As you can probably guess, now that we’re 6 days away from the big day, I am obsessing over the one thing I can’t control…the weather. I guess “obsessing” may be a little strong. But I check the weather forecast twice a day, on two different websites. So…um, yeah.
Here’s what it looked like this morning…
There’s our wedding week, with our wedding day (Sept 5) sitting at a very nice 82-degrees with a 10% chance of precipitation. I like it.
A sidenote…it doesn’t matter to me if a cold front comes through and blasts Charlottesville with icy temps of, say, 65 degrees. I actually wanted a fall wedding, so a little brisk air would be welcomed.
I did not want, however, a rainy wedding. Who does, right? As a planner, I knew this was always a possibility and, early on, I set out to eliminate the stress by booking a back-up rain plan for everything. Except, “Cocktails on the Lawn” sounds so much nicer than “Cocktails in the Main Dining Room.” Rain wouldn’t be the end of the world, but at this point, I can only hope for clear skies.
Back to the weather forecast.
A few helpful tips…
1 – Have a rain plan for everything. Everything. Even things like how your guests are going to get from the door of the shuttle bus (if you’re having one) to the door of the church (ask the transportation company if the driver can escort them one-by-one under an umbrella).
2 – Accuweather posts a 15-day weather forecast.
3 – The Weather Channel posts a 10-day weather forecast. (If you’re getting married on a Saturday, the 10-day forecast comes out on Thursday of the previous week.) Oh, and they update the 10-day forecast throughout the day — so you’re wedding day temp could be predicted to be 82 degrees at 9am on Monday morning, but by lunch time, it could be up to 84 degrees. Yeah. Lots of obsessing to be done.
4 – I’ve heard tales about the Farmer’s Almanac and how reliable it is, but I don’t have personal experience with it. (Although I did receive a phone call from my mother on Tuesday saying she went to the bookstore to buy a Farmer’s Almanac to check the weather for Saturday. She’s obsessing a little, too. Unfortunately, they were sold out for 2009. I told her about Accuweather and it’s 15-day intel. Now she’s hooked.) I’d be curious to see if anyone has any real experience using the Farmer’s Almanac?
5 – Don’t stress about the weather. (Ha! Right.)
Let’s look on the bright side. The story goes, if it rains on your wedding day, you’ll be blessed with financial prosperity. Not bad. Maybe in a few years I will look back and wish it had rained, but right now, I’m just hoping for Cocktails on the Lawn.
I got married last year this same weekend during tropical storm Hannah…on the water! Needless to say my mom was glued 24/7 to the weather channel for the week leading up to the big day, but as you say you can’t control the weather! My advice would be to make the best out of it regardless…although my “by-the-water” ceremony was moved inside, the storm passed in time for us to get some really great shots outside (and the clouds made for some really dramatic pictures). Devon – have a wonderful wedding weekend – I am rooting for good weather as well to enjoy my one year anniversary!!
You wedding will be wonderful no matter the weather! Have an incredible time! It drizzled on my wedding day (10/30) but the sun came out in the end and was lovely amongst the clouds!