The week prior to The Shoot Share, we obsessively monitored the weather forecast, completely in denial of the inevitable. “It’s absolutely not going to rain,” we would say to each other (we were willing the weather to be wonderful at this point). The day of the shoot came, and the Weather Widget App said 0% chance of rain at the time of our event. When I arrived to Mankin Mansion, the sun was shining, and the only clouds in the sky were big, white, puffy, and not at all ominous. We debated, then finally decided to set up outside like we originally planned…

…until at 4:50, ten minutes before our participants were to arrive, the storm clouds started rolling in and we made the last minute decision to move all our stations into covered areas such as the grounds’ gazebos. It poured monsooned throughout the entire event. While the weather was less than ideal, we made the best of it. I think it’s important to be realistic about events, especially weddings, and the fact that the weather is something you can neither control nor predict.

Inspired by Sunday’s weather, I wanted to share some tips for photogs on how to weather a stormy wedding day.

• Be prepared for the possibility of bad weather in advance! Although it was raining, the light was magical and we knew we wanted to get some outdoor portraits at the mansion. Bring two umbrellas ( specifically a pretty, neutral or clear one). One will be for an assistant to hold over you and your equipment, and the other will be for your bride and groom to stand under. 
• Have a positive attitude about the weather! Weather is something you can’t control, but your attitude about it is something you can totally change. If you are positive, your couple will be more positive (remember stress breeds more stress on wedding days).
• Shoot details inside next to a window, or outside under a covered area, like a front porch. Even though the weather might be ugly, those beautiful details are still important to your clients! Natural light pouring in from a nearby window will yield beautiful results (make sure you turn off those overhead lights so your images don’t have that orange, tungsten glow).
• Be flexible in your schedule! If you can’t do portraits right after the ceremony due to the weather, you can always wait until it clears up and snag your couple during the reception. I promise they won’t mind those few quiet moments alone together!