Emily and Demian’s lovely St. Augustine wedding — which will be hitting the blog before long; check back tomorrow for their engagement session first! — was a great reminder why brides in general, and Florida brides in particular, should always have a rain plan in place. It rained with a vengeance for a short while during their wedding, but we moved to the backup plan and everything went beautifully. So if your ceremony, cocktail hour, portraits, or reception are slated to take place outside, you need to have an alternative plan in place too, just in case.

As you plan, stay calm, remember that it probably won’t rain — and that even if it does, rainy wedding days are incredibly romantic.So here’s a quick list of what to consider and who to talk to when making your rain plan:

• Find out from your venues what their options are for moving your ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception inside, and see if they can work with you to arrange the plan that fits your wedding best.
• Have a talk with your planner/coordinator about how they’ll move the outdoor decor inside in the event of rain, and at what time you’ll need to make the decision whether to go ahead with an outdoor wedding or move inside.
• Talk with your florist about how your flower arrangements will hold up in a bit of rain — are they going to be okay in anything but a downpour, or do you need to rush them inside at the first hint of a drizzle?
• If the day threatens rain, make sure your guests are aware of the backup plan as soon as they arrive, especially if the backup plan involves traveling to a different location.
• Let your photographer know your rain plan ahead of time, and ask your photographer to come up with a rain plan for your portraits, if you had planned to shoot your portraits outside.
• No matter what, keep calm and soak (no pun intended!) in the happiness and atmosphere of your wedding day. This is your day, whether there’s sunshine or a monsoon, so embrace it and all the unique memories that specific day will leave you with!

Happy planning!

~ Laura