Booking Your Date

When is the Best Time of Year to Get Married?

It depends what you want from your wedding. If your idea of a perfect wedding is a snow covered winter wedding, everyone wearing luxurious warm clothes, reds and golds and holy and winter flowers, I would suggest that a winter wedding is for you. However, if your idea of a perfect wedding is set on a beech with thong sandals and roasting sunshine then a summer wedding really is the way to go.

However, if you’re not sure when you’d like your wedding to be here are some benefits and draw backs depending on each time of the year.

If you don’t mind what time of year you get married, here are some basic tips for cutting costs:

• The cheapest time of the year to get married is in the off peak season, between October and April, with the exception of Christmas.
• Also, prices go up during school holidays so choosing a wedding date well away from school holidays is a bonus.
• Week days are obviously cheaper than weekends, Sundays cheaper than Saturdays

But it’s not always about money, here are some tips for those of you not sure what time of year to get married.

Spring

Spring weddings are beautiful, bright and full of beautiful flowers. I’m having a spring wedding! Cherry blossom begins to bloom on the trees, the weather starts to warm up after winter and sunny days become more and more frequent, without being too hot.

You may worry that you won’t be able to get the flowers or the colours you want in spring, however there are a wide range of flowers available in spring, including:

• Daffodils
• Bluebells
• Primrose
• Crocus
• And roses are available pretty much all year through

Other reasons for having a spring wedding include a slightly cheaper honeymoon than going in the summer. It is unlikely that other people will have booked your wedding date as most weddings happen during the summer months, so you can be sure you can be fairly you will be able to secure the date you want if you have a spring wedding.

With the men in your wedding dressed up in expensive suits looking gorgeous, the spring weather means that they won’t get too hot and will stay in those suits for as long as possible.

I chose a spring wedding because I thought it might be marginally cheaper for our guests coming from abroad to attend our wedding, and that it would be a bit cheaper for our honeymoon. However, as we are limited by school holidays, it’s not making a lot of difference.

Summer

Bright sunshine, strong wedding colours, gorgeous sunflowers and exotic honeymoons, it’s no wonder that the summer is a very popular choice for weddings. Teachers tend to choose the six weeks holiday for their wedding but July and August have always been popular wedding months.

Reasons for choosing a summer wedding include:

• Chances of a sunny day are more likely (although I’m not sure how true that is with a British summer)
• It’s usually lovely and warm perfect for an outside wedding!
• It’s wedding season!

Beach weddings are more popular during the summer when the weather is warmer, and they are a wonderful, informal way to celebrate your day.

Flowers you can have in the summer include:

• Sunflowers
• Marigolds
• Orchids
• Iris
• Rhododendron
• Delphinium
• Roses, of course
• And many many other flowers

Most of the weddings I’ve been to were during the summer months. They were fabulous! The weather was lovely for all and it was warm enough not to need a coat, and as I was a bridesmaid at two of them, that was a bonus!

In Britain, the weather can’t be guaranteed, but it’s likely that the weather will be better for the summer.

Autumn

Autumn weddings are framed in golden, red and orange colours, sometimes with some very sunny days. I was proposed to amidst golden trees in the middle of autumn and this time of year has always held a special spot in my heart.

Reasons for choosing autumn for your wedding include:

• You are unlikely to have extreme weather, not too hot, not too cold.
• venues are likely to be cheaper, especially after October.

You may think that this is the time that the flowers are starting to die off, but not so! There are many flowers available to an autumn bride including:

• Lily
• Dahlia
• Narcissus (bit like daffodils)
• Snapdragons
• Hydrangeas

Autumn wedding photos could be absolutely amazing with all the autumn colours. Golden colours in the background add a real touch of romance to photos. A good reason for anyone to have an autumn wedding.

Winter

Winter weddings are growing in popularity. These days it’s more and more likely that we will have snow in the winter, and snow makes a stunning back drop to any wedding. Romantic, cosy, full of golden reds and natural greens, winter weddings can be breath taking.

Reasons for having a winter wedding include:

• Breath taking winter colours
• Romantic, cosy winter atmosphere
• No need to worry about the heat (unless your venue is cold)

It is unlikely that your guests will want to go outside, so ensure that with a winter wedding your venue is big enough to keep everyone warm.

You might think that there aren’t many flowers available during the winter, but you’ll be surprised! A good florist will be able to give you the flowers you want, however you may have to pay a little more if you want flowers that are really out of season. Other flowers available in season are:

• Aconite
• Snowdrop
• Viburnam
• And of course, roses!

Roses are a fairly solid and very popular flower that’s available all year round.

Whatever time of year you choose, there are benefits and draw backs to all. But none of these will matter as your day will be fantastic!

Write a comment and tell me what time of year you got married or will get married, and why. I’d like to know what reasons other people have for choosing their wedding date.