Your Bad Weather Back-Up Plan
No matter how sunny your hearts are, there’s a chance it will rain on your wedding day. While many couples don’t like to even consider the possibility, preparing for Mother Nature’s whims is a must before your big day. Read on for tips to keep you out of unnecessary puddles.
“I tell my clients, once you make rain plans you don’t need to talk about it again until you need to,” says Danielle Bobish, of Curtain Up Events in New York City. “You have to have a back-up option.”
If you are having an outside ceremony, whether it’s in the park or on a beach, find out if your reception site has an indoor area that can be converted for the wedding. “Many times the reception site has an area that can be used for the wedding,” says Bobish. “It’s often included in the site fee, or it might cost a little bit extra.”
Bobish says that it’s one of the first questions you should ask when checking out sites, and that you should make sure you see the area before you book. If your ceremony is outdoors and your reception site doesn’t have an indoor wedding space, you might be wise to look for another reception hall, as rain would mean you’d have to cancel the wedding entirely.
If you’re having an outside ceremony at your home, rent a rain tent. “For any outside affair, you will need a tent anyway,” says Bobish, “so make sure a separate one is on stand-by in the event of rain.” Bobish says the rain tent needs to have sides, in case of strong winds, and that each company has different refund policies. Some tent providers will give you all or some of your money back if you cancel the tent in advance; some won’t. Like every contract, read the fine print carefully.
In addition to the havoc rain can cause, outside affairs may need to be heated or, in rare cases, air-conditioned. Insurance policies offer rain protection, so you should go over the cost factors of taking out a policy versus the expense of having an alternate site or tent reserved.
The only real mistake you can make is to pretend rain is an impossibility. “The last thing you need is water drizzling down your white wedding dress,” says Bobish. Resolve your rain issues immediately, and take comfort in the fact that, regardless of the weather, your wedding will be filled with light.
-David Toussaint
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