The Wedding Date: There's a Right Time & a Wrong Time

So, you just got engaged...Congratulations! You have reached a milestone in your life that will be forever with you. I hope you and your partner are happy and that the following years and decades are everything you imagined.

Now let's get to the point of this post:

When is the right time for you to have a wedding?
 



Time of Year

• Are you and your partner able to take the time off work?

If you are able to plan ahead then you can ask for time off with plenty of notice.

• Have you left enough time to organise everything?

If you are rushing for your wedding you need at least a month to 6 months to plan; if you are having an big event then you need at 1 year to 2 years to plan.*

• Have family and friends already got important commitments?

Everyone has their own thing.

Are there other weddings? Anniversaries? Birthdays? Births?  These are questions you need to consider now.

• Seasonal Wedding or on a Special Date?

Winter Wonderland  Wedding

Only you and your partner will be able to answer this one, but you should consider how the seasons would play into your wedding (if you go the season track) in terms of your comfort, your guest's comfort, your wedding's style, etc. Or do you have a special date like your anniversary?

• Outdoors or Indoors?

Summer Beach Wedding

Deciding whether you are having an outdoors, indoors, or 50/50 type of wedding will help your determine when you will want your special date: i.e. summers may be too hot, winters may be too cold, springs may be too rainy, etc.

• Holiday Weddings

Halloween Themed Wedding

Sometimes brides and grooms find themselves drawn to certain holidays for wedding inspiration such as Christmas, Fourth of July, or even Halloween. Keep in mind that during heavy holiday season, guest may have a more difficult time attending a wedding or sending a gift due to the financial strain certain holidays can take.

• Are you or your partner pregnant?

Will the wedding be before or after the pregnancy? Decide whether you will like being pregnant and uncomfortable or perhaps glowing, decide if you want your child to be part of your wedding, etc.

 

 

Time of the Week

 

• Friday-Saturday

These are the most popular days for weddings and thus are usually the most expensive. The cost between a Saturday and Sunday wedding can be as drastic as $7,000.00 to as insignificant as $100.00. This truly depends on your venue for your ceremony and reception, on the time of year (if it is a popular wedding season (June & September) or unpopular season (July, August, November, etc.), and at what time you are wanting to do your wedding.  

• Sunday

While still technically part of your weekend, Sunday weddings are generally mixed for both guests and the wedding party. It is difficult to persuade someone to go to a party on a Sunday only to have return to their work week hung-over, tired, sore from dancing, and happy-sad. Sunday weddings, however, are usually much more cost efficient for the newly engaged couple.

• Monday-Thursday

In comparison to the three days above, Monday- Thursday are ridiculously inexpensive. However, they are a hard sell for guest who work a normal work week. Most couples think they can get the Monday wedding date during a three day weekend like Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc. BUT most venues (if they are popular for those weekends) will not give you the Monday price, but a special and super expensive Holiday price. So, beware when looking and make sure to email/call for details.

 

Time of Day

 

• Morning Wedding

Morning Wedding

A morning wedding can be elegant and simple to plan, but if you know people in your wedding party are not morning people (or you & your partner are not) then this would be an ill-advised time. However, morning ceremonies and receptions can lead to inexpensive rates due to the fact that brunch/breakfast menus are cheaper than lunch and dinner, AND the venue can double book your date. For Example: If you have your ceremony at 9:00am-10:00am (an hour is usually the norm), then took pictures from 10:00-11:00pm, and then went to the venue from 11:30-1:30pm ( and all guest were cleared out by 2:00pm)- another wedding could happen that very same day around 4:00/5:00pm. Thus the venue will not charge as much, because they were able to make money on two wedding instead of just one. Furthermore, a morning wedding gives you and your partner a majority of your wedding day to sail away on your honeymoon, enjoy your afternoon and evening as a married couple, or even go on an adventure to a local amusement park, play, or do something special between the two of you.

• Afternoon Wedding

Brunch for Lunch Wedding

An afternoon wedding is similar to a morning wedding, and may have the chance to earn you an inexpensive rate for the double booking feature. Also, an afternoon wedding is easier to cater with either brunch or even a lunch menu which is much cheaper than a dinner menu. An afternoon wedding can be hotter than an morning or evening wedding, but still offer apt amount of time for the newlywed couple to do something for just them that day.

• Evening Wedding

Summer Evening Wedding

The iconic evening wedding which everyone sees in movies and on TV; we all want it- but is it practical. So, evening weddings are the most expensive due to their time (usually 4:00/5:00-8:00/9:30pm) and their dinner menus. Mind you, you can find inexpensive venues and menus, but most commonly they are expensive. Or, you can do a very late wedding and ask people to eat before hand simply do hors d'oeuvres and dessert.  





  

FINAL NOTE

Well, I do hope this was insightful and keeps you coming back! Please feel free to comment or message me if you have any topics you wish for me to explore or write on more in depth. I should note however that I am a local to Southern California and so most of my detailed (venue, vendors, etc.) will be about here. But, I am willing to help you look for resources across the USA.