’re marrying the love of your life!!!

AND you may even have an awesome story to tell about how even though it rained, you blocked and tackled and didn’t let anything get in your way. And it’s good luck too right?!