It Rained On My Wedding Day and It Was The Best Thing Ever

Wait say what?! You probably read that title, and thought to yourself, “No way.”

Because if you are anything like me, you’re thinking your wedding day has to be perfect. Every last detail from the flowers to tablecloths, I thought everything had to be immaculate. So even though we were getting married at the end of May outside in an orchard, the chance of it raining was NOT an option for me. It just wasn’t going to happen. I refused the universe to rain. Ha. It’s funny looking back on it, really.

Let me set the stage for you.

It’s the morning of my wedding day. My venue was an hour away from my home. So that morning my bridesmaids and I hopped in the car. We did a Starbucks run (because it’s the one and only time I can get a frappe with the name Bride on it, so of course I’m going to do it). We start our mini road trip toward the venue. It’s all clear skies and unicorns and happy things. Then about 30 minutes into the drive, the clouds get super dark, which is weird I’m thinking because it’s 8 am and it shouldn’t be dark. Again, rain is not an option… We’re about 20 minutes away from the venue when it starts raining. I’m not talking about a nice little sprinkle either. I’m talking skies so dark it feels like the sun is never returning, and a downpour so intense we have to put our wiper blades on the highest setting. Yeah, you can imagine my current state. Every bride’s worse nightmare. I sat silent in the passenger seat eyes wide, mouth in a tight line. No one said a peep. We kept driving.

They tell you that if it rains on your wedding day that means good luck. Well I think that’s crap. I think whoever made that up was some stupid groom who wanted to keep his wreck of a bride happy, and used any excuse he could to ease her rainy day worries, and the excuse stuck. We got to the venue and that was me: a wreck of a bride on the inside, but trying to keep my cool on the outside. I kept telling myself that it was ok. That it would stop. That we could still have our ceremony outside in the beautiful orchard as we had planned. Well, it didn’t stop. The rain kept coming down all morning as we sat in the bridal suite getting ready.

At around noon when it looked like there was no stopping those dang water droplets falling from the sky, someone handed me a small note in an enveloped titled “In Case of Rain.” Andrew, my husband to be, had been watching the forecast, and unlike me wasn’t so optimistic that the rain would stay away. So he had wrote a note to give to me in case it did. I started reading, and as I read his words, I felt a wave of overwhelming peace settle over me. (In case you guys didn’t know, I have the best husband.) He had known I would be a legitimate mess, and wrote a note to remind me that even though this situation didn’t look like I’d always imagined, and wasn’t the most “perfect” outcome, that this day could not be ruined. Because our wedding wasn’t dependent on whether or not water came down from the sky. No matter what silly things didn’t fall in place that day, none of it mattered. Because on that day I was marrying my best friend. It was really happening, and no amount of rain could stop it.

It was then that I realized how ridiculous I had been thinking. How crazy of me to think if I walked down the aisle in a barn vs an orchard that my life would be ruined. Can we all agree that is ridiculous thinking? Who you’re walking down the aisle toward should be 100% more important than where you do it at.

So here’s how the rest of my wedding day went:

The rain lasted up until mid afternoon, and then as if God had heard my desperate plea, it stopped in time to take photos outside in the orchard. Prayers answered. However, since it had rained all day, the ground was too wet for us to do our ceremony outside as planned.  So we ended up moving our ceremony into the barn where our reception was going to be. And guess what? My wedding happened. It was magical. And at the end of the day I didn’t care whether or not my wedding day came with rain or shine, or whether or not every detail was perfect, because on May 23, 2016 in Weston, Missouri it rained a freaking LOT. But much more important than the forecast, on that day I married the love of my life.

So yeah, it rained on my wedding day, and it was the best thing ever. Because it taught me that nothing in life is going to be perfect, especially our wedding day. What’s more, perfection is boring. God gave me a beautiful shower on my wedding day, and because of it I now have a great story of learning to dance in the rain instead of wearing a grumpy face because life didn’t turn out how I expected.

So if you take anything away from this blog post, let it be this: Your wedding day will be perfect, even if your menus don’t have perfect calligraphy, even if your groomsmen’s pants don’t match (no matter how many times you tell your fiancé to get his boys together…), and yes, even if there’s a thunderstorm monsoon of rain. Your wedding day will be perfect because of the commitment you are making with the one at the end of the aisle. And THAT will always be the most beautiful part of your wedding day, perfection be damned.

All photos by Surveyor Creative

Lindsey Roman is an adventurous, destination wedding and elopement photographer based out of Oahu, Hawaii and available worldwide. She lives for outdoor adventures, intimate moments, and candid images. Her style is raw, passionate, and authentic. She believes in chasing sunsets, laughing too hard, and most importantly: capturing genuine moments that evoke feeling over perfectly posed photographs.