wedding day rain

There is an old saying that rain on your wedding day is a good omen. The Italians even have a saying for it, “Sposa bagnata, lucky wifewhich means that a wet bride is a lucky bride. In the US, it is often said that rain is lucky, although most brides would prefer a dry day and a little less luck!

Rain is also considered a good wedding omen in Germany, Sweden and France. This is possibly because rain is associated with a bountiful harvest, and therefore fertility. Some believe that the rainier the wedding day, the more children the marriage will produce. (So ​​if you get married during a downpour, I guess you can expect to have triplets!)

However, not everyone considers rain to be a lucky charm; Consider the old adage, “Happy is the bride on whom the sun shines.” There are several superstitions that are said to prevent rain on the wedding day. One is to feed your cat on the morning of the wedding (this one is weird, shouldn’t you feed your cat every morning?). Catholics may hang a rosary outside on their wedding day to stop the rain in time for the ceremony. In some parts of Spain, to avoid the rain, the bride or her mother may deliver a dozen freshly laid eggs to the nuns of the Santa Clara convent.

Whether you consider rain a lucky sign or not, there is always a chance that it will fall on your wedding day. To make wet weather less of an issue, plan ahead for inclement weather. If you’re planning an outdoor wedding, check the Farmer’s Almanac for the driest times of year in your hometown. Also be prepared with a shelter for guests and the couple, or a backup location if weather forces you to move the ceremony indoors. For tent weddings, order a floor to avoid having your reception in a quagmire.

For an indoor wedding, rain is more of a nuisance than a real problem. If there’s rain in the forecast for your big day, arm yourself with plenty of golf umbrellas. The bride may also want to get dressed in church if the weather is really nasty. The way to handle that is to be completely ready, apart from the dress. The bride should have on her special wedding jewelry, her fancy underwear and everything but her dress and shoes. Put double plastic covers over the gown to keep it dry, then put it on once you get to the church. If changing your dress at the ceremony location isn’t practical, at least wait to put on your bridal shoes until you reach dry land. You don’t want to be lugging your way down the hall with soaked shoes!

If it ends up raining on your wedding day, the best thing you can do is smile and bear it. I once attended a wedding ceremony held in a park on a very humid day. It was treacherous walking down a steep hill of wet grass in high heels, but the couple had posted ushers with large umbrellas to escort the ladies to the ceremony site (which luckily had a marquee on top), and some of the male guests as well. stepped in to help. She rained and rained, to the point where you could barely hear the musicians play as guests sat down (and we all wondered how we’d hear the votes). Then the most amazing thing happened: just as the ceremony was beginning, the rain suddenly stopped and the sky cleared up. The bride and groom exchanged their vows under a beautiful ray of sunshine, which seemed like a lucky omen, indeed. Even though her ponytail was soaked and her hair was frizzy, the bride was beaming with inner happiness (and at least her wedding jewelry was dry and fabulous!).

So if the meteorologist predicts inclement weather for your wedding day, remember the French saying: “Rainy marriage, happy marriage“, which promises a happy marriage as a result of a wet wedding. And if you don’t buy the idea that rain brings luck, there are always the old standbys: Rain, rain, go away, come back another day!