Once you have finished celebrating your newly found status as an engaged couple, your attentions will no doubt turn to setting a date for your wedding day.

Once this date has been set, your wedding planing journey can begin. With many couples choosing to send their save the dates, begin contacting their shortlist of suppliers and also set a budget, (as you will know how long you have to save for the big day), as soon as their wedding date has been confirmed.

When considering potential dates to marry, it’s important to remember that the season in which your wedding is hosted will influence many factors associated with your wedding, such as your colour palette, attire and the florals you work with, (to name a few). Therefore, careful consideration should be given before setting your wedding date.

With so many points to consider, this huge decision can start to feel overwhelming.  So, to help engaged couples make this all important decision, I have compiled a guide, offering a selection of tips on how to choose the perfect wedding date.

Sentimental dates

Some couples choose to host their wedding on dates that hold a special place in their heart, or have a special meaning or memory. Think anniversaries, such as the date they met, the day they shared their first date or the day on which they become engaged. Some couples also choose dates which have a special meaning for their families. With one couple I previously worked with choosing to marry on the date the brides parents and grandparents also married.

Family weddings/birthdays/celebrations

If you have family or friends who are also planning a wedding and your guest lists are likely to be similar, you may wish to consider booking your own wedding within a different month/season. This will not only prevent your guests from comparing your weddings, but your guests will also be forever grateful, as it will allow them to spread the cost associated with attending a wedding.  Similarly, you may wish to avoid dates that clash with any of your family or friends special birthdays or big celebrations such as milestone anniversaries.

Christmas, Easter, school holidays & sporting events

Whilst choosing to marry close to a public holiday can seem like a good idea, you should first check with key people on your guests list as to their holiday plans. It’s not uncommon for guests to be forced to decline a wedding invitation due to a holiday that has been booked prior to receiving their save the date.

In addition to the above, with school holidays falling within popular wedding months, you should also consider discussing your wedding plans with any guests who are likely to take their summer break within school holidays. This will typically be school teachers or any guests that work within the education sector, as well as friends or family members who have children of school age.

As well as the above, consideration should be given as to the scheduling of any major sporting events. Although, it would be unusual for guests to decline an invitation to a wedding based on the possibility of England reaching the finals of the World Cup. I would always advise couples to try and avoid such dates, as it would be terribly frustrating for any couple whose wedding clashes with such an event.

Let your dream venue decide

If you have fallen in love with a venue, why not let their availability be the deciding factor when choosing your wedding date. With many venues booking 12-18 months in advance, (especially Saturday dates). There could be only a handful of suitable dates for you to consider. Furthermore, if you are going to allow your venue to be the deciding factor for your wedding date, your budget may only allow you to consider out of season dates which will reduce the date possibility further.

Work commitments

As boring as it seems, work commitments should be considered prior to setting your wedding date. The countdown to your wedding can be stressful. So, it’s important that you are able to dedicate time to your wedding as the big day approaches. You will need to meet with many of your suppliers, as well as your venue 4-6 weeks prior to your wedding. With the majority of these appointments taking place on a weekday, as suppliers and venues will be working on other weddings at weekends, especially if you are hosting your wedding in peak wedding season. Therefore, it is highly likely that you will need to book a number of days annual leave in order to attend some of your final meetings.

Season

With the weather being one of the only factors we are unable to control, you should give thought to the weather when deciding on a suitable wedding date.  I chose to host my own wedding in December. Partly because I love the romance of winter months and always dreamt of a winter wedding styled with an abundance of soft creative lighting and roaring log fires. However, secretly another huge bonus for me was knowing that it would be cold. Not because I wanted to be cold on my wedding day, quite the opposite.  I loved the idea of knowing that December would be chilly and I was therefore able to choose a suitable gown for myself and my bridesmaids.  In addition to this, I was also able to plan a wedding safe in the knowledge that it would not be directed to a plan B due to poor weather. If however you are dreaming of hosting a celebrant lead wedding within a magical woodland setting, or you are hoping for your photographer to capture romantic images within a meadow of wildflowers, then dates within the summer months should definitely be top of your list of days to secure.

Who would have thought that setting a wedding day would require so much thought and consideration!  I do however hope that you have found the information within this blog post helpful. And should you be planning a wedding with Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Hertfordshire or Cambridgeshire and require further advice on how to plan your wedding, please do take a look at my website where you will find information on the selection of wedding planning services I offer.

Image Credits: Terri & Lori Fine Art Photo & Film

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