Sarah and Dan have my heart forever after this day.

I stalked the weather report for about a week up until their wedding day at Rock Ford Plantation, knowing how much the two of them loved this venue and trying to work through our meticulous timeline, which Sarah, Dan, and I had created months and months prior to their date, to come up with some sort of rain plan. The forecast that morning called for partial sun, but walking outside once I arrived at their hotel, I knew we were in for some serious weather. Mother Nature behaved up until about ten minutes prior to their ceremony, then the skies finally opened up and it began to POUR.

I practically prayed that Sarah and Dan would hold off on making that decision. She and Dan put so much work into perfecting all the details of their ceremony, I was so heartbroken that it would all end up being shoved into the tent meant for their reception. All the vendors did our best to keep our gear dry and come up with the best game plan. At the start of the ceremony, we were staring at roughly a hundred sopping wet chairs with no guests in them. The rain started to let up, but not by much, and at that point the damage had already been done. I asked for a couple towels so we could split the drying work and hopefully get started, but panic had set into the poor Rock Ford employees who were dutifully wiping down chairs, looking like they were about to cry, sure there was no way the bride or groom would be okay with this. Everyone was told to prep because they would most likely be moving the entire set up literally past the last minute.

THEN, I overheard Sarah say excitedly, “It’s fine! We’ll just get wet.” And I think I almost fell over. Let me tell you how this story ends: ALL Sarah and Dan’s guests had as dry as possible seats thanks to Rock Ford’s amazing work, and all had beautiful smiles under their blankets and umbrellas, despite the rain. Sarah came down the aisle with her dad, in the rain, and she and Dan got married in front of the Edward Hand House in the rain. In the October drizzle that had tried to take over their wedding day, the two of them created their own light. Soaked, cold, and absolutely overwhelmed with emotions, they exchanged their own vows and rings through tears with Sarah’s uncle officiating the MOST touching ceremony.

The only— and I really, sincerely mean the only— even remote worry, stress, concern that I fielded from Sarah her entire wedding day was, “Can you fix my dress in the pictures? It’s kind of dirty,” is what Sarah asked me and I almost died— YASSS GIRL I can fix it! We hung out amongst wet leaves, wet ground, wet everything. Her dress got muddy, and it didn’t phase her a bit because she married Dan. They celebrated their marriage under string lights amongst their closest friends and families on the dance floor with a million and one kind of desserts.

All the planning in the world could never have changed the rain, and once you saw Dan’s glowing smile quickly turn to happy tears watching his bride come down the aisle, it became really clear how much the rain didn’t matter. In so many cultures, rain on your wedding day is the best luck. A knot that is wet is the hardest to untie, and for these two I think that is certainly true.

xo,

Brey Photo

Venue: Rock Ford Planation | rockfordplantation.org

Make Up: The Maverick Bride | @themaverickbride

Hair Stylist: Mane Tamed | @mane.tamed

Florals: Designs by Birdie | designsbybirdie.net

Catering: B&T’s Catering | www.bt-catering.com

DJ: Soundwaves Entertainment | soundwavesentertainment.com

Gown: Stella York