The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Dolly Parton
When I checked weather.com before the wedding day it said there was a zero percent chance of rain. I tend to be a bit obsessive about checking the weather on wedding days because it can throw crazy monkey wrenches into my plans. I met up with the Bride & the bridesmaids as they were getting their hair & makeup done. It was just gorgeous outside & we were all just enjoying the afternoon together. Then, I decided to get out my iphone and check the radar & saw a mass of red heading towards us. I was like “What?!?!?! It’s a zero percent chance of rain day…this can’t be!” I knew that the wedding was an outdoor wedding, so I had a groomsmen take a big pile of towels from the house to the ceremony site “just in case.” I told Sarah that we should probably start getting dressed to make sure we had plenty of time for photos. A bloody nose slowed things down a bit (the craziest things happen on a wedding day!) & when we walked outside onto the golf course, lightning struck down behind us. I was thinking…great. Now what? Sarah remained so calm through it all! I snapped a few photos & we ran back inside. I looked at the radar & it looked like there was going to be a break right around the ceremony start time.
When I asked Sarah what her funniest moment of the day was she said “The funniest moment was when all of us girl where on the porch taking pictures and Kellie was in the midst of tornadic winds with an umbrella clenched under her chin and saying “It’s okay! It’s all going to clear by the time the ceremony starts!” I was just thinking “Yeeeah right!”
I was trying to summon my inner trapeze artist and balance a camera & umbrella & try not to look like a wet dog when we were done. The winds were crazy scary and the sky was black…it was nuts!
Before the ceremony, the rain stopped & there was a gorgeous double rainbow. They decided to go ahead and have the ceremony outside. I looked at my trusty radar again & knew that there would be a break around the ceremony start time but that more was on its way. WIll & I grabbed towels and helped dry chairs & waited to get the guests to their places. Well, that all took longer than expected & by the time that Sarah walked down the aisle, it was raining again. Thankfully we were under trees, but we were all getting rained on. It was definitely a memorable…and very short…wedding!!
We ran back to the country club and dried off & then the sun came back out and there was a gorgeous rainbow again! I asked Sarah “Who is lucky enough to get rainbows on their wedding day?” She said “Someone who had to endure rain during their ceremony!!” Very true!! She was such a great sport about everything that day & was rewarded with a gorgeous sky filled with a rainbow. It was definitely a wedding day that I will never forget!
Here’s a bit of info that Chris & Sarah shared from their day!
Hair: Ashley Birge from Escape Salon and Spa, Danville, IL
Florist: Blossom Basket, Urbana, IL
Ceremony & Reception: Urbana Country Club
Cake: Cakes by Lori at Hawthorn Suites, Champaign, IL
Dress–Essense of Australia; Michelle’s Bridal: Urbana, IL
Tuxes: Michelle’s Bridal: Urbana, IL
Musicians: Leila Ramagopal of Champaign, IL
DJ: Star Talent Events
First dance song– At Last by Etta James
What will you remember the most from your wedding day? We will never forget how quickly the ceremony went! When it started raining our officiant kept saying “I’m going to just skip this part…and this part…and this part…” The whole thing lasted a good 5 minutes!
What was your favorite detail from your wedding day? There were so many planned details meant for that day, but the most memorable one was totally unexpected and completely out of my control. I had never seen such beautiful rainbows before! From now on, every time see a rainbow I will think of the day I married my best friend.
Any advice you would give to future brides and grooms? Brides: Breathe, smile, and let go! Grooms: Learn to give your bride bear-hugs; she’s going to need one at least twice a day about month before your big day (that’s when the tiny details start taking over her life).
Would you change anything if you did it all over again? Absolutely not! We had an amazing day, crazy weather and all.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went to Riviera Maya, Mexico and stayed at the Secrets Capri resort.
Anything else you’d like to include on the blog post from your day? Thank you to Kellie and Will! You both did an awesome job moving things along and letting us just be us! Our day was so full of love and we thank you so much for being part of it.
Chris & Sarah…we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of your day!! Enjoy your sneak peek slideshow! xoxo!!
Kelly – That rainbow picture is amazing. What a fabulous opportunity for a shot!!