This may sound simple and am sure you have already considered seasons. A beautiful spring wedding full of pastel colors and sweet things, a bright warm outside summery wedding (I love outdoor weddings but I do live in Ireland), striking fall colors, romantic winter wonderland.
The romantic bit, setting your date on the day you first met, your first kiss or date you got engaged. Maybe your parent’s anniversary?
They are all wonderful times but with only 52 weekends in a year there can be pros and cons to many dates and things need to slot in nicely.
Consider:
How long do you want your engagement to be and how much time do you need to save for and plan your wedding?
Day of the week. Do you definitely want a Saturday wedding? This is the best day for most but if you are planning a full weekend of activities your guests may not take the time off and just skip half of them. A Friday will see your guests arrive on the Thursday evening or Friday morning and stay on the Saturday night too.
The big players. Make sure your nearest and dearest are available. That your Maid of Honor and sister are not turning in their thesis the day before and your fi’s best man is not taking the Bar exam. Also if another friend or family member is engaged (as often happens) check that your dates are not too close.
Cost for your guests. In July and August the kids have their summer holidays and this may seem handy but if you are having a destination wedding, accommodation and travel are much more expensive.
Sporting events. Check the big sporting events on the weekend you are considering. This may well be a big issue for some people and if they do attend your wedding you may not be able to serve dinner until the sporting match is over. I know from experience it is nearly impossible to sell a wedding date to Kerry people on the All Ireland Football weekend. They plan to be in Dublin.
Christmas week. There are many pros and cons here. All of your family may be home and together for Christmas already but people have spent a lot of money at this time of year and may be Ho Ho Ho-ed out. And New Year’s Eve will cost you more.
If you have a venue that you have to have, check their dates and make sure there are not any conferences, parades of festivals that may make parking, travelling or accommodation difficult.
So basically, consider asking around about good dates for the wedding. Of course, the final choice is yours and yours alone, but you do want as many people to show up as possible and not wish they were somewhere else. See my post on keeping you and your guests happy here.
And finally, regardless of which date you finally decide on, you have to choose according to your heart and what you want so once chosen, stick to it unless something urgent arises like you can’t book the venues you have fallen love with for your reception or ceremony. Otherwise, that date should pretty much be set in stone.
Happy choosing!
Annie
Live, Love, Laugh and Dream!
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