Maybe you just recently got engaged and are planning your wedding in a short 4-5 months. Or maybe you desire a small, intimate gathering of your closest family and friends. Or maybe you’re planning a large wedding with plenty of time in advance but your venue is already booked on the weekend you were hoping for.
These are all AMAZING reasons to choose a weekday wedding!
Over the years of photographing weddings and seeing SO many different timeline, decor and venue options chosen by my couples, I wanted to write a short post about choosing a weekday (or a Sunday) wedding date.
In fact, I got married on the Sunday over Memorial Day weekend. I picked it because we were planning on short notice and I didn’t want to compromise on having the photographer of my dreams (who was already booked that Saturday). Turns out, it was a pretty great date to choose because we always have a long weekend for celebrating our anniversary!
Sure Saturdays are great; you can take a Friday for rehearsal and decorating, have the wedding on Saturday and then still have Sunday to wrap up the weekend’s festivities before guests have to go back to work. But have you thought about how a weekday wedding could work great for you and your guests as well?
It’s something that not many couples consider when planning their day, but there can be some HUGE benefits to choosing a non-Saturday date for your wedding. Keep reading for my top 3 reasons to choose a non-Saturday wedding.
VENDOR AVAILABILITY
Montana has such a short wedding season. June through September are THE prime months to get married here in Montana when the weather is the prettiest and semi-predictable (I write that slightly rolling my eyes at those words- it’s never very predictable). But “wedding season” in Montana is during our warmest summer months which means there are only so many Saturdays to choose from.
The most popular venues and vendors like photographers, florists and caterers book up FAST for those prime Saturday dates. So if you have a particular weekend in mind, and that Saturday is booked, consider a Thursday, Friday or Sunday wedding!
Often, this will allow you to still plan the wedding of your DREAMS with more of your top choice vendors available.
You may be thinking, “this isn’t ideal for our guests and their taking time off of work.” Well, I’m here to tell you that most guests who travel a long distance to be at your wedding often take additional time off and make a mini-vacation out of the wedding they attend in Montana anyway. And those guests who are nearby are happy to take even just a half-day off of work to attend your evening wedding. Friday weddings can be especially great for nearby guests because they enjoy getting a jumpstart to their weekend!
COST SAVINGS
Another BIG reason to consider a non-Saturday wedding is cost savings.
Oftentimes, venues have a non-Saturday rate that can be considerably less than a Saturday date. Many will do this so that they can expand their capacity during wedding season by not being limited to Saturdays only. Some even have additional discounted rates for Saturdays that aren’t in “prime season” (such as December – March).
Other vendors will often have a slightly lower rate for non-Saturday dates as well; however, I will be the first to say that for any vendor, it is the same amount of work for them no matter what day of the week it is. So if they don’t offer a lower rate, that is likely why!
Personally, I offer a smaller coverage option of 5 hours for a non-Saturday date that is much less than my Saturday rate which begins with a minimum of 8 hours of coverage. I’ve found that many of the non-Saturday weddings are smaller, intimate gatherings where the couple may not have a full reception or no bridal party, etc. so less coverage time works nicely for those types of weddings; for those reasons, I love offering a more cost-saving alternative for shorter coverage for those couples.
INTIMATE/DESTINATION WEDDINGS
Lastly, weekday weddings can be quite ideal for couples planning a small, intimate gathering or even a destination wedding here in Montana.
Many times couples who keep it small will have their closest family and friends visit for about a week and will plan many fun excursions and activities to do together. In some cases, they’ve rented out their venue for the entire week to stay at as well. They have a lot of flexibility in their date and by choosing a weekday wedding, it gives the group more time to really celebrate the occasion together and time to travel home on a Saturday and recoup from the festivities on a Sunday before returning to work.
Maybe your wedding is not an intimate gathering but you are having many friends and family traveling in for the wedding. A weekday wedding, like a Friday, is still a great option because it really allows you (and your families) more time with those guests. For example, if you chose a Friday wedding you still have Saturday and Sunday to spend with many of your guests that traveled a long distance to see you before they need to return home.
These are just a few of the perks in having a non-Saturday wedding that not many couples think about. If you are a bride who was initially turned off by the thought of a weekday wedding, I hope this helped shed some light on the benefits of choosing something a little different for your day.
