Picking a wedding date

We just locked in our date a few weeks ago for Sunday, October 8, 2023. We originally wanted a Spring Saturday wedding but the venue we wanted already did not have any Saturday dates left and the next long weekend available was not until October. We have a lot of out of town guests coming, so with some back and forth we decided on the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend as the weather will still be nice and it gives guests an extra day to travel. Most people have that Monday off, and if they don’t it’s hopefully easier to take off, less traffic traveling home etc. Unfortunately the venue treats the holiday weekend like a Sunday so it’s not any cheaper- so make sure to ask that if choosing a Sunday of a long weekend. I guess I would recommend being minded- you will go in with an idea of what you want and that can change completely!

View Quoted Comment Hi Diane,
That's a great idea I'm gonna go venue shopping with a few dates in mind. My sister got married the same day you picked but years ago. She wanted a long weekend as well. Thanks for your feedback I'll keep that in mind as we venue hunt. Goodluck with wedding planning!

-L

View Quoted Comment Fall isn't bad beautiful weather.. thanks for the idea

View Quoted Comment Yes Oct is a great Time for weddings ... ours is in March and way too cold. Originally we wanted to go with our anniversary date but we'll have to pick another time.

View Quoted Comment You will definitely get some beautiful pictures!

View Quoted Comment That's a perfect time to get married too the weather is beautiful and that 3 day weekend is a plus!

We originally wanted Fall 2022 because I just love the colors and the weather. When I got engaged last July I ran into a lot of places being booked through the entire season. My fiancé is also a outdoorsman so November was already out due to deer season. We were open to winter, but the venue we found had such a beautiful property and outdoor options for ceremony and cocktail hour that we decided to push back until May 2023.

View Quoted Comment Yes I also found a venue with such a beautiful outdoors that it motivated me to reconsider dates ... Unfortunately the best weather is peak season... Hopefully we get some nice pictures!

My parents married in october 21 1959 and they both passed so we decided to honor them by choosing 10/21/2023 he actually chose the date

Consider whether you want an indoor or outdoor wedding, weather, if guests will be traveling or local, any cyclical/seasonal patterns where you work, your own relationship timeline, and personal preferences.

For example, if you want an outdoor wedding, are there are there times of year that are too hot, too cold, too rainy, too buggy? Do you have allergies that are absolutely horrible for a few weeks each year? If so, maybe avoid planning your wedding at that time.

If guests need to travel, are there times of year to be avoided? For example, is there a hurricane season or bad winter snow storms that make travel unpredictable where your wedding is. Are there major events in the area that jack up the cost of lodging at certain times, such as graduation in a big college town, or a sporting event or festival that attracts tourists annually at a certain time and makes hotel prices skyrocket?

If you work in a job that has a cyclical pattern, such as a you are a school teacher or director of a summer camp, or work in a hospitality industry with seasonal highs and lows, I would avoid planning a wedding during the time when you are busiest and most stressed at work, and aim for a "lull" time when you can take a few days off more easily and enjoy your wedding and anniversary each year.

If there are important dates in your relationship that you want to stick to (you got engaged on the anniversary of your first date and want your wedding to fall around the same time), consider those as well. In general, not having a specific date in mind (but rather a general timeframe) will leave more options open when picking venues and other vendors. By honing in on a specific date before selecting anything else, you limit yourself considerably more.

Do you have a certain time of year you LOVE? Maybe it's all the fresh scents and colors of spring flowers, or the coziness and warmth of golden leaves and sweaters in autumn.

Are there any other big events you want to give space around? Some things you may not be able to anticipate if you are planning far out, but for example if you are picking a date for the following year you might already know if someone in your family is having a baby or getting married around the same time you are looking at.

We picked our date based on wanting an outdoor wedding in our local area during a pleasant time of year and during a lull in my work schedule (my work is cyclical, hubby's is not). I love spring, so we opted for a late spring (late May, early June) wedding. We picked our venue first, and then decided on an exact date based on what was available during that general time of year.

It’s our Anniversary the day we met

We picked June 23rd 2023 for our wedding date. 2023 gave us more options of wedding venues because 2022 was basically already full. I would have been happy anywhere between spring and fall. I just didn’t want a winter wedding. When we started to look at 2023, June 23rd happened to be a Friday (which makes venues cheaper) and that is already our anniversary, so it felt meant to be. So we will be saying I do on our 9 year anniversary ❤️

My Fh parents passed away in July. We are honoring them by getting married on the same date and at the same place 10/31 in Las Vegas

We picked our favorite time of year which is fall, then we narrowed down the best month in Florida based on Holidays and weather. Ended up on October. Don't have a specific date but we know we want that Month. It's after hurricane season, it's not miserable if it is hot and it's before the holiday craziness.

We picked our favorite time of year which is fall, then we narrowed down the best month in Florida based on Holidays and weather. Ended up on October. Don't have a specific date but we know we want that Month. It's after hurricane season, it's not miserable if it is hot and it's before the holiday craziness.

We wanted a Christmasy wedding but not too close to the holiday where it would interfere with Christmas parties so we opted for the first weekend in December

We chose October 14, 2022, because 1) I love autumn and all the colors, 2) this date spoke to me, and 3) it is a Friday, so it gives the whole weekend to my out-of-town family

I think for us we knew we wanted a spring wedding. Then it really was about what would be an inexpensive date, and April is an off season month. It just worked out 🤗

View Quoted Comment Love that idea of a wintery wedding definitely will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a winter wonderland wedding too ... I can just imagine all the beautiful decor!

View Quoted Comment I didn't imagine that even in Florida had to take the weather into account. October is a popular month up here in NYC too! Congrats!