How to choose your wedding date
Your date is one of the most important factors of your wedding. It is written down on your invites, save the dates, your guests will put it in their calendars and it’s a date that you, your spouse and your family will remember forever. So how do you go about choosing this auspicious day?
Every couple is different and there are tons of ways to choose your wedding day. You could choose it based on a previous important date, like the day you started dating or the day he or she proposed. You could also choose it based off your work schedules or when you know you will have time off for your honeymoon.
There are also cultural traditions that give you lucky days in which to get married. For instance many couples with chinese heritage choose to get married on one of their auspicious wedding dates which can vary year to year. There are also cultures that believe that 8 is a lucky number for marriage so they choose to have their wedding date have as many 8’s as possible. I had one wedding where they got married on August 28th 2018 at 5:08. And, yes, we did start the ceremony at exactly 5:08.
But if you are having a hard time deciding your wedding date, I have listed below all of the things that you should consider when choosing your date.
After years of planning and helping couples figure out the best day for their wedding my first piece of advice for you is to not get too hung up about a specific date until you find your perfect venue. With that in mind let’s start figuring out your time frame.
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
First, What Day of the Week do you want to have your wedding?
Let’s consider all options and the pro’s and con’s of each day.
What if you wanted a Weekday Wedding?
So we’re talking about Monday through Thursday weddings. These dates are typically rare since most couples want to have their wedding on a day that they and their guests have off from work. However, it is not unheard of. Personally, I have participated in weddings on every single day of the week. So I know that people will come to a weekday wedding.
However, if you are considering this as an option here are some things you should keep in mind:
- Your guests will have work the next day so they will most likely not stay out past 9 or 10 pm.
- They will not be drinking that much for the exact same reason. Maybe 1-2 drinks total.
- Most will not ask off from work, either before your wedding to get to your ceremony or for the next day to nurse their hangovers.
Weddings on these days typically are smaller and have a quieter crowd. So these days are perfect if you want an intimate wedding and not spend too much on alcohol. They also are days that many wedding vendors will give you discounts on because they are not typical wedding days.
What if you want a Friday Wedding?
No matter what anyone else says, I love Friday Weddings! These weddings, in my opinion, tend to be the rowdiest and most fun since your guests are celebrating the end of their week along with your wedding. Plus they will have all day Saturday to recover and then Sunday to relax and do their chores.
Friday weddings are also great because many venues offer a discount for these days as well. Or at least won’t charge you as much as a Saturday.
Some things to consider when having a Friday wedding:
- Your guests will not take off work for your wedding that day. At most they’ll take off work a little early so that they can change. There is also more traffic on Friday afternoons and your guests will not think of that.
- People will be drinking and drinking heavily since it’s the start to their weekend.
- If you have a lot of out of town guests, its likely that they will have just arrived a few hours prior to your wedding.
- People in your bridal party might be working too. Or it might be hard for them to get to the rehearsal the day before.
My suggestion to you if you go with a Friday wedding is to have a later wedding, like starting your ceremony at 6 pm so that your guests have time to get off work, change and drive to you.
What if you want a Saturday Wedding?
Saturdays are the most typical day for wedding dates. Therefore, they are typically the most expensive. Be prepared to see that in your venue costs and don’t be shocked. There are only 52 Saturdays in a year and lots of venues need more than that number of weddings to stay a float. So they put a premium on Saturdays to encourage you to choose a different day of the week.
Other than that, Saturdays are the best. You and your guests have all day to get ready for the wedding. There typically isn’t as much traffic on Saturday afternoons as there are on Friday and you still get all of Sunday for after-wedding shenanigans or to nurse a hangover.
How about a Sunday Wedding?
Sunday weddings are like Friday weddings. They are typically cheaper than Saturday weddings and guests will still definitely come. The one thing about Sunday weddings that I have noticed over the years is that guests typically dip out earlier than Friday or Saturday weddings. This is because Sunday is still a weeknight! So plan to have an early end to your wedding. I would say the best would be to have your wedding starting at 4 pm and ending by 10 pm.
Now once you’ve figured out the day of the week (or maybe you have 2 days of the week) you are considering for your wedding, next we go into season.
Photo by Kats Weil on Unsplash
What time of the year do you want your wedding date?
This can be a season like summer, spring, winter or fall. Or it could be a month or maybe just a word like “Dry” or “cool”.
What is important is what you are looking for in your wedding.
Now, I’m not sure if you have read my other blog about creating your “wedding Image” or have received my emails about it but creating your Wedding Image is super important prior to choosing your date. Why? Because it provides a base for you to return to when planning your wedding. If you haven’t already, please go read: How to Plan a Wedding: Step One! And create your wedding image!
Now that you know what you are looking for in your wedding, let’s focus on the location/feel of your wedding. If you are planning on having an outdoor wedding you might want to choose a time of the year that you know will be cooler and dryer in order to have an enjoyable outdoor experience. If you want a fully indoors, wedding then maybe that doesn’t matter to you as much.
For my now husband and I’s wedding our Wedding Image was:
- Outdoors
- FUN!!!!
- Dancing
- Relaxed
- Cool
So we wanted an outdoor wedding and since we were having a wedding in Florida, it was super important that we chose a date that was cold. Our date ended up being November 12 2016. According to the Farmers Almanac, it was the driest day of the year historically in the town we were getting married in. Also, November tends to be a cooler month in Florida on Average. While you aren’t ever guaranteed a cold day ever in Florida, typically it’s not as hellish hot November through March.
It also happened that November 12th was on Veterans Day weekend and a Saturday. So it worked out with everything we wanted: a Saturday wedding during a cool month.
It’s important for you to think about where you are having the wedding location wise when deciding your date. This is especially true if you are having a destination wedding. If you are from Colorado and planning a destination wedding in Florida, you don’t want to choose an outdoor wedding in June because you think it’ll be gorgeous since it’s gorgeous in Colorado. It’s a furnace in Florida in June and no one (including you) will want to be outdoors.
You have your season and day of the week for your wedding date, Now what?
Now you go Venue shopping! 😀 Find that perfect venue and find out their date policies and availability! You’ll be much happier choosing the date having narrowed it down a little and picking the final date based on their availability and pricing.