No Rain-Outs for a Wedding

I was thinking this past week-end about outdoor weddings, as I drove through a blinding rain storm with all the thunder and lightning you could ask for, to an outdoor wedding scheduled to begin in about 40 minutes. When I first started out as a Wedding Officiant I used to get really uptight about the weather and worry myself sick about what the bride and groom where going to do, and how we were going to get this wedding in so I could arrive at the next wedding on time. I have learned over time that the weather is one thing that nobody can control, so I chill out and role with the punches.

While my overall record with good weather for outdoor weddings is quite impressive, I still have seen some nervous, if not down right scary scenarios. I remember driving North on Wilson Ave. in Oshawa to do a wedding at a farm just North of Brooklin. It was raining so hard that the water was flowing down Wilson a good 4-5 inches deep on the road, that's North of Taunton going towards Conlin. I drove the car through small lakes that day. Anyway, at the scene we had a brief break in the rain, the guest chairs were dryed off and we got a 15 minute ceremony in just before an even worse part of the storm came. I later signed up a couple who had seen me at that wedding and wanted me as their Officiant. I asked them what happened after I left . They said that the big tent that was set up for the reception dinner was literally blown into a distant field. Most of the guests stood in the barn or in one of several old garages on the property. Apparently when the storm stopped in early evening, the sun came out and the caterer served the guests under the stars and they partied the night away.

I said all that to say that there is nothing nicer than an outdoor wedding when the weather is nice. However, my advice to anyone booking an outdoor Venue is to always have an indoor alternative at the same site. Most Venues do have nice facilities indoors as well so it is just a matter of re-arranging things a bit so the ceremony can be witnessed indoors. The story I related above had no alternative because the house could not begin to hold the guests who were invited. Somebody asked me the other day if I had any rain-outs. I answered that a Wedding is not a baseball game. The wedding must go on so make it easier on yourselves brides and grooms and make sure there is a backup plan.