Make a plan you like

At your venue visit, stand inside the wet-weather room with the door shut. Where would you say your vows, and can the guests at the back see you? Ask who moves the chairs and whether the room is also being set for dinner.

For a personalised ceremony, include a planned backup venue on your marriage licence application. Your celebrant can help you check the locations before you apply. Govt.nz guidance on personalised ceremonies.

Ask your venue

  • Where can we photograph our largest family group under cover?
  • Will that space be in use for drinks, dinner setup or another event?
  • Is there a room with window light and enough space for us to move?
  • Can guests reach the sheltered area without steps or slippery ground?
  • Who makes the indoor-ceremony decision, and when does it need to happen?

Take a few phone photographs of the options when you visit. Wide views showing windows, entrances and the whole room are more useful for planning than a close-up of the decor. Share them with your photographer before the wedding.

Do we have to go outside?

The two of you get to choose. An umbrella can help with the walk between places, as Jesse and Dan show above. If you’d prefer to stay warm and dry, look for a window with space beside it or a covered doorway where you can stand together.

Pack a small backup kit

A towel, a spare pair of practical shoes and a warm layer can make moving between places much easier. If you want umbrellas in photographs, choose ones you are happy to see in the finished images and check who is bringing them. Assign the kit to a helper so you do not have to carry it around.

Walk the route from each car to the ceremony and on to dinner. A few metres of wet grass can be the hardest part for someone using a walking frame. Agree a dry drop-off with the venue and let guests know before they leave home.

Keep the day moving

Agree one decision time with the venue, celebrant and photographer. Put the indoor room and the name of the person updating guests on the run sheet. On the day, check the local radar with your venue before the agreed call. MetService Taranaki rain radar.

If a patch of dry weather arrives during speeches, stay and hear them. There’s room for a shorter portrait walk later in the sample wedding run sheet.