Rain, Rain, Go Away — Can’t You See it’s My Wedding Day?

I was chatting with Bill the Limo Guy the other day about weddings. He always has something to say about them — he sees at least one every weekend, in settings ranging from humble to swelligant (yes, limos are de rigeur even at a lot of humble weddings).

I always press him for details, especially about what people are wearing. The experience is a lot like interrogating someone who speaks Swahili but uses a lot of gestures. Or like when you’re backpacking through Europe and you don’t know the language, but you still get the sense that you’re grokking at least a third of what the other person’s saying.

After a lot of prompting, threatening and coaxing, I’ll usually get something like this: The bride’s dress was nice. It didn’t have a lot of stuff on it (stuff, meaning embellishment). It was pretty simple on top.

And I’ll say, was it strapless? A halter top? Princess skirt or A-line? Was it satin, or could it have been silk? (I could automate these questions.)

And then with a lot more digging, I’ll learn that the bridesmaids’ dresses were not that great. Or if I’m really lucky, that the bride chose to clothe her girls in three separate shades of maroon, which looked okay except when two clashing shades were standing next to each other. Surprisingly often, I hear that “the color wasn’t very good for their skin tones.” I think this is what he says when he can’t remember.

Other things I’m sure to hear about is whether the gowns involved a lot of cleavage. Or if the best men got really, really drunk … so drunk that the best man had to halt the limo to relieve himself, and in the process tumbled down the bank … and all this before the guy made his speech.

So I don’t normally feel electrified or edified after talking over weddings with Bill, although I can’t seem to stop doing it. But I did learn something the other day — he turned up a superstition. You see, virtually every single weekend for what seems like the whole summer has involved sheets of rain. We’re talking time-to-track-down-that-ark weather. And every single weekend was filled with optimistic brides who chose to share their weddings with the great outdoors.

Well, this last weekend was slated for dramatic thunderstorms, but Saturday’s bride miraculously escaped them. People even commented on it. And she said her secret was this: that she’d asked all the Catholic guests to throw their rosaries in the bushes. Apparently, this tactic’s supposed to ensure some Florida shine for your big day.

What obliging guests. Were they able to find to their rosaries after all the eating and drinking and dancing? Bill didn’t know. I went home and googled the superstition wasn’t able to find anything on it. Perhaps bride invented it herself (crafty!) But maybe this is a real practice given the go-ahead by someone in The Lives of the Saints. If you’re marrying outdoors and the skies look gloomy, it might be worth a try.

wedding fashion, wedding blog, wedding day rain, wedding superstitions