The Weather Plan Nobody Wants to Make
An outdoor wedding needs an indoor version that you would actually be happy with, decided months in advance and not on the morning.
Decide the Trigger, Not Just the Plan
The mistake is having a wet-weather option but no rule for when to use it. Somebody ends up making the call at nine in the morning while getting ready, with everyone offering opinions. Agree in advance who decides, at what time, and on what basis, and hand that job to somebody who is not getting married.
A useful version: the coordinator checks the forecast at 8am, and if there is more than a 40% chance of rain during the ceremony window, the ceremony moves inside. No discussion, no relitigating it at eleven.
Read the Right Forecast
A phone weather widget is an average across a wide area and it is close to useless in hilly country. The National Weather Service point forecast lets you drop a pin on the actual field and gives you hourly probability, which is what you need for a three-hour window rather than a whole day.
Wind matters more than rain for a marquee, and almost nobody checks it. Ask your marquee supplier what wind speed they de-rig at, then watch that number in the week before.
The Underrated Fixes
Umbrellas in bulk, in one colour, cost very little and change every photograph of a wet wedding from a disaster into a feature. Cheap ones are fine; matching ones look deliberate.
Ground protection is the other one. A field that has taken rain will not take heels, and matting laid the day before is far cheaper than a marquee floor that has to be relaid.
