Donnna Coulon
- Apr 6, 2021
- 3 min read

Cloudy Day Bridals & Why Rain Doesn’t Have to Ruin Your Bridal Session

Bridal sessions often revolve around the calendar; when the bridal gown arrives, how soon alterations are finished, what days your stylist has available, if your flowers are in season and your florist is free, when the photographer has an opening, etc. There are so many moving parts when it comes to organizing a bridal session and vendor availability often dictates when and where sessions take place.

We encourage brides to avoid selecting their location merely for convenience rather than with intention, especially since it’s too far in advance to predict the weather, especially in south Louisiana. If finding a date wasn’t difficult enough the first go around, making the mistake of choosing a location without a built-in plan B for inclement weather could force you into having to find an alternative date, only the second time around you’ll have less time to maneuver schedules. No bride needs that sort of stress so close to their wedding!

Rain or Shine Bridals

When deciding on your location, consider researching places that offer an indoor option. The one you ultimately choose shouldn’t just have an indoor option, but an indoor option you love and are inspired by. Most indoor bridal venues also have stunning outdoor options as well. On a good weather day, having both options will give you a great variety for your bridal gallery. If the weather is less than ideal, your backup plan is built-in and ready to go!

Choosing Outdoor Only Locations

As I write this from a photographer’s standpoint, I can hear my inner younger “bride” voice screaming - “NO THANK YOU!” When I was planning my own bridals, my heart was set on a very specific outdoor location and I had no intention of compromising that vision. Believe me, I understand that mindset - so I don’t want you, reading up to this point, to interpret what you’ve read as “hey, you should settle for plan B if the weather isn’t cooperating.” I would never advise anyone to settle, however, I would advise to expect the best but to plan for the worst, while keeping expectations realistic.

Not compromising your location could mean compromising in other ways; for example, vendors not being available for a last-minute reshoot or worse, the next available date leaves you incredibly pressed for time in terms of having your images printed! The best advice for avoiding these situations is to:

Make sure you purchase and alter your wedding gown as quickly as possible.
Schedule your bridal session early enough to supply a few months of wiggle room.
If your session is postponed, the additional time is essential to re-coordinate vendors and re-shoot and still have your photos returned in time to pick and print your favorites!

Clouds are No Reason to Cancel!

Seeing a cloudy forecast the day of your bridals is no reason to panic. While you’d think a bright sunny day is the perfect weather for a bridal session, clouds are actually a photographer's best friend. In this industry, I’ve spent so much time and money finding the perfect solutions for diffusing light, trying to accomplish the same beautiful results that clouds create naturally! An overcast day eliminates harsh shadows created by the sun and allows us to more freely shoot outdoors, in wide-open, unshaded areas, without having the sun dictate what directions we can and can’t photograph.

The Key to the Perfect Bridal Session

Planning ahead is the solution to bridal portrait perfection. Some of my favorite bridal portraits were photographed on cloudy or rainy days in spite of the weather because the bride had made a workable plan B. In fact, all of the above photos in this blog were taken in St. Francisville, Louisiana on an extremely overcast day. In fact, it drizzled for a large portion of the session and the sun only peered out as we were on the return trip home, so we pulled over into a cane field to accomplish just a few quick snaps as the sun set.