When I ask wedding couples what their main worries are about their wedding day a pretty common answer is that they are worried in case it rains. Of course there’s not much we can do to change this - in the UK, whatever time of year we choose to get married, there’s no guarantee of a rain free day. One of the reasons given for being worried it that they don’t want to have their photos spoilt. After doing a pretty wet wedding recently I thought it might be comforting for some to share my thoughts (and pics!).

A bit of context. Elisha & Philip’s wedding was held when there were still Covid restrictions in place limiting the number of guests and also allowing only outdoor dining. They got married at Morpeth Town Hall in Northumberland and I had been booked to provide 2 hours of wedding photo coverage.

I arrived a bit before the ceremony time to a bright day (although the forecast had hinted this might not last too long!). I got some shots of the groom arriving at Morpeth Town Hall and then of the bride as she arrived.

Although photography during the short ceremony was more limited than usual (I was restricted to sitting in one seat at the back during the ceremony), the room is a gorgeous room to get married in and we managed to capture the lovely ceremony just fine.

There was then a plan to walk to the nearby Carlisle Park for family photos before heading to the beach at Druridge with Elisha and Philip to get some photos there.

A lovely walk to the park followed with some more formal family groups shots as the sky darkened. Elisha had already decided that as is was getting a little chilly we should scrap the beach idea. I therefore needed to get as many photos as possible in the park. As we finished the group photos a few spots of rain (or was it hail?!) started to fall.The rate of fall rapidly increased as we headed for some trees and broke out the brolly.

Elisha and Philip were great sports and we had quite a laugh photographing them in ever increasing rainfall. My pro gear is weatherproof but that doesn’t stop rain spots on the lens and things steaming up so after getting some great shots we had to abandon the park.

Off to the north I was sure I could see some lighter sky so I suggested that we make the drive to the beach (about 20 mins) in the hope things were better there. Good on them for agreeing!

The drive there was surreal. Pouring rain, sleet and hail, black skies and flooding roads. And we were going there to take photos! On arrival it wasn’t much better but after 10 minutes sat in the car the sky brightened and the rain eased. I broke out my white brollies and we took out chances and headed down to the dunes. Amazingly, 5 more minutes and the rain stopped completely, the sun broke through the clouds blessing us the the most gorgeous light and then….