Planning your wedding is no small task, but the hardest part is over! You’ve found the love of your life, so setting a wedding date should be easy in comparison.
Choosing your wedding date is the first major step in planning your wedding. But picking a date is no small task. There are a lot of factors to consider from weather to attendance to choice of flowers, so it can quickly seem like a daunting challenge.
However, choosing a wedding date is easy if you know what to do. To help you make this process easier, here are some steps for how to choose a wedding date.
Brides watching their wedding guests hold colored smoke bombs in the desert.
1. CONSIDER THE DATES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU
- A wonderful way to start thinking about your wedding date is to ask yourself are there any dates with sentimental value to you and your partner?
- For example, is the day you met your partner special?
- What about the day of your engagement?
- Is your parents’ or grandparents’ wedding anniversary a date you’d want to consider?
- Do you have a special bond as a couple with any major holidays?
- Asking yourselves these questions could help you pick a date with special meaning to you.
2. FOCUS ON THE SEASON
- If you don’t have a specific date in mind for when you’d like to tie the knot, consider what you want your wedding to be.
- Do you want a colorful outdoor wedding? Do you imagine walking down the aisle with a big bouquet of gardenia and irises?
- Then you probably want to look at a summer wedding.
- On the other hand, do you imagine more of a rustic-style wedding with lots of natural elements? Do you want to be married under a full moon?
- Then fall might be the season for you.
- Understanding what season matches the vision for your nuptials, will help you narrow down the dates of your wedding.
- Bride and groom embrace during an outdoor wedding.
3. UNDERSTAND THE POPULAR WEDDING DATES
- One of the most important things to know about how to pick a wedding date is to learn about the most popular wedding times.
- There are certain times of the year that are more popular than others for people to get married.
- Summer is the most popular wedding season, but February is also a very popular month for weddings because of Valentine’s Day.
- The least popular months for weddings are January, March, April and November.
- The benefit of hosting your wedding during these months is that wedding vendors have availability and are less expensive than during peak months.
4. CHECK WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
- Another tip on how to choose a wedding date is to check in with your wedding VIPs.
- Once you have an ideal time frame in mind, talk to the people you most want to attend.
- This includes your wedding party, family members and closest friends.
- See if they have any existing conflicts to ensure you pick a date they can all attend.
- Make sure to have a couple of dates that everyone can attend in mind before taking the next step.
- Guests watching a wedding ceremony outside in the Las Vegas desert.
5. CONSULT WITH THE VENUE
- Picking a wedding date often comes down to the venue.
- Once you have a general idea of when you’d like to get married, you need to talk with your venue.
- Start by seeing what dates they have available that work with your wedding plans.
- If they have availability that matches your dates, then you can book the venue and get started.
- If not, see what days they have available near your preferred dates. From those, you can decide which date is the right choice.
ONE LAST TIP FOR FINALIZING THE DATE
- Before setting your wedding date in stone, make sure to check the calendar for any other important events near your nuptials.
- There’s a lot that goes into planning a wedding.
- You’ll need to decide on the food and flowers, pick out the dresses and tuxes and set up the registry.
- Give yourself plenty of time before your wedding date so you can plan.
- You’ll also want plenty of time after the wedding date to rest and relax from all the hard work.
- Once you’ve reviewed the calendar, you can set and finalize your wedding date.
Author: McKenzi Taylor