5 Wedding Day Forecast Apps and Tools to Help Ease Your Anxiety

While most people's image of the "perfect wedding day" might look different in some ways, there is one way that they tend to align and that's when it comes to wedding-day weather. To put it simply, the vast majority of us hope for clear, sunny skies and, depending on the season, potentially warm weather—especially if you're hosting an outdoor ceremony and/or reception.

Unfortunately, of all the many things out of your control when it comes to your big day, your wedding-day weather forecast tops them all. "You can plan all you want, and you can have all the data in the world, but no one really knows what it's going to be like on your wedding day," says Jamie Chang, destination wedding planner at Mango Muse Events. "All of this makes it hard to plan ahead, which you need to do for a wedding, and that can cause a lot of anxiety."

Mary Angelini, owner of Key Moment Films, often experiences "weather anxiety" among her couples, especially since, in the region in which she serves, weather can vary greatly, even during more weather-stable months. "The East Coast can get drastic weather conditions, high winds, extreme temperatures, and, of course, storms so weather is always a stress in our couple's life and must be carefully considered with a plan B weather plan," she says.

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What many couples fail to realize, however, is that their vendors, too, experience this same weather anxiety in anticipation of their couples' big days. "The wedding planner is the first to discuss contingency plans and closely monitors the weather the week of the wedding," Angelini says. "But it's not just rain or extreme temperatures that vendors have to stress and consider; florists have to plan for windy conditions and adjust their designs to ensure the wind has minimal effect on the overall aesthetics and photographers and cinematographers have to plan for lighting conditions."

So yes, you'll probably spend the week before your wedding constantly checking the weather, so be sure to download a solid wedding weather app (among other must-have wedding-planning apps!) to have the best chance of accurately predicting the forecast.

In this article:

• Tips for Planning Around the Weather for Your Wedding
• Best Wedding Weather Apps & Tools

Tips for Planning Around the Weather for Your Wedding

While you can't force good weather, experts share their best tips for planning around any and all conditions for your big day.

Consider typical weather conditions where you're getting married.

Take a close look at the typical weather conditions in the location of your wedding, especially if you're considering outdoor venues. You can do this by picking up a Farmer's Almanac, which can give you a sense of weather patterns, temperatures and more. Jen Sulak, Lead Wedding Photographer of Weirdo Weddings suggests going even deeper into research if you are getting married in a place that involves desert temperatures, dust storms or ocean tide patterns. "These key things in your planning will help you additionally figure out what is optimal for weather and how your day could plan out," she says.

Have a back-up plan for rain.

Knowing how you'll do things should it rain is crucial. Even if you're having your wedding under a tent, it's important to make sure that it won't flood and that there's enough room for everyone to be underneath it, explains Blaine Siesser, founder of Blaine Siesser Photography. "For photography, this means having a few locations set aside so you can take photos if it rains — a place large enough for a wedding party or family photos," he says. "Usually, in the city, there are a lot of great locations with overhead canopies to jump underneath and get out of the rain."

Don't forget about wind.

Most couples are so worried about it raining on their wedding day that they forget about wind, which can often be harder to deal with. "Wind makes everything difficult from all the physical items that get setup like flowers, decor, lighting, tables and chairs to the guest experience and activities to personal items like hair and veils," says Chang. "Understanding the natural wind patterns in a location (like calm in the morning, gusty in the late afternoon) is very helpful for planning purposes."

Let go of what you can't control.

At some point, worrying about the weather that you cannot control can put a damper on an exciting wedding weekend, explains Angelini. "You can control anxiety in many ways like praying, meditating or deep breathing, all of which can significantly benefit the couple by reducing their stress levels," she says. "Both meditation and breathwork encourage mindfulness and help the couple live and enjoy the moment in the present."

Use your weather apps up until the day of your wedding.

Don't assume the weather will be one way a week out, as Sulak explains that it can (and sometimes will) change within those seven days. "Keep it handy, but until your day arrives you might not really know what will be going on," she says. "Most weather apps will also have a wind advisory as well, it will be helpful to know if there will be high winds on your day as it will affect décor and many things outdoors at your ceremony, cocktail hour and wedding reception."

Best Wedding Weather Apps & Tools

These are our experts' favorite weather apps for predicting wedding-day forecasts.

Sun Seeker

• Our Take: Knowing the sun's track helps you understand and predict where the sun will line up compared to your wedding venue, explains Angelini. "It's helpful when strategically planning the ceremony's placement and seating arrangements to harness the lighting conditions for the ideal setting," she says. "The last thing you want to do is have your guests facing the blaring sun blinding them."
• Price: $10
• What Couples Love: Couples and wedding professionals alike love that you can use this app to help determine the best seating arrangements for your guests, ideally ensuring that the sun won't be blinding them during the ceremony.

Weather Underground

• Our Take: This app can come in handy in the two weeks leading up to your big day. It's one of Chang's favorites because you can search your location and then use a map to choose the weather station closest to your wedding location, which makes the forecast a lot more accurate than a general city forecast. "Because different areas in the same city can have different weather, getting the most accurate data is really useful including precipitation and wind," she says.
• Price: $4/month or $20/year
• What Couples Love: Should you run into any weather terms you're unfamiliar with, this app provides you with a full glossary to clear up any confusion.

Ironic Reports

• Our Take: Chang recently got introduced to this company which helps with forecasting as well as minute-by-minute updates. "They call themselves concierge event meteorologists, so if you have a very anxious couple and/or a potentially difficult or high risk location or timeframe, utilizing their services can really help put everyone at ease because you have an actual weather team supporting you," she says. Their team of on-call meteorologists sets risk parameters, offers 24/7 support, provides daily weather updates, and even arranges midweek meetings to review the forecast and confirm rain or tent plans.
• Price: Starting at $2,500 per event
• What Couples Love: Couples appreciate that this app affords them 24/7 access to an actual wedding meteorologist who utilizes 30-year historical climate data to determine the weather outcome on your day within a ten-mile radius of your venue.

MyRadar

• Our Take: This app is nothing special in the sense that it showcases the classic-looking weather radar screen, however, it comes in handy for making last-minute decisions about where to take photos. "In Michigan, if I see rain on the other side of the state, it always heads East and will hit in about 2-3 hours," says Siesser. "Rain on the radar a few cities over will be here in about 30 minutes or less—that up-to-the-minute data is essential on the wedding day."
• Price: $4
• What Couples Love: Unlike most apps, even the ones you pay for, this one has no in-app ads, so you can use it without having to click out of pop-ups or annoying banners while you're checking on the weather forecast.

The Weather Channel

• Our Take: This is one of the most popular weather apps used by wedding planners and regular Joes alike. "This app gives current and up-to-date information on everything you could need in your area including forecasts, the hourly predictions and radar maps that will show you patterns clearly," explains Sulak. "I will still emphasize checking for high winds as well if you are in an area that is known for having some patterns come in so you can be prepared."
• Price: Free
• What Couples Love: In addition to this app being totally free, it's user-friendly and offers 15-day forecasts as opposed to the traditional 10. It also offers air quality reports, which can be helpful if you're in a location that's known for fluctuations.