Wedding Weather Worries | Roselle Photography

I am based in Cincinnati, where the weather is unpredictable to say the least. “You don’t like what the weather is doing? Stick around for a day, and it’ll be completely different” is a saying I’ve heard too many times to count. As I write this, I went from having the air conditioning blasting to being curled up in a blanket and a robe in three days.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t put my clients at ease when forecasting their wedding day. Without fail, almost every bride messages me at some point in the two weeks before her wedding, with a frantic query about the weather.

“I just checked the forecast, and it looks like rain. Do we have a back up plan for pictures?!”

I totally don’t blame them. I always laugh that there has only been one wedding where the weather has completely kept us from doing anything outside…and that was my own. Yes, that’s right, dear Brides, I have absorbed all of the bad luck for you, so don’t sweat it!

But seriously, I don’t worry about the weather. Would I prefer the weather to be sunny and beautiful? Believe it or not – no! I prefer cloudy days because I can keep my clients from squinting or getting dark circles under their eyes. The threat of rain means I’ll probably have some wonderful cloudy skies to work with!

Secondly, I am totally comfortable with my flash. If we need to find someplace indoor to shoot, our biggest task is going to be finding a space large enough to set up your whole bridal party rather than getting gorgeously lit images.

Thirdly, and this one is important, the weather changes. I tell my clients that any forecast that is more than 4 days in the future isn’t reliable – which is true. Heck, the forecast isn’t reliable on the day of most of the time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client want to reschedule an engagement session for fear of the weather only to have a perfect weather at the exact time the forecast called for ugly weather.

So, if they are calling for bad weather two weeks before your wedding, here is my advice: say a little prayer, take a deep breath, and don’t check the weather again until the day before your wedding. I know it will be hard. If the weather is still bad the day before, think of an indoor or sheltered look that you like. Maybe you’d prefer the modern look of the Contemporary Arts Center, or the tropical look of the Krohn Conservatory. Maybe there is a gorgeous wrap around porch on your family’s home, or maybe you gift your bridesmaids an adorable clear umbrella, and decide to roll with the punches!

Whatever happens, weather good or weather bad, you are still going to love your pictures. You wanna know how I know? Even though my wedding images didn’t have the background I thought they would because of bad weather, I still love my pictures because it’s the day I married my best friend.

(The picture in this blog was actually taken outside, while it was raining! We found a beautiful, clear shelter and took so many gorgeous pictures! Proof that there is always a way to make it work!)