I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever invented the superstition about rain on your wedding day being good luck was just ad libbing in the interests of comforting a rain-soaked bride. And if it's your wedding that's getting unexpected dampened, you're going to cling to anything to make you feel better. Although I'm not trying to side-step the fact that if you’ve planned an occasion designed for the outdoors, then of course you’ll want to be outdoors for it.
Still, rainy days have their own charms – warm yet rainy is one of my personal favourites, especially if you’re under shelter but exposed to the open air. I did a wedding the other day which was essentially that: outside but under the somewhat patchy shelter of a big old tree (the forms have the odd water blotch on them to prove it!). Sure, it was a tiny wee service and we weren't there for too long, but it was a rather lovely occasion. (Actually, the lack of other people wandering past due to the rain might have also contributed a little to the intimate vibe.)
A guest arriving at my wedding. (Photo credit: Andy Currie)
My own wedding seven years ago was inside, but despite that the weather still had plenty to say. The morning was overcast, then around an hour before the ceremony a light sprinkle of precipitation began to fall. By about quarter to, the heavens were starting to well-and-truly open, and we have some amazing images of guests dashing from cars to the venue – less wedding, more war photography. For the duration of the ceremony, from our windowless theatre we heard the roar of pounding hail on the roof, punctuated with drum fills of alarmingly loud thunder. And then, after the ceremony, the rain eased off, and then by dinnertime it was all blue sky and sunshine.
I have no grand conclusions to draw from all of this. Rain is a thing that the sky sometimes does, and even if you struggle to appreciate the majesty of nature as you stand sodden in your best clothes, at least it'll make for a good story later.