Go with the flow

We’re in the midst of hurricane season and even though it’s sunny where I live today, I remember there was weekend after weekend when it rained and I happened to be booked
to shoot a wedding every one of those weekends. There were expensive locations – vineyards, mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, mountain resorts, botanical gardens, you name it. I always felt bad for the families that had paid so much money for these great locations.

So what do you do when it’s pouring out and you still want great pictures but you can't use the ocean or the beautiful park you had your heart set on?

Here are some tips:

Have a back up plan for pictures when planning the wedding. Pick an indoor spot that can workas a backup in case it’s not only rainy, but too windy or hot. Surely there’s something at the church , synagogue or reception hall that can quickly be used as a great backdrop - you can
even use a few of the flower arrangements to add some color.

Indoor/outdoor shots. If the venue has double doors, at least for a couple of photos, stand inside the doorway and get the rainy background in some of the shots. And obviously you can get some great pictures in front of or alongside some pretty windows.

Go with the flow. There’s nothing you can do about the weather so make the weather a part of the story. If it’s raining, pull out a couple of umbrellas and have the photographer get a few romantic pictures of you under the umbrellas walking down a path arm in arm.

If the day before the wedding the weather report predicts lots of rain, have someone run out and buy some fun props for everyone- lots of colorful umbrellas, rain hats and even flip flops so people can wear them if they go outside in the rain!

One of my favorite brides was going to have an outdoor wedding. The rain was torrential so tents were put up. The floor of the main tent got soaked. By the end of the wedding her white shoes looked like they were brown. They were totally encased in mud. What did the bride do? She laughed and encased them in a plexiglass box to remindherself that nothing could spoil her happiness. And of course, I got some great shots of her shoes!