Getting married in the mountains has its benefits, from sweeping views of towering peaks to low humidity to friendly locals, but it has its fair share of challenges, too. The biggest of all? The weather. Locals often say that if you don’t like the weather, you should wait ten minutes, but that’s a lot to ask of a bride about to head down the aisle — and those blizzards never seem to blow over as quickly as you hope they will. Here are a few tips to make sure you’re prepared for whatever type of mountain weather Mother Nature throws at you.

Colder Temperatures

Whether you’ve chosen a cooler month or the mercury’s dropping by surprise, combating cold temperatures is fairly easy. If any part of your wedding will be outdoors, check with your venue or rental company to see if they have heat lamps available. A few scattered between cocktail tables will make a world of difference. If your guests will be sitting outside for your ceremony, pick up wool or faux fur blankets and drape them across the chairs to encourage guests to snuggle up. You can also rent shawls and other fashion items.  Worried you’ll be chilly in your wedding gown? A faux fur capelet  or cape will keep your shoulders cozy, while a thick pair of tights or leggings will do wonders for your legs.

Rain

Every outdoor wedding should have a rain plan, whether it’s deciding to put up that tent you reserved or moving everything to your venue’s indoor space. But what happens if you decide to stick with your outdoor plan and you wind up caught in a drizzle? First, make sure to check the weather the morning of your wedding. If there’s a chance of rain, have umbrellas on-hand and ready to be passed around. Hint you can buy these or rent hem. Then just roll with it! Open a few up mid-ceremony, then get close to your spouse-to-be and do your best to stay dry. If it starts to rain harder, you’ve got two choices: Keep going, or pause the ceremony, move everyone inside, and pick up where you left off. Don’t worry about us. We always come prepared for a downpour. 

Snow

When it comes to dealing with mountain weather on your wedding day, snow presents some of the biggest challenges. A light dusting can be incredibly romantic, but if the snow starts early and shows no signs of letting up, it could put your plans on hold. Let your guests know in advance to give themselves plenty of travel time if snow is in the forecast, and encourage them to drive slowly (especially if they’re not used to driving in a wintery mix). A little extra candlelight will make your celebration perfectly cozy as the flakes fall. Always have an inside option. We know this isn’t ideal if you were hoping for the perfect outdoor snowy wedding but no one wants to stand outside in negative tempertures and a blizzard. 

1st Look

Want those pretty photos outside? Of course you do, isn’t that why you are getting married in the mountains? 1st look accomplishes more than just getting photos done early. It give you one more shot at getting photos outside if the rain or snow is rolling through that day. I usually recommend doing photos at 1st look so you can enjoy your cocktail hour or it can be rain backup, then I sneak you out for sunset photos if we can. 

Check my Phone

Okay it doesn’t have to be my phone by I have a handy app called My Radar that is actually pretty great at showing where the weather is. I have been able to predict within 5 minutes when it will stop raining based on that app and I am no weather person. Being able to see the radar on your wedding day will help you make the appropriate call for your exact location. Yay technology!

Switch your Cocktail hour

Sure this wasn’t the plan, but switching your cocktail hour with your ceremony isn’t the worst idea ever. This is always dependant of your venue and bar partner, but if it’s pouring and you don’t want to put your event behind switch them up and wait it out. It’ll give you an hour and if you do get lucky enough to have it outside there will be lots of cheering to be had.