When the weather is not what you dreamed for your wedding do not despair.
To stick with the weather metaphor,
every cloud has a silver lining!
A bride recently said she’d been in floods of tears for days as she gazed out of the window of her luxury villa venue first at a menacing grey sky and then at a downpour.
We always tell couples at our first meeting that weather is a factor even in Italy and that it is essential to have a Plan B up their sleeve just in case. Italy’s geography is such that the climate can vary immensely, depending on where you are in relation to the mountains and the sea. Factor in climate change, and you get even more variability – and unpredictability! This Spring we have had beach weather followed by hailstorms followed by hot scirocco wind followed by a perfect, cool breeze and picture-postcard sunny skies.
If you have been scrolling through pictures for wedding inspo you have probably been dreaming of a sun-drenched ceremony but, honestly, from your point of view and that of your guests and especially your photographers, sun-drenched is not necessarily what you should be aiming for.
You have probably read blogs about choosing the right time for your ceremony. Some venues will try to sell you a ceremony at 2 or 3 pm, when the sun is at its zenith, in order to fit in another wedding later. At that time, the light is blinding, you will be squinting into the camera, the pictures are over-saturated, and your guests will be melting, often without any shade!
A much better hour in the late Spring and especially in the Summer, is 5 or even 5.30pm or 6pm so that you can segue your celebrant-led wedding with a thirst-quenching aperitivo, right there in your venue. The photos are more vibrant, you are more relaxed, and sunset is just around the corner.
Direct sunlight is great if you are at the beach, but if you are in your wedding dress or tuxedo and your make up is dripping, the sun is your enemy. Learn from the Italians, who will avoid the sun like the plague in the hotter season and keep their shutters closed all day to keep their houses cool.
At a recent wedding, wind was a factor. It didn’t feel ideal in the moment, but the upside was the most romantic pictures of the bride’s veil wafting and billowing, all the coloured dresses rippled and formed the most beautiful backdrop, together with the olive trees flashing silver leaves as the wind ruffled them. The clouds were puffy and swept across the sky, making changing patterns. Honestly, you couldn’t have re-created conditions like that artificially, but the end result was visually stunning. And nobody suffered from being over-heated!
Just before a wedding ceremony was due to start on Lake Maggiore, a thunderstorm was looming. The groom and the celebrant did their best to persuade the bride to go with plan B and move indoors. It was a real tragedy for the bride, who wanted to get married on the lawn, but luckily she was persuaded. As soon as the celebrant spoke the first words of welcome, everyone, including the bride, could see through the large windows of the hall how the rain, wind and hail were tearing down sun umbrellas and lifting chairs!
The ceremony was beautiful, and the warm light of the wooden hall, intensified by the flashes of light from outside, made for truly magnificent photographs.
If a summer storm hits just as the venue is setting your chairs out for the ceremony, and the grass is just too wet to contemplate walking on it in heels, Plan B needs to be executed promptly and with no regrets. Your well-being and that of your guests who have often traveled a long way to be with you is paramount.
Sometimes historical villas, rural venues, or sea-side hotels have outhouses or boathouses, barns, limonaia (where lemon trees are taken out of the frost), covered patios or cloisters. Some even have deconsecrated chapels or grandly-frescoed inside halls.
There is a lot to be said for an inside venue for a ceremony. You will be protected from those pesky insects, and the lighting can be beautifully arranged with candles and chandeliers or whatever to create a magic atmosphere. The acoustics are generally better, and the photographs are often more nuanced because of the lighting.
The most important thing is to trust your venue, your planner and your celebrant. They will be bemding over backwards to make it beautiful and to live up to your dreams.
We wedding providers have your happiness at heart and the last thing we want is for you to be disappointed. We almost feel guilty that the weather is not what you hoped, but will do everything in our power, to make your ceremony unforgettable for all the right reasons.
After all, it is the impact of the words of the bespoke ceremony you have created with your celebrant and the emotions that lie behind them that are the focus of everyone’s attention. Your guests are there for you.
So, plan ahead for every eventuality and on your big day, relax, smile and enjoy yourself, whatever the weather!
English (UK) 
Italiano