Why It’s Lucky To Get Married in the Rain

My sister got married when she was a teenager and I was young enough to be the flower girl. It poured down raining on their wedding. The reception was planned outdoors at the house of a family friend. Thank goodness that friend’s house was big enough to hold the well over 100 people who crowded inside to watch them cut cake.

Everyone told her “It’s good luck to get married on your wedding day.”

As I got older, somewhere in my cynical mind I decided that people had come up with bit of folklore to make people feel better. It has to be lucky because it’s terrible otherwise.

Fast forward to my own wedding day. At least a month in advance we began checking the long range forecast and the closer it got to the day the worse it looked. The night before at our ceremony rehearsal and dinner, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The next morning was the exact opposite. There were sheets of rain coming down. Laying in bed that morning I actually googled “Why is rain lucky on your wedding day” and “History of good luck if it rains on your wedding day.” In fact any combination of the words rain, wedding, luck, marriage, old wives tale, etc.

I found out something very interesting and then I learned a few more reasons on that day.

If it rains on your wedding day, it brings good luck actually comes from an old Japanese proverb. The idea is that a wet knot is harder to untie. It doesn’t take much to make more than a nautical reference about love to make this girl swoon. My husband is Maritime Engineer. My father was in the merchant marines after leaving the Army, and my grandfather was in the Navy.

We were holding our reception at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum where there would be plenty of knots!

Having your wedding day rained on does strengthen your union because from the very start of your marriage you’re learning some pretty big lessons.

  • I learned to not worry about what was out of my control. I woke up that morning and decided to have fun no matter what. Happiness is a choice. I’m not saying that huge horrible things won’t devaste you in life, but day to day you can decide that outside forces and situations won’t dictate how you’ll feel. So whether it was rain or family members or things not happening exactly how I wanted it to, I decided that I would have fun.
  • I learned to go with the flow. Did I mention my love of all things nautical? We’d arranged to travel from St Andrews by the Sea in Hyannis Port to the Cape Cod Maritime Museum on Hyannis Harbor by boat. That morning it looked like it wouldn’t happen. About an hour before the ceremony the rain cleared and my husband called to say the boat ride was on. That time in front of the church and then walking down the dock totally on our own are moments I’ll never forget. We stood there so giddy and thankful. I could have spent all morning worrying but I decided to go with the flow which made it so much more wonderful when it happened. There’s a big difference in appreciation for things when you don’t have expectations.
  • Adapt and Compromise. Probably the biggest thing that happens in a marriage is that you realize you have to adapt and compromise. Some things had to change when morning was rained out, so we made some changes. If you’ve weathered the storm so to speak of a rainy wedding day, it bodes well for the future.
  • There are a few practical reasons rain isn’t so horrible on your wedding day. Your photographer will love it. There are so many cute one of a kind rainy pictures. Overcast is the perfect light. My photographer walked into my bridal suite and said, “For me it’s great!” Flowers won’t wilt in the rain. All the humidity is fantastic for real flowers.

Your wedding day will always be unforgettable, but if it rains even your guests will remember it for the rest of their lives.

 

About Rebecca Romo

Rebecca Romo hosts Feel Good Mornings weekday mornings from 6-10 am on 99.9 The Q. Originally from New Orleans, she moved to Cape to be with her husband a second generation Cape Codder.



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