Hello! Recently engaged and starting the planning!

ermjdecember2015

Hi everyone! My name is Emily and like almost every girl Ive been dreaming about my wedding for as long as I can remember. I got engaged just a few weeks ago and although we've decided to take our time planning for a spring 2014 wedding, I know time flies by and it will be here before I know it!

First things first I know we need to settle on a date. I would like some advice on planning your wedding over a holiday weekend. There pros and cons each way. We were considering memorial day weekend because most of his family will have to come in from out of state. Therefore, having an extra day or two off of work will be nice for our traveling guests. On the flip side, Im asking everyone to miss out on the barbeques or what not. Has anyone planned their wedding over a holiday weekend and how did that pan out?

Im excited to be on here and get the ball rolling and I cant wait to here advice from past, present and future brides! Thanks!

cwaggoner07

I went to a Memorial Day Weekend wedding last year, and people had to fly in from all over, and I thought it was GREAT. I would say that you probably need to send your Save the Dates out about 14-16 months in advance for a holiday weekend.
I think that's a great idea!
Also - take advantage of the girls on your local boards, as they have been so incredibly helpful in searching for vendors in my price range.
Good luck and congrats!

deanozzi

Hello and welcome. I think that is a great idea. Why would anyone want bbq food when they can have really good food at your wedding. Plus the entertainment is fun also! Good luck!

amys325

Keep in mind that traveling on a Holiday weekend is significantly more expensive and it's just more of an annoyance.  Yes, your guests will have an extra day off, but it's also a day when a million other people are traveling, which equals, busy airports/traffice/overall annoyances..

If you can't tell, I hate holiday weekend weddings with a passion.  With that said, if it's a close friend/family member I'll go....begrudgingly.

I have one on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend this year and if it wasn't a super closer friend, I would totally skip it.  Luckily it's local and we can bow out after dinner. 

Lobsters25

Holiday weekend weddings are not the most wonderful, but are doable.

Pros, as you mentioned, are that it does give people a bit extra time to travel or make the weekend into a vacation getaway.

The cons, though, are plentiful.  Hotel and travel rates may be more expensive.  Any parents with children in school may be busy with events, especially those with college students (picking up, graduations, etc.)

If you have your heart set on it, it is doable, just talk to your guests way in advance (this does not mean a save the date, this simply means a conversation.)  

pittpoint1119

We are planning out wedding for Memorial Day weekend in 2013. It was actually suggested to us by his family and mine. Yes there are pros and cons about the holiday weekend. My venue did not charge extra since it is a holiday weekend. I called ahead of time to see how much for a non-holiday weekend and then called for a holiday weekend and no extra charge. Non of my vendors that I have booked so far doesn't charged extra(venue,cater,photographer, dj). Just check with places. Even though many say they like to go away I know our families dont for memorial weekend, nothing exciting with our families, which meant we will have a nice turn out, but it does depend on your family and friends what they do. We don't have a ton of out of town guest but since we got engaged in November and set our date it has been word of mouth between us and our parents. We are doing a Saturday so it gives people the time to have a picnic on Monday if they want to plus travel on sunday back home. I am excited for a holiday wedding cause we will have more family and friends then a regular weekend!!!

LoisLane007

Welcome Emily!! And congrats! These boards are AWESOME!!! I planned my wedding for 18 months, and yes, it does fly by.

amys325

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_hello-recently-engaged-and-starting-the-planning?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:bc2cb28d-ff76-4696-a0b3-8f62cdff310cPost:d0583939-10d4-4ead-bcd8-7f95af26649d">Re: Hello! Recently engaged and starting the planning!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hello! Recently engaged and starting the planning! : Memorial Day Barbecues can be just as fun, if not more fun, than weddings.  It all depends on your crowd.  <strong>Often times wedding food sucks.</strong>  I'd rather be at a barbecue. To the OP- How well this goes over will depend on your crowd.  Some people would love that they already have that extra day off to travel but others won't be as happy about being forced to decide between other plans and your wedding.  Do many of the people you intend to invite have long standing Memorial Day Weekend plans that they'd be hard-pressed to miss?
Posted by LingerLonger1[/QUOTE]

This X 1 million!  BBQ food is almost always better than wedding food.

My friend and I would always complain about holiday weekend weddings and how annoying they are and then she decided to have hers over Labor Day weekend.  I have long standing plans, but I pretty much have to cancel because we are super close.  It's really frustrating.

OP, just prepare for some people to decline.

ermjdecember2015

I appreciate all the feedback. Im glad I asked. Things like gas prices, hotels raising prices and traffic were things I hadnt thought of. We havent set the date in stone yet, it was just an idea we were playing with. Now that Im seeing all the angles of it, its probably not as good of an idea as I thought it was. So thanks again ladies, we'll keep playing with the dates until we land on something we're totally happy with

RyansBelovedBride

Welcome! I think it depends on your crowd as someone else said... so probably teh best thing to do is to ask a few of your close guests if they think holiday weekend weddings are good or not as a test run...

Personally I adore going to weddings, so I love them whenever they are held... I'm just sad when I can't go.