In a new weekly installment on The Daily Batch I will share wedding advice, tips, creative ideas and answers to your most difficult wedding questions based on the issues and questions I am asked about in real life. If there is an issue you want me to tackle, tell me in the comments!
You consulted a numerologist, checked the calendar and picked the perfect wedding date and the perfect wedding venue for your perfect wedding day. But sometimes, something is less than perfect. Let’s plan for less than perfect.
Question 1: My fiance and I are getting married in August in Florida. Our ceremony and reception will be on the beach so our guests can enjoy a starry night. However, the meteorologist says a stormy night is also possible. What do I do?- Mr. and Mrs. On the Beach without an Umbrella
Answer: Picking your wedding date and location involves a number of factors: schedules, budgets, sentimental value, and seasonal availability, among others. What it should also include is the weather.
There is nothing wrong with getting married during hurricane season, snow season, heat wave season, or heck, even football season, but you’ve got to have a plan.
Rainy Wedding Day, via Pinterest
Well in advance of your wedding, map out the environmental (weather patterns, storms, high heat, low temperatures) and logistical issues (road closures, construction, Oh, the Super Bowl is in your town?!) and prepare so that on the day of your wedding your biggest decision is between a mimosa or a bellini.
Speak with your event director or venue manager when you go on your initial tours and ask about how many events the venue will book on the same date/time – if there are two rooms and two weddings, you’re out of options. Ask about the Plan B room if there is bad weather and go see it. If you hate it, this might not be the venue for you. Speak with your decorator and florist about their ability to be flexible in case of a last minute change of location/room plans. Ask your venue and/or your florist what their access is to rental tents, space-heaters, umbrellas, etc.
Be prepared. I’m sure in your mind, you’ll be getting married rain or shine, but the point of planning is to avoid the stress, rain or shine.
Mark and I got married on January 23, 2010, during one of the worst winters on record on the Eastern seaboard. In the month before and after our wedding there was more than 55 inches of snow in DC, where we live, and in Florida, where we got married, the temperatures were shockingly cold.
It turned out that the weather was just fine the weekend of our wedding. But, I was also prepared. In the weeks before we inquired about space heaters for our outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour, and soft and warm pashminas for our guests. This would have been an unexpected bump in our budget, but I felt a sense of calm knowing we had a plan.
What I didn’t expect is that on the morning of the wedding the skies would be gray. Gray, ominous and foreshadowing of rain. Florida is known for mid-afternoon thunderstorms, but not in January! So, as we prepped and primped in a hotel, I was on the phone with the florist, requesting to go ahead with the original plan of setting up the chuppah and chairs outside in our Plan A courtyard, as opposed to the Plan B “room”. Again, the point I am stressing is, I had a Plan B.
Again, I got lucky, there was a light mist that magically seemed to stop when the musicians started, and the real rain didn’t come until after midnight when most people had gone home, and the friends who were still out celebrating had celebrated enough all night that the rain didn’t dampen their fun.
Do you agree or disagree with this advice? Let me know. And, if there a wedding related issue you want advice on or just some tips – leave a note in the comments.
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