Photo Cred: Shawn Hubbard Weddings

Imagine this: It’s a week out from your outdoor DC Wedding on the Spanish Steps and you see a looming severe thunderstorm for the weekend’s weather forecast, aka your wedding weekend! Should you A) Freak out and cancel the wedding, or B) Leave it to your wedding planner to execute your already thought out Plan B for your outdoor wedding? If at first you thought to choose A) and of course went with B) instead, then you’re absolutely right! This area’s weather is so unbelievably hard to predict. In one week alone, we could have snow and below freezing temps and end with 70 degree weather. Sound familiar? Plan B’s for an outdoor wedding are not only important for that flawless timeline you and your wedding planner created, but also to ensure there’s peace of mind for you and your fiance on your special day.

Selecting a Backup Venue

When our couple Lauren + Andrew had originally planned to have their ceremony on the Spanish Steps and their reception at Longview Gallery, they didn’t think their plans would need to change at all. However when the chance of rain grew from 50% to 80% in one day we knew we had to make adjustments. Within a week’s notice we coordinated with all of their vendors and had their ceremony moved to their reception space at Longview to ease their minds. Granted in true DC fashion it ended up being a gorgeous summer day, but the piece of mind for Lauren & Andrew that they would have a dry ceremony was good enough for them.

Photo Cred: Stephanie Kopf Photography

Renting a Tent

Depending on the price of your venue, you may think that adding on the expense of a tent would be a daunting addition, however there are some things to take into consideration and ones you should highly consider when having an outdoor wedding. First things first, make sure you’re okay with your tent company’s change/cancellation policy. There are so many variables that can change, you’ll want the option to possibly cancel it if the weather looks like it’s going to be totally amazing. Make sure that those points are covered in writing before handing over any money!

Additional Tips to Keep in Mind

• The forecast has been wrong before, and it’s very likely it’ll be wrong again. Watching and refreshing your Weather App like it’s your 9-5 unfortunately won’t make it any better. There’s a very good chance your wedding day will change for the better so wait until as close as you can before making any final decisions.
• Communicate Wet Weather Plans via your Wedding Website. Do guests need to ensure to bring water-proof shoes with them? Will the temperature drop/increase drastically? Send out a mass message via your social media pages to ensure guests are as comfortable as possible.
• It’s not the end of the world! Yes, yucky weather isn’t what every couple dreams of but at the end of the day it is what it is, so why not embrace it? Have fun with it by purchasing fun umbrellas and rain boots to take your photos with.

“Life is not so much about waiting for the storms to pass as it is about learning to dance in the rain.”

Tiffany Rivera is a Wedding Planner & Event Planner serving DC, Maryland, Virginia and beyond!