Weather Hacks – Megan Noll Photography

Dear Megan,

What is the best way to do outdoor wedding pictures in hot summer months? Do you take pictures indoors instead? I’m getting married in July, and it’s a situation I am worried about. I don’t think anyone wants their make up melting off prior to the wedding, so what should we do?

Signed,

Looking for Weather Hacks

 

Let me just say this, as a wedding photographer in Cincinnati, you have to be prepared for whatever mother nature is feeling like throwing at you that day. Whether you are getting married in the snow of winter, the rain of spring, the heat of summer, or the changes of fall, there can be many worries about the weather that cross your mind – and rightfully so!

Make sure you have a photographer who feels comfortable shooting in all weather situations

This is so important. I feel 100% comfortable rocking a flash indoor on a wedding day if the weather calls for it, but my first choice for shooting locations is always outside. I have shot on porches if it was raining, and I’ve shot in two feet of snow with bridesmaids (who were THE BEST sports). The reality is, the elements are apart of the story of the day. Documenting it isn’t a bad thing!

When the elements are extreme, we can plan short bursts of photos, with lots of breaks. We usually can keep the climate controlled in the transportation of the day. With the bus running, we can change out groups of pictures, rotating people to give them some relief from the weather.

I will be honest though, sometimes this makes it worse. The changing of hot to cold and vise versa can make the elements seem worse than they are. Most of the time, if we give ourselves the time to adjust, it’s a lot more tolerable.

Aside from that, I have a few other tricks. For example, you can put ice in baggy’s and place them on pulse points, or do the same thing with hand warmers if it’s cold!

To address your concern about makeup, I will tell you that most makeup artist can be hired to come back to do touch up’s before the ceremony. That may be something to explore, as well! 🙂

Ultimately, your wedding day will be perfect, regardless of the weather. Take it from someone who’s wedding day POURED from the time we woke, till the time we went to bed – It will be perfect. I actually wrote another blog on worrying about the weather on your wedding day. You can read it here!

Finally, I thought it was only fair to leave you with some pictures of brides who totally ROCKED less-than-ideal weather on their wedding day! In fact, going through these, I realized that some of my favorite weddings have been ones where it was raining, freezing cold, or blazing hot. Hope these weather hacks were helpful!

Meredith’s wedding day was unbelievably hot. I never once heard her complain, and she didn’t even act like it phased her one bit! She looked flawless the whole day!