Choosing a Wedding Date 101

You’re engaged! Congratulations! Engagement is such a wonderful time in life as you anticipate your wedding and your new life together. And speaking of your new life together-the first big choice you’ll need to make is your wedding date! Of course you need to consider both of your schedules, but much more goes into making the choice than you might think. Here are 7 consideration to setting your wedding date:

  1. The season of year in which you want to marry. The time of year will influence many aspects of your wedding. This includes whether or not an outdoor wedding or reception is feasible, the material of your dress and perhaps the style, wedding party attire, your color theme, and more.
  2. Your budget. If you have a tight budget, you can save money by booking vendors for a wedding date off season or on a weekday.
  3. Your venue. If you have absolutely decided on one venue, you may need to be flexible as to the date and the time of your wedding. Many venues book a year or more in advance. Also, be aware that some venues book more than one wedding a day or weekend. You may need to choose your wedding date and time so there will not be two events at the same time.
  4. A preferred vendor. While not all vendors need to be booked in advance, if you have your heart set on a particular wedding professional you should consider calling them to make sure they are open as you settle your preferred wedding date. These vendors will vary per couple, but generally your venue and photographer are two vendors that are priorities to book. We also recommend that planners be brought on as soon as possible. Professional planners will be there to mentor you through your wedding experience, offer vendor recommendations that will best suit your taste and budget, and decrease planning stress while guiding use of resources wisely. 
  5. Local happenings. Check the city calendar where you plan to get married. There may be a festival, home football game, or other event that can affect traffic and room availability for out-of-town guests or for your honeymoon night.
  6. Destination weddings or honeymoons. Traveling outside your country of origin requires passports and possibly other travel documents that take time to process. Some locations may have other requirements, as well, such as being on location for a set time before applying for a marriage license. Your wedding date will need to give you enough time to take care of all the legalities.
  7. Special considerations. If there are special people in your life that you want to be present at your wedding who have health challenges, work situations, live at a distance, and etc, make sure you factor this into your decision. Also think about what will be happening with your own health and life. Look at variables such as seasonal allergies, work schedule, school schedule, family events, and when you want to take your honeymoon.

Our very best  to you as you pick your wedding date! Let us know in the comments how you decided on your date. Ready to wedding plan? Get started on your dream wedding with these 10 questions.

Happy Planning!