Wedding: 2 months out.

Bride: loves all things green.

Goal: fairytale wedding.

I met the engaged pair at the beautiful park that was set to be the location for their celebration. The reception would be held at a hall that was a short distance away. As a wedding planner, it’s my job to take on all the possibilities, to look at all the ‘what ifs’ from every angle that could occur on a day as memorable as this.

Having a plan B is more than a good idea for a day that will be a landmark in the personal history of the soon to be wed. What if it rains? The bride’s dream of a fairytale outdoor wedding would literally be washed away. A very real possibility since we are in the unpredictable midwest United States.

During the catering tasting, I asked the couple about the possibility of unfavorable weather, should that happen, where would the wedding take place? The two looked at each other with hesitation and said they had not considered that. Thinking preemptively, I asked the owner of the reception venue if they could do the ceremony there as well in the event of inclement weather. She said yes. What a relief! Of course, no one thought we would need it, but I felt reassured.

In life, not every storm is in the forecast, on the day of the wedding, however, rain was predicted. Isn’t it said to be good luck, a little rain on the wedding day? True or not, rain at an outdoor wedding was not going to make anyone happy.

The morning of the wedding, my assistant and I headed out early, watching the skies grow darker and darker during the forty-minute drive. It was not raining there yet according to my go-to person from the wedding party (it’s a wise investment for every wedding planner to have a contact, someone involved with the wedding that of course, is not one of the ones getting married). I received about a dozen phone calls before arriving at the reception venue, that the couple wanted to wait and see.

During the decorating at the venue, is when it started to pour. I made my way over to the park where the ceremony was to take place. The bride, as gorgeous as she was, wanted to call the whole thing off out of frustration. Guests were arriving dressed to the nines. Suits, dresses, heels, absolute beauty. What a shame it would be for the weather to ruin a scene as serene as this.

I called the owner of the reception hall who graciously agreed to host the ceremony with half an hour of lead time, not all heroes wear capes (I’m not so sure she would have done this if we did not discuss ahead of time). We announced to the guests that we would be moving the wedding indoors twenty minutes away at the reception hall and asked for some time to prepare. Thankfully they met our request with patience and understanding. It was a collective effort to get the bride to understand that her special day was still going to happen. The indoor location ended up looking a lot like it would have outdoors.

By the time the fairytale reached happily ever after, bird seed was being tossed behind the newlyweds as they drove off in a corvette.

Rain or shine, the show must go on. So yes, always have a plan B (and it doesn’t hurt to hire a wedding planner!)

This is a guest post from Ruth Kutschke and Genevieve Rose. Ruth has been providing personalized planning and design services for weddings and events for more than 10 years. Ruth is the owner and lead planner at The Planning Place Events Company based in Orland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Some of her personal loves are design, painting, chalk art, gardening, and non-profit volunteer work.