Rained Out Wedding in South Haven

This rainy wedding goes down as the rainiest wedding I have ever photographed outside… possibly the rainiest wedding I’ve ever photographed, period. It also is one of my favorites. Rain on your wedding day is so hard to come to terms with, especially when your entire day is outside, which was the case for Roman and Izzie. All week the forecast was gorgeous, warm and partially cloudy and then two days before the wedding everything changed. As does the weather in Michigan.

Izzie and I had already been texting back and forth but I finally called her to talk through some rain location options. And there were none. We were at Off Map Glamping which is this beautiful luxury camping experience. They have a small outbuilding which would host desserts and Clique Coffee Catering for this wedding, the ceremony in a wooded clearing, and this dome structure which operated as the bridal suite/getting ready area.

Let me lay this out differently from a wedding photographers view. Everything is outside and we have 100% chance of massive rain 100% of the time, and they have a very large bridal party and immediate family. As a photographer, it doesn’t get a whole lot more interesting than this. But if this was going to happen to anyone, Roman and Izzie were the couple to see the beauty in it and ride out the storm with a smile.

DIY Rain Covering

I thought if only there was a clear huge tarp that we could hang up between some trees, then we could do photos that still have an outdoor feel but everyone could stay relatively dry. And guess what, it’s totally a thing and because we live in a world with Amazon in it, it could be here the day before the wedding. I sent a link to these massive clear tarps to Izzie and said, “how do you feel about buying one of these for photos?” and she replied, “Oh we are going to buy more than one”.

An engineer friend of theirs arrived early and roped all these tarps together and hung them in the trees at an angle so the rain could roll off and it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Others laid out wood and other materials to create bridges over puddles and keep footwear from getting too muddy under the covered area. I arrived not really sure what we were in for and to see all these people make this happen for Roman and Izzie was so cool and what could’ve been really difficult became not only exciting but added this beautiful whimsy to the entire day.

First Look in the Rain

Roman and Izzie are the most intentional and sentimental people I’ve ever met and there isn’t a blog long enough to capture all of the incredible ways they incorporated little details throughout their wedding day that honored their love for one another, their family, and friends. But I will try to share a few of my favorites. Izzie got ready with her mom and twin sister. Her veil was handmade by her grandma and trimmed in this beautiful white satin. Izzie had multiple first looks; with her 16 bridesmaids, her grandmas, her dad, and then Roman.

The rain came as planned and I walked with Izzie to our woodland rain tarp location so Roman could see his bride for the first time in her wedding dress. The rain fell against the tarp creating the most beautiful sound and everything was peaceful and something from a Jane Austen novel. On his inside jacket pocket, Roman had their wedding day embroidered with the phrase “It will be good”, which is something they say often. Izzie gave Roman a journal full of years of prayers for her husband before she knew Roman and then while they dated. After their first look and a time of prayer we moved into their bridal portraits.

Rain, Portraits, and the Flu

It was around this time I started to feel VERY ill. I had photographed another wedding the day before and wasn’t myself, woke up for this wedding quite groggy, but then realized during their first look that I was for sure running a fever and I had the entire wedding day left to photograph. I quietly asked for my Matt, my second photographer and husband, to get me some meds and just pressed on.

Half way through bridal party portraits I completely lost my voice, half because of having the flu and half because I was yelling instructions over the storm. You guys, you cannot make this stuff up. With Matt’s help with translation and helping pose the bridal party of 34 people in a narrow area, we made it through the bulk of portraits and got Izzie into hiding before the ceremony.

Married in the Rain at Off Map Glamping

All the guests arrived in raincoats, carrying umbrellas. Music was playing and puddles were forming at our feet from cracks in our makeshift clear roof. The flower girls came through tossing dried petals saved from every bouquet Roman had given Izzie. And with the unpaid music of rain on the tarp, Izzie walked in on her dad’s arm. Izzies dad, Scott, escorted her down the aisle, guiding her around the puddles of mud to the song “It’s been a long, long time” and there were few dry eyes. Even Matt and I looked at each other and were misty. Well he was misty… I was way too emotional to admit publicly.

Their ceremony was beautiful and simply elegant, often interrupted with the dumping of the rain pools on the tarp. On either side stood a close sibling in support while Roman and Izzie stacked a stones like a cairn. We laughed, teared up, sang songs during a time of worship, and cheered SO LOUD when these two were introduced as Mr and Mrs Brandon!

Pizza Reception

Everyone worked beautifully together to flip the tarp covered ceremony into a twinkle light lit reception. Guests sat in long table rows that were adorned in repurposed flowers and candles. As the bridal party was introduced, they delivered hot pizzas to all the tables as they made their way to their seats and we welcomed the new Mr and Mrs Brandon!

After dinner we had a quick 30 minute break in the rain where we were able to do more portraits of Roman and Izzie and also some really fun high energy photos with the bridal party. SO MUCH FUN! My voice was a soft squeak by this time and I was running on pure adrenaline. We ended the night dancing in the rain, with bare feet, muddy hems, and I seriously couldn’t have imagined the rainiest day ever would be so much fun.

Roman and Izzie could have easily dwelled in disappointment at their rainy wedding day but instead they embraced it, adapted plans to work with it, and loved it. I still look back on this day with such fondness, but also so inspired by this young couple. Roman and Izzie, you two are a beautiful book to be written, thank you for trusting me to capture your stunning wedding day, rain and all.