Warren writes articles for and is also the Wedding Photographer Expert on www.women24.com

Okay, so you’ve been at it for months, preparing the absolutely perfect wedding day. The venue is perfect, his mother has stayed away from the dodgy hat she was going to wear, the flowers are done and you even hit goal weight a week ago (to the surprise of some, but they’ll never admit it). So all that’s really left is for you to wake-up to a beautiful day, slip into your gorgeous dress and arrive to the beam of a slightly startled groom whose heartbeat is somewhere in the upper 100’s. But at that very moment, when everything seems perfect, the weather guy decides not to play along (and it doesn’t look like clearing – not for the next 3 days). And at precisely 6:45am on your wedding day it starts to bucket down.

Oh well, it’s only a bit of rain so there’s no need to worry. Really! I’m serious! Rain on your wedding day can be absolutely awesome if you take a moment to embrace it and say : ‘oh, what the hell!’ You see, a bit of rain and wind (even a lot of rain and wind) can create conditions that are rare, unexpected and extraordinary opportunities for photographs – some funny, some dramatic, some just purely astonishing! But you really do have to embrace the weather for a decent crack at getting the best shots. Imagine for a moment if you will, walking down a small gravel road, huddled under an umbrella as the rain pelts down around you. Now imagine the wind whipping that umbrella inside out. Now imagine your new hubby reaching up to correct the umbrella, or stretching over to cover you with his jacket. Click! Click! Click! Job done! Great shots! Forever.

That’s the romantic version anyway. The reality is that you need to be prepared for rain. And it happens, believe me. Of course, any photographer worth his salt will have packed a few brollies just in case. But you should pack a few as well anyway. It’s way too late to start looking for umbrellas once the rain starts. And you don’t want that nice new hair-do ruined in a matter of seconds now do you? It’s also good to remember that it’s not the photographers job to run around looking for cover for you – it’s his job to capture all the hurrying and scurrying around so that you have a fantastically memorable record of all the panic and chaos going on around you! So yes, if it rains, let it rain and be very happy that there are a massive array of reflections, raindrops and people running for cover.