Cleaning/Staining Knotty Cedar Deck/Fencing/Planters Box

I just bought a house with this beautiful Knotty Cedar Wood Deck, fencing and planters box in NY. It accumulated tons of debris/leaves from all of the trees, so I was determined to clean this deck, especially after my wife saw the lighter color in the same spot as where the umbrella pole was. I thought I can flip this weathered wood into the lighter color.

 

After research, I opted to clean this with the classic recipe of Water/Bleach/detergent mix using a handpump with a soft bristle brush to do the initial cleaning. I cleaned everything on Saturday afternoon. The weather was 72 and sunny on Sunday so it dried for 35 hours. This afternoon (Monday) there's massive rainfall and its expected to last all week. 

 

Should I be really concerned about all this rainfall without a stain? It might not be until 2 weeks until I stain it. Several areas that took longer to initially dry at the time of cleaning are now showing nickel sized bubbles. Are those problematic?

 

My local paint store suggested Wolman's Oil-Based Finish and Preservative. He gave me a 10" lambswool applicator and some nylon/polyester brushes. 

 

The can says to "always apply either Woman's Deck Brite or Fence Brightener before recoating. This is confusing. Isn't this the 'cleaning' that I just did or is this an important step prior to staining (weeks after cleaning)

Are there any suggested spray tools to help do this job faster? 

 

How many dry days would I need to properly dry after this job? 

 

How do I know how much existing stain there is from previous work (14 months ago).

 

How many coats should I use? 

 

How terrible is it if some spots on the fence/deck are missed?