August vs October Wedding

PerezStone

I have 2 options to do a Winery Reception in So Cal in either mid August or mid October. I already have August booked with our church, next available date is mid Oct. The winery is also an Inn & is offering to do a room block for any guests that might want to stay. Rooms are $250 for the night, but nice accommodations & surroundings. My dilemma is I haven't sent out a Save-The-Date. Rooms need to be booked by mid July before the Inn releases them to the public. Plus we are doing a no-kid wedding. My question is do you think 2-3 months is appropriate time to give my guests to decide whether to book a room & find a sitter? (Most guests are local or a 45-1hr drive away)

I would prefer to do it in August b/c it's an outdoor reception, weather will be perfect, grapes will be in full bloom, & trees will be green. Plus I just want to get married already! LOL

October weather will be cooler-maybe windy (on a hillside), no grapes (after harvest) & orange tones on trees.

What should I do??

JMalettas

 We got married last August, and it was an awesome time of year! We were married August 10, and I believe our venue, (that also had hotel stay), required our guests to book their rooms by the second or third week of June. It was a pretty early date, but the majority of guests that wanted rooms, had them booked in time. 

 I don't at all see why there would be an issue with sending out STDs now. People send them months before their weddings. We had a lot of OOT guests, and sent them almost a year before. If it were me, I'd send them out, and make sure you let people know, that if they want to book a room, that they can book within the block, up until the cut-off date. We didn't have the block info printed directly on the STD, but had the wedding website on there, and the website had the details. A few months before the wedding, I quickly messages any OOT guests the hotel info, just incase they wanted to book a room within the block, (& hadn't noticed or checked our website). We personally, had no issues with anyone forgetting to, or not booking/having a room for the wedding. 

 Good luck!

 *J

HisGirlFriday13

I got married in October, so I'm obviously biased towards October.

That being said...It's May 21. if you're talking about August or October of THIS YEAR, you're really pushing it for deadlines for people.

2-3 months is certainly enough time to give people so they can book a room and get a sitter if need be. 

Whatever decision you make, make it SOON. And at this point, STDates would be pointless. If you're getting married in August, your invites should be going out next month anyway.

CMGragain

Your church date takes priority.  Do August.

manateehugger

You seem to be leaning toward it, so just do August and order yourself some invitations ASAP. You're going to want to send those out around 8 weeks prior. 

People have enough time to do the hotel; we often don't book the room until a month or so out anyway. 

Skip the formal STD's at this point and just send out an email to VIPS. 

theartistformerlyknownas

Can you maybe find a second, less expensive option for lodging? $250/night sounds really pricey to me for a wedding... I don't care so much how nice the surroundings are because I'm not choosing to go there for my vacation, I'm going for your wedding. An hour away is far enough that I'd want a room so I didn't have to drive home late, but not far enough that I'd see it as a destination anyway. I'd send invites ASAP (for August) to give people time to plan since you didn't send Save the Dates.

JennyColada

I'm getting married in Oct (5) and it's still in the (end of) crush season.

August is generally pretty hot. I find October weather to be more bearable.