Wet Wedding
Weddings are planned many months in advance. Every detail carefully organised and tied together to hopefully make the perfect day.
Unfortunately the one thing that cannot be planned is the weather, especially in Britain.
One of the things I always discuss with a Bride and Groom as part of our pre wedding meetings is the possibility of poor weather on the day.
Planning a summer wedding does not guarantee good weather, indeed July and August in England traditionally have the highest levels of rainfall.
Now hopefully the weather on the big day will be great. (Although the couples idea of great is usually sunshine and blue skies while the photographer is normally hoping for bright overcast to reduce harsh shadows in the portrait shots.) But it would be foolish to trust to luck and not have a back up plan.
Most photographers will make sure that there is some inside space available in case the weather turns out to be rough but I also like to sound out the options of the couple embracing the elements and making the most of it if things turn out less than ideal on the day. After all the wedding photos should record the feeling and atmosphere of each individual wedding day and if the day is a wet or windy one there should be something of this captured within the images. sometimes this can even enhance the experience
A great example of this was Claire and Marc's wedding in the Lake District. This wedding took place at the end of July and on the day before the wedding we checked into the hotel and sat in the garden in glorious sunshine chatting about the following days plans. However the forecast for the following day was for clouds and rain virtually all day.
Prior to the wedding we had discussed the possibility of a rainy day and Claire and Marc had really bought in to the idea of making the most of it and were prepared to get a little damp if necessary. In the end it made the photo collection even better than planned.
The day started grey but dry and I managed to get the Groomsmen shots in the bag before a steady drizzle began. All the usual ceremony shots went as planned but after the ceremony the rain continued to come down.
I had already scouted out a gazebo in the grounds and a couple of large trees supplying cover from the rain and we captured some good wedding party shots helped by the bridesmaids and groomsmen manning the brollys and keeping the brides dress out of the puddles.
We had planned to take shots of the couple in two or three locations in the area immediately around Derwent Water to make the most of the wonderful location and when I asked if the couple were still up for it in spite of the weather I was delighted when they readily agreed and Claire produced a pair of pink wellingtons and a matching umbrella.
The first call was Surprise View overlooking Derwent Water. This is a great spot with glorious views but it is also woodland which drastically reduced the effects of the rain. A great bonus with the conditions on the day was that the subdued lighting allowed the focus to remain on the couple rather than being dragged onto the distant scenery which can often happen in such settings. I developed this even further in the photo above by de-saturating the colours in everything except the wellies and brolly. This turned out to be the couples favourite shot.
We then jumped back in the car and dropped down to the waters edge where the couple braved the rain for a few shots on the landing stage. Again the lighting conditions helped keep the focus on the couple and gave a real moody atmosphere to the dramatic backdrop. (right)
Back at the hotel I grabbed some family group shots using the canopy of the hotel entrance to keep the subjects dry while Liz did a great job with an umbrella keeping the rain off the camera.
Claire and Marc had expressed an interest in getting some shots of the gazebo lit up at night so once darkness had fallen and the evening celebrations were in full swing we popped outside into the continuing rain and grabbed a few shots featuring the gazebo and I made the most of the reflection in the wet floor slabs using colour to focus attention on the main subject.
After the wedding Claire told me that she was actually happy that it had rained on the day as it resulted in some great images that would just not had happened if the weather had been 'perfect'.
What I would recommend to all couples planning their wedding is to hope for good weather but discuss options with your photographer just in case the conditions are less than perfect. Also if this turns out to be the case make the most of it, embrace it and get those images that you would miss in the sunshine..
The couple are the stars of the show not the conditions and great images can be had in any type of weather if you and your photographer are prepared to go with it.
P.S brides, Yes the bottom of your dress will get a little damp and grubby but are you really planning on wearing it again any time soon?
