Alright everyone. It’s almost here. Gulp.
(Gif via James van der Memes)
First, since we’re close enough, let’s take a look at the forecast:
Ah, the weather. Is it just me or does everyone worry about the weather on their wedding day? There were a few factors that went into our choice of an April wedding. First, we didn’t want too long of an engagement. Sixteen months has been plenty of time—anything longer would’ve made me too impatient. Also, I really desperately want peonies. That meant April or May. Lastly, the weather was very important for us to consider because I pass out when I get too hot. As in eyes roll back, fully faint, on the ground pass out. So summer months were out. With fall out because of a long engagement, summer out because of the heat, and a desire for peonies—spring it was.
Image via Diana Elizabeth blog / Photo by Diana Elizabeth
Then comes one of those weird quirks that some people (no, just me?) have…I really don’t like odd numbers. Exception: 23. But being married in 2013 was enough odd numbers for me, so we (okay, I mostly) decided on April instead of May. After that, it was easy—it would either be the sixth or the 20th, because we wanted a Saturday wedding.
Now, the sixth is special to us. Mr. O’s birthday is June 6th, mine is December 6th. We started dating in June. But I wanted to set our wedding apart from these other dates, so the 20th it was.
I know I’m sort of rounding the last lap on the way to my wedding date, and at less than three months away is sort of an odd time to talk about saving money (as most of the big bills are coming up), but alas I was prompted by the weather so I’m going to go with it.
This past weekend Minnesota had a nice-sized snowfall. The photo below was taken at the MSP airport where lots of flights were cancelled due to severe weather conditions. I guess it snowed like 10-12 inches around the Twin Cities and close to 16 in other areas up north.
image via Kare11.com
Now there is nothing weird about this. It snows quite a bit during the wintertime in Minnesota. And you’re only a true Minnesotan if you’ve driven at NIGHT in a BLIZZARD by YOURSELF in what I like to call my “near death experience.” This is much like the theory that you’re not a true Chicagoan until you’ve had your car broken into (twice myself and most recently MOH/Sister Big Eyes was also initiated into Chicago the same weekend as my Hen Do even though she doesn’t live here). The snowiest months for Minnesota are usually December to March.
What does this have to do with saving money you ask? I’m saving a pretty large chunk of money by hosting a rather large event (AKA our wedding) in early March (one of the previously mentioned snowy months). It’s actually a really good deal, and a deal that wasn’t available just few weeks later in April. You know how hotels and other wedding venues charge for everything per head? We are getting ten dollars off per person which is HUGE if you’re inviting 150+ people.
It might be because I am a little over-caffeinated this morning (note to self: two cups of coffee before 8:00am is always too much!), but I had the song “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof running through my head this morning. (You won’t believe how random my mental playlist can be…I always wake up with the strangest songs stuck in my head. I chalk it up to exciting dreams 
) If you’ve seen Fiddler on the Roof, you might remember the beautiful scene with the marriage procession, and the dramatic song that accompanies it:
So let’s talk about planning an outdoor wedding around the timing of sunset. Mr. Wallaby and I love to dance, and we have both always envisioned having a night wedding—so we wanted our outdoor reception to begin as the sun was going down. It takes some careful planning, though, to coordinate the wedding-day festivities with the sun’s schedule.
I had to work really hard to find an extended forecast for Brockville. I’m pretty sure that the one I found may not even be from any kind of reputable source (and I know that there’s really no way anyone can predict weather that far in advance).
Still, I found a 30 day forecast! I waited not-so-patiently for our wedding day to show up…and here we were, the day it rolled over:
Clouds breaking for some sun, high of 20*C (68*F)—not too bad!
Except now it’s saying a 55% chance of rain, and a high of 17*C. So I’m back to not-so-patiently waiting for the Weather Network to roll out its own extended forecast, and you better believe I’ll be stalking Environment Canada when we get close enough to the date.
I refuse to recognize it by name right now. I am trying as hard as possible to dance around it, but I now know it is a possibility. As of right now, the weather is saying 30% chance of showers with possible thunderstorms. Now, the good part is that it is a high of 72 degrees. Not too hot, not too cold. But the ’R’ word…seriously?!
I have had a few people give me some comfort. Bridesmaid C said that 30% precipitation is for that entire area, not necessarily that exact spot. We may not even see a cloud in the sky.
Mom Doe said that most regional weather reports predict there will be precipitation. However, the local channels are predicting that it is going to be clear.
I am not sure if they are just trying to make me feel better, or if that is true. I am hoping for the latter.
Remember this post I wrote about a while back where I discussed our back-up option? Everyone agreed the back up option is just as gorgeous. It truly is, but of course, we want the wedding outside, if at all possible.
At the end of that post I said:
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I check weather.com religiously, but not so much for our wedding day as I do just to see what my week in traffic will be like due to the weather. Today, with the fear that Hurricane Ike will be hitting the Texas Gulf Coast, I have been checking the weather a little more often to stay up to date.
(image from here)
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About a month ago, I woke up out of a dead sleep, startled at what my mind had thought of unconsciously. To make sure I didn’t forget by morning, I ran to my desk in the dark, scribbled the word onto a blank piece of paper, and fell back into bed. The next morning when I went to turn my computer on, I saw the word that had woken me up 6 hours earlier- FIRE.
Panic started to creep its way back into my nerves. We are having our wedding in an area known for wildfires. Why didn’t that cross my mind before? What would we do if that happened? What would our guests do? And what about my grandparents- would they be ok? A million questions started racing through my mind- and once again- different venues started popping into my mind just in case. NO, NO, NO! Not venues again! Anything but venues.
To convince myself I was fretting for no reason, I “Googled” fires in that region… and oh that didn’t help. Because almost all the fires listed occurred in the month of October. October?!! No!! And if that wasn’t enough- they came with pictures like this to make me feel better.
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I’m weather stalking Breckenridge! I know it seems a little soon to start the weather stalking process, but I am!
Even though Colorado’s climate is dry-as-a-bone, it threatens to storm or rain everyday on cue around 4:00! I kid you not! Breckenridge boasts 300 day of sunshine, but afternoon thunderstorms are common. We chose the location because of the picturesque view of the Ten Mile Range, and although I have been assured by the venue that only two ceremonies last year had to go into Plan B action, it’s still a little concerning. Especially when, at a recent party that Mr. Cookie and I attended, I met a bride whose September wedding was interrupted by SNOW! EEK!
Since we started planning the wedding, I have been dreaming of an outdoor ceremony. I pictured fresh wild flowers, white chairs on a lush green lawn and a day with a soft warm sun. I even checked the historical forecast data and in the past 7 years, it has only really rained once on our day.
As of two weeks ago (once The Weather Network started offering June 28 as part of their 14 day forecast), I have been checking The Weather Network daily to see what they are predicting for us come Saturday.
First, it was going to rain. Then it was supposed to be sunny and warm. Then it was going to rain again. Then it was going to be hot. And currently . . .
We’re back to rain. Boo-urns! I was thinking about buying a kicky umbrella (ella, ella) or something, but my sister-in-law said that buying one was like accepting it and condemning ourselves to rain. I’ve got three days left so I’ve got to decide soon. What say you hive? Umbrella or no umbrella?
Hello hive! I apologize for my recent silence – it’s not that I’ve ceased to exist, but well, my wedding is in NINE DAYS and I am fah-REAKING out. I’m sure everyone experiences the irony where work is slow for 8 months and then BAM it picks up like CRAZY the two weeks before the wedding? Well, I’m in the midst of it now, but I’m blowing off that craziness next week to get ready for the wedding, so hopefully that means I’ll have more time to post.
I just had to throw in this brief post right now because something big has occured, and I couldn’t think of a better place to vent. What could be so big?? Well, the ten day forecast is now out to include May 31st:
Good News: There is just over a week until our wedding, which means we are clear into 10-day forecast range.Bad News:
One thing that most brides hope for on their wedding day is good weather. I am no exception — I want a beautiful, sunny, lightly breezy day that will allow us to take pictures outside and allow our guests to not get soaked as they journey from our ceremony to our reception.
Of course, I can’t predict what the weather will be like on our wedding day, especially 5 months in advance, so I’m preparing myself for rain in the event that our day isn’t dry after all. I guess I can handle a rainy wedding day, as long as it means some cute photo ops:
I’m already stalking the weather for September. And it looks like it should be grrrreat!
How can I tell? Well, I managed to hunt down historical trends for weather information via Weather.com. This chart has a little bit o’ everything:
Some of you may remember, the week (okay, 10 days to be exact) leading up to my wedding were full of worry. When we began looking at venues we had discussed the possibility of rain. Each time I brought it up, vendors would laugh at such a preposterous thought–”It never rains in Palm Springs. It’s the desert, you know!”
Well, at 10 days prior to the event, the forecast showed a 60% chance of rain. Every morning I dutifully turned on the computer to see what weather.com had to offer (as I became desperate, the ritual expanded to two other sites: msnweather & accuweather). Each day it fluctuated (anywhere between 20% and 70% chance of showers). What became obvious was that we did need to create a contingency plan.
A few days before the event (and between mild fits of hysteria… okay, that’s a bit dramatic but I will confess that some tears were involved), we decided to have the wedding tented. We’d have to have a tent over the ceremony as well as one for the reception. Originally, I was devastated–this wasn’t at all what I had envisioned in my countless daydreams! Fortunately, with the help of my extremely dedicated (and patient!) vendors, they helped create an atmosphere that even made it look like we’d intended to have tents.
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