Tuesday Tip: Don’t Worry about The Weather
For today’s Tuesday Tip, let’s talk about the weather. Specifically, crappy weather.
Like most couples, Christine and I worried about the weather for our wedding. We did so even knowing what I’m about to tell you (we had great weather ftr).
Me and Christine! Photo courtesy of Susan Stripling. Thanks Susan!
As rational humans we know that weather can’t be controlled. We also know that worrying about it only adds to the stress of your wedding. Yet we worry. Weird right?
Over the years I have seen plenty of forecasts for doom and gloom, even on the morning of the actual wedding day, and all we got was a cloudy day…sometimes even sunshine. After all, does “40% chance of rain” mean “40% of the area has a 100% chance of rain” or “100% of the area has a 40% chance of rain”? Hell if I know. Weather forecasting is a black art at the best of times. And have you ever noticed that no matter how badly the forecast is screwed up, we keep going back to it? But I digress.
Even on days where it does rain, it rarely rains for the entire day. In fact, in the eight years I’ve been doing this, I’ve only had constant rain for an entire day once. Usually it looks like it’s about to rain for a while, then it rains, then it stops an hour or so later.
Ten minutes after this was taken, the sun was shining in a blue sky. From Kerri and Kurtis’s wedding
Now, I’m not saying that you should ignore a dire forecast. Always have plans for crap weather, especially if you are going for an outdoor wedding or if any critical part of your day depends on clear weather (a boat ride to the ceremony for example).
You’ll want a raincoat if you’re planning this. From Stef and Nick’s wedding
All I’m suggesting is that once you’ve made those plans, don’t sweat over it. Embrace the uncertainty. Ultimately you’ll be happier if you spend your time working on the things you have influence over.
From a photographer’s perspective, wet roads look cool in photos. See?
See how nice the sky looks? And how the streets reflect the lights? It basically rained all day, but IMHO was worth it for this one panorama. From Cathy and Dave’s wedding
Cloudy looks cool, too, if it’s done right.
Clouds in IR…nothing tops the look. From Helen and Bihn’s wedding
As do umbrellas:
Rushing in to the Yangtse Restaurant. This is why I always carry two white umbrellas 
From Helen and Bihn’s wedding
Hiding under a golf umbrella. Meaghan came prepared From Meaghan and Pete’s wedding
Any photographer that knows what s/he is doing will have a game plan for weather contingencies that involves more than just running to the Bank of Canada building. This experience is part of what you are paying for when you hire a pro. So don’t sweat it. Unless it’s hot, in which case…enjoy the heat!
…Mike
- Gen wrote “Ah Meaghan...so adorable!”
