# It's Like Rain on Your Wedding Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 28, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636 "2001-04-28T13:34:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/1 "2001-04-28T13:34:03Z")
Mrs. Rastahomie and I just celebrated our fourth anniversary yesterday. It reminded me of that Alanis Morissette song _Ironic_, where she screams: “IT’S LIKE RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY! IT’S A FREE RIDE WHEN YOU’RE ALREADY PAID!” (I use the capital letters to indicate screaming, you see.) Anyhoo, I always understood that rain on your wedding day was a _good_ thing. A sort-of folkloric superstition that rain on your wedding day was a blessing on your marriage. On the day that Mrs. Rastahomie and I got married, it started raining about 10 minutes before midnight. We had a good laugh about it, and then we had sex. On the day that my stepbrother and his wife got married, they had The Thunderstorm To End All Thunderstorms (complete with a couple of tornadoes) and they’ve been on the verge of divorce several times in their going-on-ten-year marriage. But getting back to my point: How have _you_ heard the superstition? How you heard my variation or Alanis’? Did it rain on your wedding day? How did it bode for your marriage? ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/2 "2001-04-28T13:46:07Z")
We had a blizzard the night before ours and I had to wear winter boots to get the the Town Office where the JP married us, does that count? Three years later, we’re still as happy as pigs in shit, I’m glad to say. 🙂 Zette ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/3 "2001-04-28T13:52:43Z")
I’ve never heard the superstition, but I thought it was supposed to be a bad thing…you know, bride’s hair nicely done, non-waterproof eyeliner/mascara on the guests, not to mention standing around in the cold & wet for the photos…but the only bride I know who it really rained & was cold for, couldn’t even remember the weather even when she saw the grey clouds in the wedding photos, so I guess it doesn’t matter for that reason…oh and they got divorced…long & nasty story. ---
**Author:** ![shell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@shell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/4 "2001-04-28T14:39:08Z")
I’ve heard of that superstition but was told that if it rained on your wedding day the rain symbolized wealth in the future of the couple. As a side note… I married during the one serious downpout in the middle of a drought. No rain for almost two months and then wham! Nearly ten inches in two hours. Rain like that tends to put an (ahem) damper on any outdoor wedding. I can’t say if the rain had any effect on the marriage. The evil ex and I never did get rich and were divorced nine years later. ---
**Author:** ![mjswart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@mjswart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjswart)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/5 "2001-05-28T20:30:12Z")
This is a wild guess but to me it seems most plausible: The “Rain on your wedding day is good luck” superstition probably was started by a bride’s mother as something to say to comfort some bride who has just discovered that her day is about to be “ruined” by a summer storm. I’ve also heard some comedian point out the inconsistency in a similar superstition: “They say that rain at a funeral is bad luck… For who!?” Michael ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/6 "2001-05-28T20:38:00Z")
As a brief aside, I’d just like to mention that rain on your wedding day is in no way ironic. It may be unfortunate, or even fortunate, but it is not ironic. The only way it would be ironic would be if the people who were getting married were called Mr and Mrs NoRain. Bah to Ms Morrissette. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/7 "2001-05-29T01:18:27Z")
I’ve heard the superstition that rain on your wedding day is lucky, and I also recall reading that rain at a funeral is lucky. Quote from _Emily of New Moon_ by _L. M. Montgomery_ > [@](#): > > Emily was glad it was raining; many a time she had heard Ellen Greene say that happy was the corpse the rain fell on ---
**Author:** ![Catenary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@Catenary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catenary)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/8 "2001-05-29T01:23:20Z")
It was absolutely beautiful on the day I married Mrs. Cat 28 years ago…it hasn’t stopped raining since. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/9 "2001-05-29T01:29:41Z")
Unfortunately, most of the things in the song do not fit under “ironic.” However, that a contractor was run over by a dump truck during the construction of our town’s Safety Complex, is ironic as well as terribly sad. They should have named it after him, or put up a plaque or something… ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/10 "2001-05-29T01:31:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > **I’ve heard the superstition that rain on your wedding day is lucky** My parish priest used to minister to the native people on the reserve close to home. It is one of their beliefs that rain on a funeral is lucky; Fr. Bernie would drag out a funeral if it was on the verge of raining. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/11 "2001-05-29T02:25:20Z")
I never heard this one. I wish I had on our wedding day – it rained (the ONE rainy day in the middle of an absolutely gorgeous, sunny week). And we were having an OUTDOOR wedding. Hoping against the odds, I went ahead and set everything up – this was on a beach, and all the rentals were paid for, an 'd cleaned off the beah in advance and set up a ring of shells and tethered the altar to weights buried under the sand and checked that we were above the high-water line and … And it went head and rained, anyway. (rumble, rumble, fume, nasty words…) We ad to hold the ceremony indoors at the reception hall. The next morning Pepper Mill and I went out to where th ring of seashells still was, a beautiful clear sunny morning, and repeated our vows. Good Luck, hunh? Mayb that’s why it has worked out so well all these years. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/12 "2001-05-29T04:50:22Z")
It rained on my wedding day. My outdoor wedding. The rain stopped about 30 minutes before the ceremony–all the ushers were running around drying off chairs so people could sit. We’ve been married for about 4 years. No wealth at all to speak of but I guess we’ve been lucky. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/13 "2001-05-29T06:03:02Z")
It rained on our wedding day, 13 years ago come August. I suppose it is somewhat ironic, since we had planned an outdoor wedding. We held the ceremony inside, and by the time we were ready for the reception the rain had stopped. We moved outside. I’ve always heard that rain on your wedding day is good luck. We’ve been happily married (mostly) for 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![beefymeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@beefymeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefymeg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/14 "2001-05-29T13:15:26Z")
Yesterday (5/28) was my one-year wedding anniversary. And we had a constant drizzle on our wedding day. It only upset the plans for pictures, no big deal. Several people mentioned the superstition on that day. If you ask me, the rain was a blessing - I love Mr. Beefy more every day! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/15 "2001-05-29T13:41:51Z")
**beefy,** Congratulations on your very first anniversary! Our anniversary is also May 28, but we’ve put a few more behind us by now :). We had a very nice day for our wedding (and considering it was in Cleveland, ANYTHING could have happened weatherwise). I’d never heard the thing about rain being a blessing on either weddings or funerals until I read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/16 "2001-05-29T14:32:45Z")
There’s irony and there’s irony. **Francesca** , **elfkin477** , everything mentioned in Alanis’s song is an example of _situational_ irony. You can look it up. We can criticize Alanis and her music for many things, but her understanding of irony is not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/17 "2001-05-29T15:07:00Z")
**Hamish:** Do you realize that none of the things Alanis mentions are really irony? **matt\_mcl:** Yeah. How ironic. **Hamish:** …My brain hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/18 "2001-05-29T16:27:17Z")
It poured on mine. Fortunately, our wedding & reception were indoors, but the rehearsal dinner was supposed to be a cookout on the beach. My parents had a veerrry crowded house that night! I was upset about it at the rehearsal, but by the time the actual day came around, it didn’t matter to me anymore. I had a wonderful day. And, eight months later, we’re happy as can be. ---
**Author:** ![MorgainLaFey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@MorgainLaFey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorgainLaFey)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/19 "2001-06-02T18:28:07Z")
> [@](#): > > How have _you_ heard the superstition? How you heard my variation or Alanis’? Did it rain on your wedding day? How did it bode for your marriage? \*\* When my mum and da got married it was a beautiful day in california. They were married quite miserably for 24 years, and are now going through a crudy divorce. Rain is a good sign in my book. Who is it lucky for if it rains at a funeral? Cause the persons already dead… Morgain ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2001, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-rain-on-your-wedding-day/63636/20 "2001-06-03T07:06:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\*There’s irony and there’s irony. **Francesca** , **elfkin477** , everything mentioned in Alanis’s song is an example of _situational_ irony. You can look it up. > \*\* I looked it up in Merriam-Webster, American Heritage, and [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). No definition for situational irony found in any of them. So, what does it mean?