Outside ceremony brides… please pay attention:
Make sure that you visit your wedding site before your ceremony at the same time of day as your wedding at least a week if not two weeks in advance!!
Our rehearsal was at 3:00pm on the Friday before the wedding because there was another event going on at the fort that needed to set up by 4:15pm. When we arrived and went to our ceremony location, the wind was UN REAL! The site coordinator had told us that the winds pick up around 1:00pm and die around 5:00pm, the time of our ceremony, so I was expecting a pretty stiff breeze, but NOTHING like this:
Unfortunately, I had prepared backup for every possible weather scenario…except for gale-force wind. I was pretty stressed through the entire rehearsal because the gusts were so loud, you couldn’t even hear, and all I could think about was how awful the wedding ceremony was going to be the next day if it was as windy as it was during the rehearsal.
I felt awful because the people there at the rehearsal were all aware of my foul mood and all I could focus on was was how hard I had planned to have the perfect wedding, and how it was all going to be ruined by the wind. It sounds so stupid now that I write that down 6 weeks after the fact, but in the interest of honesty, I will admit, I was a very high-strung rehearsal bride.
Fortunately, just before getting into the van to go to the first of our two rehearsal dinners, my sister (also our minister) took me aside and urged me to ‘let it go’. I started crying and explained to her that I just didn’t want people to be upset with me or angry or hate the wedding because it was so out-of-control windy. Mr. Corn’s brother and sister-in-law were standing nearby and they overheard me and assured me that my concern was the silliest thing they had ever heard of. Along with my sister, they reiterated that we were not only feeding people lobster, but giving them a clambake, an open bar and free entertainment and that if anyone didn’t like that, then they were idiots.
That talk calmed me down 80% but I was still a bit frazzled when we finally got to our first rehearsal dinner destination. Fortunately (albeit, a bit sadly), all it took was one drink at dinner and from that point on I was filled with more joy and contentment than I ever imagined possible.
In fact, I was so blissful that even though moments like this happened during most of the ceremony…
…I loved every moment of it!!
Even if the wind was a problem, that last picture you posted is gorgeous! You should convert it to black and white and pump up the contrast a little. It would look like an art print. 
Wow — that is some serious wind. Who would have thought?! There is no back up plan for wind. Looks like it was beautiful though…now I can’t wait for more pictures!
OMG I just got teary eyed reading this!
I so can understand how you felt!
I’m glad you felt better about it in the end.
My sister and I didn’t realized this until a day before her beach wedding too! We walked outside and made sure to stand exactly where she would be at the exact time to see if it was windy and where the sun was going to be so that she could see her hubs! We ended up changing the direction so the audience would have their faces in the sun and she wouldn’t!
We decided it was more important that her and her husband see and hear each other than anyone else on that day!
Glad you have great people surrounding you to make you feel better that day!
At least the veil blowing in the wind made for great pictures, I think!
My friend had the exact same issue for her rehearsal and wedding day. At one point during the ceremony, you could just see it in her fact she just wanted to rip off her veil.
That’s awesome you kept your cool and focused on the wedding instead of the wind! Congrats!
Great post, Mrs. Corn. And I know what you mean about gale force winds. All during our ceremony the wind was kickin’. I figured this might be an issue, but insisted on wearing my hair down with a veil anyway. I look pretty ridiculous in a lot of our ceremony pictures, but I loved getting married outside and did get some of those arty veil shots. Sure, we’re still photoshopping hair out of my face here and there, but c’est la vie. I can’t wait to see more of your pics.
aww great attitude turnaround mrs corn! I think i’d be a pretty ticked off bride too! i mean, come on!! you’ve spent all this time planning the perfect day… who seriously would have thought of WIND!! =Þ i’m so happy that you were able to enjoy your wedding day. =) =)
It was windy at my ceremony too but not quite that strong! I love how the fabric is billowing around the pergola and I swear I heard a giggle when I repositioned my veil during the ceremony. I was glad I had opted for an updo!
What I didn’t predict… our ceremony started late because our guests were late getting seated, and the sun had shifted position in the sky… when I looked at the crowd, all I saw were programs held aloft. I was squinting at my groom the whole time.
[...] was still feeling a bit stressed from the wind when we got there so it didn’t help that we were seated outside on the deck at two separate [...]
I had the exact same issue at my outdoors rehearsal and reception a couple weeks ago! (Strangely enough, there was almost no wind at all for the ceremony.) At the rehearsal, we scrambled to find a solution and ended up moving the reception to a different spot on the same property that was somewhat more sheltered. The coordinator said that a tent would have blown over, so that was all we could do. Even then, most people ended up leaving after they had cake because it was so windy and cold. Despite this unexpected change in the weather, which only lasted that weekend, it was a thrill to see all our family and friends and to celebrate our marriage with them. Congrats to you!
[...] it was so windy, the escort card display had to be set up very close to side of the tent instead of at the [...]
Mrs. Corn, Newport, RI
Age and Occupation in '07: 31, HR for public accounting firm
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Consultant for public accounting firm
Engagement Date: October 7, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2007
Blogging Since: June 1, 2007
Venue: North Lawn of Fort Adams State Park
About Me: I am a lazy scrapbooker who loves the instant gratification of making cards and I am very easily distracted by all things shiny. In honor of my childhood nights spent hibachi BBQing on the beach with my family, we are hosting a traditional New England Clambake for our reception.
That’s the best part about marrying the man you love…you realize that everything else just isn’t as important.
Of course, that didn’t stop my guy from freaking out on our wedding day. We had an agreement (because I was starting to get wedding crazy). I could stress about the wedding as much as I wanted to before hand, but I was to let everything go on the day-of. He in turn, would be my anchor and then he could worry about the actual day.
When it started raining I was as cool as a cuke. No big deal; I was getting married anyway. But he was so worried about it ruining my perfect day that he had to be calmed down. Then when he got to the site, he realized that the day was perfect already because we were getting married.