rain on your wedding day

mfeingold112

im getting married june 10th 2012 and the wedding is going to be in a backyard.. im sp paranoid that its going to rain, so i decided to order a tent. then i realized a tent would really ruin the look and feel of the backyard and just cover up all the beauty of the trees and stuff.. so then i canceled the tent .. now im just nervous and looking up stats.. theres a 30 something percent chance of rain that day but i just cant decide what to do! i kinda wanna take a risk and just hope it doesnt rain.. if it drizzles, ill live but if it pours, im screwed.. i feel like if i get the tent, and it doesnt rain, ill be super pissed. any advice? should i be ballsy? 

Viczaesar

You need to have a tent on back up or some other back up plan.  It's incredibly rude to expect your guests to stand outside in either drizzle or pouring rain. 

Snippylynn

You are having an outdoor wedding. This means you may have weather issues. It might be insanely hot, unseasonably cold, rain, cloudcover, BIRDS flying overhead!

If you can't handle the pressure of having an outdoor wedding then move it inside, and take lots of pictures outside.

HockeyFan4

Rain happens.


I always wanted to get married outside....but the forecast for our wedding ended up saying rain...so we moved the ceremony inside the day before.....it rained during out ceremony and stopped right after.....I am still married...still had an awesome ceremony and was able to get pictures outside.

Still get a tent.  I will tell you with it being summer you will want the tent for shade.  Even if it doesn't rain, people will not want to be sitting out in the sun for all that time.

rachiella

You do need a back up plan. It poured during my cocktail hour - the only part planned outside. I was conviced that it wouldn't. Though their was a back up plan I didn't put much thought into it because I figured it wouldn't be an issue. Our joke was that he bought my ring at the wrong place - there is a store that gives you your money back if it rains on your wedding day!

You also need to think about what you will do with severe weather. Summer is known for quick thunderstorms.

LetsHikeToday

I wouldn't just be worried about rain. I'd also be worried about the sun. Our friends has an outdoor wedding in may and thank god they has a tent. It was so so hot. Please don't NOT get a tent just because "it ruins the look."

kmmssg

You may be ok if it drizzles but do you really think, or expect, your guests to hang out in drizzle so your outdoor wedding doesn't have the look "spoiled" by a tent?

If it started to drizzle and you didn't have a backup to get me out of the rain I would be heading for my car and going home, ticked.  You need a backup plan and your guests comfort is far more important than the look of the backyard.  Should you be ballsy and not get a tent?  NO! 

lyndausvi

Let me tell you a little story.

DH and I lived in the beautiful Virgin Islands.  We decided to have our September wedding/reception on the beaches of New Jersey to avoid hurricanes.   Well wouldn't you know Tropical Storm Hannah with her 60 mph wind driven rains showed up In NEW JERSEY on my wedding day.  (by the way Hannah hit the islands before we left so I got by her twice).   It was gorgeous the day before and after. Not on the actually day.

Yeah, if anyone is a proponent of backup plans and tents it's me.  It saved my wedding day.

Tents also provides shade.  No one wants to sit out in the hot sun in their good clothes.

mica178

You need to either rent a tent or be able to cram everyone indoors and have the ceremony there if it rains.  No one is going to care about your touching vows if they are standing/sitting in the rain or mud during your ceremony.

NOLAbridealmost

Get a tent! It won't ruin the look. I promise.

junieolive

I know a friend of ours had a tent on backup.  She had to pay a non refundable deposit and decide 2-3 days before , if she didn't want it she lost the deposit.  I say get a tent the last thing you want is you and your guests soaked and miserable.  Also rain will really ruin the look you are going for.

ceh789

If none of these other excellent arguments has swayed you - consider this.  What would rain do to the "look and feel" of your photos if everyone had to stand in the rain for 30 minutes?  Do you really want to have nothing but photos of wet, angry people in their soaked dress clothes?

achiduck

Not having a backup plan is not an option for an outdoor wedding.

AdeleDazeem

We had an outdoor wedding over the ocean in Bermuda.  The hotel had a lovely room as a back-up rain plan.  I was so uninterested in the backup plan that I refused to even acknowledge it more than "It exists." 

However, it was there if necessary.  If it rained or was too cold (very real possibilities in early May and was true the day before and day after our wedding), we would have been inside whether I liked it or not.  Luckily, our wedding day was beautiful and warm.

Have a back up plan.  Even if you dislike it, have it.  No one wants cold, hot, sunburnt, hungry, or wet guests.

crnflkgirl75

And it isn't actually ironic... Annoying? Yes.Ironic? No. Damn you Alanis for confusing everyone!

MyUserName1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_rain-on-your-wedding-day?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:841b7fc5-013e-4ef6-8dc4-18b472657e93Post:6353ee06-7b3b-440f-93bb-07d59c161623">Re: rain on your wedding day</a>:
[QUOTE]hahaha, I find it funny that basically none of the examples in her song are actually Ironic.  Kinda ironic, dotcha think?
Posted by crfb87[/QUOTE]

<div>... who would have thought...it figures.</div>

ceh789

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_rain-on-your-wedding-day?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:841b7fc5-013e-4ef6-8dc4-18b472657e93Post:e0e8f467-6ac0-47cc-bc4e-6deb3a9f3750">Re: rain on your wedding day</a>:
[QUOTE]And it isn't actually ironic... Annoying? Yes.Ironic? No. Damn you Alanis for confusing everyone!
Posted by crnflkgirl75[/QUOTE]
But then Reality Bites straightened us all out so it's ok.<div>
</div><div>I'd just like to know why that song won't die.  Every other song dies a natural death but that one still gets regular airtime.</div>

J&K10910

If I showed up to your wedding, and it was outside with no tent and it was raining, or 90 degrees, I would promptly return to my hotel room until the reception started.  Unless the reception was outside too.  Then I'd just go home, and be pissed.  If I had traveled to get there, I would skip the ceremony to go to the nearest Walmart and get a rain suit.  THAT will ruin the "feel" far more than a tent will, I promise.

pgcp

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_rain-on-your-wedding-day?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:841b7fc5-013e-4ef6-8dc4-18b472657e93Post:2286e1be-2b50-4c03-ae15-668074efb5f6">Re: rain on your wedding day</a>:
[QUOTE]If none of these other excellent arguments has swayed you - consider this.  What would rain do to the "look and feel" of your photos if everyone had to stand in the rain for 30 minutes?  Do you really want to have nothing but photos of wet, angry people in their soaked dress clothes?
Posted by ceh789[/QUOTE]
Best picture set up ever!  Well, maybe for some super high fashion shoot...

alkemist

I would have a tent on backup and ready to go up the morning or the night before the wedding if rain is expected.

I'm having a wedding on April 21, it's pretty early and I'm in this dilemma except I have the backup option of moving the ceremony inside the 2nd floor of the reception hall. I understand the anxiety. 

Meggiemuggins

How do you know that there is a 30% chance of rain?  Your wedding date is like three months away!  Wait until you get closer to the date to see the real forecast and then decide if you need a tent.  but if you have even the dlightest feeling that you might need one, please get one!  We got married in my parents' backyard in August.  We had a tent set up in the side yard just in case we needed it.  We used it for the rehearsal dinner the night before, but we didn't need it for the wedding, yay!  but please, get a tent.

Alternatively, have a place at your reception venue where you can have the ceremony indoors.  Just be sure to notify all your guests that the ceremony is being moved.

heylady87

You have to have a rain back-up plan. A tent won't ruin the effect -- in fact, it's probably expected. Plus, lots of rental companies have beautiful tents to rent for weddings.

[Deleted User]

Get a clear or partially clear tent, if you are really worried about blocking the scenery. If I had one, I would pray for rain! It would look so pretty against the clear top of the tent.