Wedding Wednesday: Hurricanes Hardly Happen

Sandy, the epic hurricane that battered the East Coast earlier this week, didn't do much to us.  Our garden is flooded and there are a few branches on the ground, but we never lost power or were truly freaked out by the elements.  (I guess that someone decided we needed a break after the summer derecho...) My heart and prayers go out to everyone who was seriously affected by the storm, but I do have to admit that, at least on our little patch of land, things don't look too different from Jon's parents' house/yard after a few normal gross English spring days.

So, yesterday, I thought about that - and then Dad and I started singing and one thing led to another and wham I had a blog post!

(If you're curious, the song was The Rain in Spain from My Fair Lady and the lightbulb line was "in Hartford, Hereford, or Hampshire / hurricanes hardly happen.")

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Let's review the facts:

1. I am getting married in Suffolk.
2. The average for August in East Anglia is 8.3 days and 55.8mm of rain.
3. Central England has recorded the following levels of rainfall on annually on Aug. 24:

Technically, August is one of the driest months in England.  However, from the above information, I think it's safe to assume that we have a good chance of gray skies at the very least on our wedding day.  So let's talk about contingency plans!

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Our wedding is primarily indoors, so we actually won't be too affected even if it ends up bucketing down.  We are hoping to have our cocktail hour outside in a courtyard; if it's just cloudy or threatening, we should be fine.  A marquee (or, in American, a tent) to cover the space isn't an option if we want to stay within budget (unless someone feels like giving us a spare £400 - anyone?) so if it does really rain we'll have to stay inside.  There's enough space in the Brusiyard Hall Barn that, if we rearrange things, the cocktail bit of the reception can be accommodated inside - at least, I hope there is!

We will have to seriously rethink how we'll do our photos, though.  Our venue is stunning and the grounds are beautiful, too, so we were planning on doing most of the portraiture and family shots outside.  But I have total faith that Tarah will come up with a ton of creative ideas if that doesn't work out.  There are bits of the Hall from each of the last five centuries, each with their own character and charm, so I know we'll get some great pictures even if we have to be primarily indoors.  And if we insist on a few shots in the rain?  Well, that's what wellies and umbrellas are for!

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I've heard good things about this umbrella-hire company, so it might be worth looking into that just to get our guests into the barn intact.  But other than that, rain isn't the worst thing - I bet we'll have tons of fun staying dry inside!  Actually, now that I think about it, eating and drinking and dancing and making merry in a warm, twinkling, timbered barn bedecked with flowers and greenery sounds lovely.  Bring it on, England!