There is an old saying that rain on your wedding day is a good omen. The Italians even have a saying for it, “Wife bagnata, lucky wifemeaning a wet bride is a lucky bride. In the US, it’s often said that rain brings luck, 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 thus 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 can 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 at the Santa Clara convent.
Whether you consider rain to be a lucky sign or not, there is always a chance that it will fall on your wedding day. To make wet weather less of a problem, 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 the 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 rain is forecast for your big day, arm yourself with plenty of golf umbrellas. The bride may also want to dress in church if the weather is very unpleasant. The way to handle that is to be completely ready, apart from the dress. The bride must have her special wedding jewelry, her fancy lingerie, and everything except her dress and shoes. Put double plastic covers over the gown to keep it dry, then put on once you arrive at church. If changing your dress at the ceremony location isn’t practical, at least wait to put on your wedding shoes until you reach dry land. You don’t want to make your way down the aisle in soaking wet 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 going 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 tent over it), 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 playing as the guests sat down (and we all wondered how we would hear the vows). Then the most amazing thing happened: just as the ceremony began, 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, in fact. Even though her train was soaked and her hair frizzy, the bride was beaming with inner happiness (and at least her wedding jewelry was dry and fabulous!).
So if the weatherman is predicting 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!
