How did you pick your wedding date?

KeyToHisHeart2017 · September 2015

Hello all. I'm pretty new here, have commented a few times, but mostly just lurking. My Fiancé and I got engaged on May 28th and since then we have basically just said we will be getting married in 2017. I am in nursing school right now, due to graduate in December. I will then begin a bachelor's program in January and that will be a 9-12 month course.. so 2017 will be best for us. We have discussed a budget and know a rough estimate of how many people we want to invite. We know we want outdoors ceremony in Spring/Summer season with an indoor reception. As far as narrowing down to one day, we aren't sure how to go about doing that. We still have some time before it has to be set in stone, however, a venue we have been scoping out online is having an open house this weekend and we wanted to go check the place out and see how we like it. They are offering a special right now for 2017 wedding dates, so we thought we'd have a few dates in mind to check for availability if we love the venue. Our dating anniversary is June 23rd, which falls on a Friday in 2017. We thought about just keeping that date, but we also kind of want a Saturday wedding. Would it be weird to choose the day after our dating anniversary? Am I overthinking this? Was there anything specific that helped you choose your date? Any suggestions for me? Thanks ladies.

lc07 · September 2015

We chose a season in a year as well and from there we narrowed down the date based on the venue's availability that we liked and our VIP's schedules. It ended up being pretty easy for us since there was only one weekend where both of our immediate families and very best friends were available that the venue had a date available on. My (now ex) husband's best friend ended up not being able to come after all which was sad for my ex H but understandable when you are planning so far out - things change in people's life. But he wouldn't have been able to come any other time anyway.

If you have VIP people you want to attend check with them before choosing a date. For example, make sure you aren't planning it on tax deadline weekend if someone is a tax preparer etc or finals week for your sister, etc. But remember that things may change for them anyway and they may not be able to attend after all and that's just life.

lyndausvi · September 2015

My job at the time was always shut down from late-Aug until early-to-mid Oct. We knew we wanted to get married during that time. The venue had 2 dates available. Sept 6 and Sept 13th. We picked the 6th so we could have more time to spend on a HM. My wedding date was the day before my parent's 40th anniversary. No big deal. Which oddly enough was the 2 days before my parent's dating anniversary I know my parent's because they met on Sept 8 and were married Sept 7th of the following year. So technically they didn't even know each other a year when they got married.

I don't even know my dating anniversary, so I'm no help there. I would pick a Saturday over a Friday dating anniversary date, but you are not wrong to pick the Friday date.

Basically pick a date that works for you and your VIPs. Just remember, whatever date you pick will become just as, if not more important than your dating anniversary.

KeyToHisHeart2017 · September 2015

lyndausvi said:
My job at the time was always shut down from late-Aug until early-to-mid Oct. We knew we wanted to get married during that time. The venue had 2 dates available. Sept 6 and Sept 13th. We picked the 6th so we could have more time to spend on a HM. My wedding date was the day before my parent's 40th anniversary. No big deal. Which oddly enough was the 2 days before my parent's dating anniversary I know my parent's because they met on Sept 8 and were married Sept 7th of the following year. So technically they didn't even know each other a year when they got married.

I don't even know my dating anniversary, so I'm no help there. I would pick a Saturday over a Friday dating anniversary date, but you are not wrong to pick the Friday date.

Basically pick a date that works for you and your VIPs. Just remember, whatever date you pick will become just as, if not more important than your dating anniversary.

Yes, we were wanting a Saturday over a Friday because we went to a Friday wedding this summer and it was chaos trying to make it there in time and it was only a 10 minute drive to their venue.

lovesclimbing · September 2015

I was in school so the entire school year was out of the question. Due to my parents work, summer was out. That left May or Christmas break. H's best man had a wedding the second half of Christmas break. We didn't want to wait until the next May (got engaged in June) so we chose the best day that could work during Christmas break.

I say go with what works best for you and your FI and your VIPs. I think it's silly to focus on a specific date. As other ladies like to point out on here, your wedding day is and always will be a special date regardless of whether it takes place with another special date.

Wegl13 · September 2015

We wanted as soon as possible with enough time to plan. We worked around the end of my lease and the start of my new job. Then we decided on December. And we wanted 12/13/14, but by that time I'd picked out a photographer I loved and they had just had a couple sign a contract for that date. So we backed up by a week after checking with our VIPs because what the hell do we care if we have some cutesie date? But then we also ended up doing almost exactly what @lyndausvi did- we got married the day AFTER my parents' 39th anniversary! Aaand then like three months after I decided on a date and signed a contract and whatnot- we realized it was the day and time of the SEC championship game, which Auburn graced us with not having a chance of participating in. We got a couple of gripes and possibly had a cousin back out because of the game (suspected but they gave a different excuse), but I refuse to schedule around football when the weather the rest of the year in the south is so unpredictable- tornadoes and heat are a lot less likely in December.

luckya23 · September 2015

I'm crazy and wanted my wedding date to add up to the number 23. I think there were 3 options in 2015, with one on a Saturday in June so that was perfect! The first weekend of summer and my sister is a teacher so summer was best anyway.

hellohkb · September 2015

Our anniversary was January 2nd, so we choose the 23rd. We figured we would keep it in the same month and I liked the idea of a winter wedding.

huskypuppy14 · September 2015

We got engaged in July and knew we wanted a early summer wedding if possible. So we preferred the next June if possible, but were flexible and willing to have it in July too. We originally wanted June 21 2014 because it was the first day of summer, and we knew we wanted a Saturday. Once we found our venue, they didn't have the 21, but they had the 14 and the 7 of June. My husband didn't want the 7th because it was his birthday weekend, so the 14 was our choice. We double checked with our VIPs because Father's day was the 15th, but no one had a problem with that weekend.

I love our date, and 6/14/14 has a good ring to it.

AprilH81 · September 2015

We decided on a winter wedding because we didn't want to wait a year to get married in the summer/fall.

I printed out a calendar and marked out my period (I was on the pill so very predictable) to make sure I wouldn't have my period on the wedding day or on the honeymoon.

I sent the remaining list of dates to our VIPs (minister, parents and my sister) to see if there was any conflicts. The minister had some things we needed to work around and DH asked that we avoid having the wedding on a day with NFL playoffs.

With all that we ended up with Saturday, January 25, 2014.

With a winter wedding in the midwest we didn't have to worry about being overly flexible with the date since there wasn't a lot of demand for weddings.

WinstonsGirl · September 2015

School calendar. I teach, so we had to pick a holiday time. We got engaged in Dec, and planned for Spring Break 3 months later, but since we were going to Hawaii, we postponed 1 year to give friends and family the chance to save up if they wanted to make the trip. From there, it was the end of March/beginning of April for us. We wanted earlier in the week off. We were looking at March 27 (Tuesday), since my Dad's birthday is the 25th (and the Saturday). But there was no reason behind it, so we eventually switched to the 26th (Monday). It was a day earlier, leaving more time for vacation after. And DH's birthday is in March, and mine is the 26th of a different month, so we thought it kinda tied us each into the date too.

spockforprez · September 2015

I wanted part of our honeymoon to be an annual camping trip we take, so we decided on the Saturday before the trip. It's also 4 years and 2 days after our first date, so that was nice.

kimmiinthemitten · September 2015

I've always wanted a winter wedding. FI is a teacher, and his top 3 wedding requests were honeymoon right after, no pink, and good food. We bounced around December 10th or the 17th, and the 17th worked best for our VIP and family OOTers. He will go back to school for 3 days before our Honeymoon but will also be able to take the Friday before off. Our dating anniversary is the 14th, so it's nice, but not intentional, that they are close:).

sarahufl · September 2015

We got engaged in late October. I knew the venue I wanted to use from attending a wedding there previously. We basically wanted to get married as soon as possible. The venue had 5 available Saturdays for the next 18 months.

One was in February, which is fine in Florida, but half our guests were coming from New York and we didn't want winter weather to potentially wreck travel plans. Then Easter weekend, which, for 2 Catholics didn't make sense. The next was FSU graduation, and no hotels are available that weekend, so we nixed it as well.

There were 2 days available in the summer, one of which a family member had a conflict. So basically, we had one date and we took it (7.26.14). I didn't really want a late summer wedding in Florida, but I also didn't want to wait a year to get married.

kvruns · September 2015

we got engaged in May but didn't really start looking til that summer. I didn't want to wait an entire year or more so thought spring looked good. Found a venue we liked and the only date they had for spring was May 29 so we took it.

cupcait927 · September 2015

We got engaged in October of 2013. We both knew we wanted a fall wedding, specifically September - we live in an area where the fall colors are beautiful - and I knew I didn't want to be engaged for longer than a year. It didn't matter to us what the date was, as long as it wasn't Labor Day weekend. We ended up with the last date in September that our venue had available - 9/27. We didn't care about specific dates, just the time of year.

jenna8984 · September 2015

We don't have a dating anniversary. We were kind of off & on for the first 2 months that we met so we never really established a date or celebrated one. We knew we wanted September because my parents live far away and they visit every Sept. We have a family gathering every Labor Day on Cape Cod that we my grandparents really enjoy planing and hosting and we didn't want to take that away from them. So we wanted the following weekend but my best friend was in her brother's wedding that day. So we went with the weekend after. 9/13/14.

I would say go with Saturday and don't worry about the dating anniversary.

thisismynickname2 · September 2015

We were both in grad school when we got engaged; he was going to finish in June and I was finishing in August. We chose September. It was 18 months after our engagement which felt long enough. The venue we wanted had availability on a Saturday mid-month, and that was that.

peachy13 · September 2015

We got engaged in Oct 2013 and knew we wanted an October wedding. However, we also knew we had about 8 weddings in 2014, including several that FI was in, one family wedding, and one that I was in. On top of that, we knew we'd likely be paying for our own wedding, so in order to save money, we started looking at Saturdays in October 2015.

Saw Halloween was one of them, looked at each other and knew our wedding date. Just crossed our fingers when we went venue shopping that our date was available.

ShesSoCold · September 2015

We wanted a destination wedding and the best time of year there was late July to mid-August. So that narrowed it down for us. Even without the DW, we knew we wanted to avoid hockey and football season. I wanted even numbers so we have two or three Saturdays to choose from. Unfortunately Mick Jagger's birthday was already booked so we picked 8/2/14.

Then my mom got sick, we scrapped all the plans and were super lucky to find a fantastic local venue with a Sunday available in less than two weeks. And it was an even number. Bam. 7/20 it is.

charlottesmom0626 · September 2015

I fell in love with a venue. They said 'We have two dates available in 2015" so we picked one. Easy!

beachyone15 · September 2015

AprilH81 said:

We decided on a winter wedding because we didn't want to wait a year to get married in the summer/fall.

I printed out a calendar and marked out my period (I was on the pill so very predictable) to make sure I wouldn't have my period on the wedding day or on the honeymoon.

I sent the remaining list of dates to our VIPs (minister, parents and my sister) to see if there was any conflicts. The minister had some things we needed to work around and DH asked that we avoid having the wedding on a day with NFL playoffs.

With all that we ended up with Saturday, January 25, 2014. With a winter wedding in the midwest we didn't have to worry about being overly flexible with the date since there wasn't a lot of demand for weddings.

I totally did this too!

We got engaged in October and wanted about 1 year to plan. With the weather here and our work schedules, October ended up being perfect. So just by chance, we got married 364 days after we got engaged.

julieanne912 · September 2015

charlottesmom0626 said:

I fell in love with a venue. They said 'We have two dates available in 2015" so we picked one. Easy!

Pretty much this. I called and asked what they had for a Saturday for the fall (we got engaged in Feb of this year so it was less than a year out). They had 9/12/15 available due to a cancellation, or the end of October. Since end of October could mean beautiful weather or blizzard around here, and is during CO rifle hunting season, AND is during hockey season, we went with 9/12. H hadn't even seen the venue yet but she said they had a few other couples circling that date too, so I paid the deposit over the phone (I had seen it before we even got engaged). H pointed out later that 9+3 = 12 and 12+3 = 15. He's a nerd.

emmaaa · September 2015

DH was still in school so we definitely had to avoid his class times. He works in the golf industry and I am in recreation so spring/summer is too busy for us to take off. I had always wanted a fall or winter wedding. We wanted a week long honeymoon so we decided on winter break. We ended up picking 12/27 because we wanted to spend Christmas with our families. It worked out well because a lot of friends who live out of town now were home for the holidays.

lnixon8 · September 2015

I teach amd wanted to get married in June after school let out. The day after I got engaged I told my MOH the two weekends were thinking of and she mentioned (and apologized immediatly after) that her boyfriend was in a wedding on the second weekend. Boom! 6/20/15

We got married at my in laws compound so there was no competition or anything like that.

PandaNikki · September 2015

I wanted August. Our dating anniversary is 8/29, and we closed on our house on 8/30/13 and our venue had 8/30/14 available (which was a Saturday which we wanted because everyone had to travel, plus it was Labor Day weekend which made the traveling easier for everyone with the extra day off). I was aiming for that date anyway because I thought it would be cute with the house and the wedding with the same day a year apart.

CharmedPam · September 2015

AprilH81 said:
I printed out a calendar and marked out my period (I was on the pill so very predictable) to make sure I wouldn't have my period on the wedding day or on the honeymoon.

---BOXES---

Dammit. I didn't even THINK of that.

Honestly, I love Halloween/October so always wanted a late October wedding but not ON Halloween. The venue I liked offered November- May discounts, so figured the day after Halloween was just as nice.

arrrghmatey · September 2015

We got engaged last October and both agreed we wanted a fall 2015 wedding because the scenery out here is just gorgeous. We kept a date somewhere between September-November on our preference list and then began to look at venues shortly after our engagement since it gave us about a year to plan. We found the venue we loved and they only had two dates available: Friday September 11 and Friday November 13.

September 11 is my birthday so I didn't want to share my birthday with my wedding anniversary. November has more pretty outdoor colors, and since it is off-peak wedding season, it was cheaper. So we went with Friday the 13th. We're not superstitious at all, and love the novelty of the date.

KeyToHisHeart2017 · September 2015

Thank you all for your input. Seems like there is really no right or wrong way to pick a wedding date as long as you and FI and your VIPs can make it! I love the reasoning's behind picking some of yours special day. We have a lot to think about, thanks again ladies!

KatWAG · September 2015

I didn't care when we got married. I only cared about having it on a Saturday. So I went by when venues were available.

princessleia22 · September 2015

We have several teachers in our family and everyone is spread across the country. Because everyone was so spread out and we knew 95% would have to travel, regardless of location, we decided on a destination wedding in NOLA. So we knew it had to be a summer wedding to accommodate all the teaching schedules. Mid-June to mid-July seemed to work best for everyone. Our dating anniversary was 6/27, so we thought it would be nice to hit that date, but it didn't work out. After checking with venue 6/22 was the date that worked best with all our schedules and was available. And that means we got to celebrate our dating anniversary on our honeymoon.

How did you pick your wedding date?

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