Know Your Dates - Understanding the Wedding Seasons
Know your dates - understanding the wedding seasons
You’re engaged! Time to start wedding planning, and the first job… picking the date!
There are a number of considerations to make when choosing your wedding date, and one of them is the wedding seasons.
The conversation my husband and I had when choosing our wedding date:
“Oh look, our anniversary on the 8th March falls on a Friday, let’s get married on our anniversary!”
“Oh look, that Friday is the Friday before a long weekend! That’s great! Our guests will love a 4 day weekend.”
“Ohhhhh, I love this venue right in the middle of the city! Let’s get married there!”
A Friday, in March, on our anniversary, on a long weekend, in Adelaide CBD! Perfect!
What we didn’t consider… it’s a Friday, in March, on a long weekend, in Adelaide CBD…
So, we got married, surrounded by the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Clipsal 500 and a million tourists. Prices of accommodation - out of this world, and everything was booked up MONTHS in advance…
What you should know when choosing your date…..
In Australia, ‘wedding season’ extends from September to May, the most popular times of the year to be married being, not surprisingly, when the weather is nicest!
While this ‘season’ is quite extensive and does cover most of the year, the months of March, April, October and November are by far the busiest and most popular. Popular dates in these months can sometimes book out 2 to 3 years (yes, YEARS) in advance, depending on the popularity and demand on the venue and supplier.
It is also probably no surprise to know that the most popular day of the week to be married is Saturday, so, if you are looking at having a Saturday wedding in, say, October or March, be sure to get on to booking your suppliers as soon as possible!!
Sunday, Friday and even Thursday weddings are also slowly becoming more popular.
When choosing your date, pick a date that works for you; it may be an anniversary, a birthday, or when your favourite venue is available, but also consider:
· Peak vs off-peak – some venues and other suppliers offer different packages and pricing for on and off-peak seasons, so if you aren’t bothered by the cold, or happy to be indoors, planning a Winter Wedding could save you some money (always handy!).
· Public and school holidays – while planning your wedding for a holiday period is tempting, to ensure those come from far and wide have time to relax and enjoy the day, accommodation and travel can be more expensive over these dates. Christmas and Easter can especially be difficult to coordinate, so if you are having a number of guests come from interstate or overseas be sure to give them plenty of notice, or avoid these dates.
Check your dates and consider:
· New Year’s Day
· Australia Day
· Chinese New Year
· Anzac Day
· Easter Holidays
· St Patricks Day
· Labour Day (varies state to state)
· Queen’s Birthday (varies state to state)
· Christmas Eve
· Christmas Day
· Boxing Day
· Local events – keep up to date with events going on around your wedding date. Large festivals, concerts or sporting events in the area will put restrictions and demand on venues, accommodation, and transport. Be sure to give yourself, and your guests plenty of time to make arrangements.
And in all your planning, remember that those who love you the most will make the effort to be there, so whether you choose a Saturday, or a Monday, give your guests plenty of notice and they will be happy to book the time off work, make the trip and celebrate with you!!!
Our wedding was amazing, it all came together, and everyone had an incredible time, but our date definitely needed a little more consideration!
The final word from my darling husband, Allan, on the subject…
“I think it added to everyone’s sense and mood of celebration because of the time of year and because it was our wedding and we’re awesome *100 emoji*””.
Thanks for your contribution AB!
