Sunday or Friday weddings?

[zoebartlett]

Which tends to be more cost effective (okay, I''ll say it, cheaper) - a Sunday wedding or one on Friday? It may depend on time of day, location (venue and region), etc., but on average, what would be your opinion?

Having a Saturday wedding would be an ideal option but we''re probably looking at a larger guest list than originally thought. With this thought in mind, we thought we could save a little if we had it on a different day.

Keep in mind, we''re not engaged yet, but with 3 days off of work due to flooding, what else am I going to do but begin planning our wedding?

 

[Jas12]

I am getting married on a sunday of a holiday weekend (so no one will be working the next day). I thought it would be cheaper--but it is not. the resort told me they still require the same number of people to cater and set-up and the same amount of food, drinks etc. Kinda makes sense, but I thought I would get ''something'' out of the sunday slot...so, make sure that you really are getting a discounted rate if you are making the date decision based on the assumption that a non-saturday is cheaper.

 

[dtnyc]

When I was looking/researching, the only place I was able to find a "savings" between a Sat. night vs. Friday/Sunday night was in rental/facility fees (we ultimately went w/a location that didn''t have one of these.) The food and drink cost at the venues was the same.

I did not find that cakes, flowers, various rentals, most photographers, etc. were any cheaper on Friday/Sunday nights vs. Saturday nights. If you think about it a rose/steak/cocktail costs the same 7 days a week- it''s the availability/demand of the venue and where those services that are being rendered if you will.

It really depends what type of venues you are looking at and if they charge fees just to get in the door- this is where I noticed the biggest amount of flexibility in costs based on day of the week.

 

[starryeyed]

I''m getting married on a TUESDAY and there is no cost savings! Granted, we are doing a destination wedding, but still no savings.

I think the advantage to Friday/Sunday weddings is availability. Saturdays book first, so if you have a certain place and date in mind, Friday/Sunday affairs are a good option for getting the venue you want, particularly if you aren''t booking 1-2 years in advance.

 

[piccolascimmia]

I''ve only researched venue costs so far, and the venues I''ve looked at in the SE definitely charge the least for Sundays, then Fridays, then Saturdays.

I had heard rumors that getting vendors on Sundays could be cheaper too, but I wonder if its just *easier* to book a Sunday from a scheduling standpoint. Sounds like dtnyc didn''t find vendors to be cheaper on alternate days.

 

[musey]

Date: 4/18/2007 10:16:31 AM
Author: Jas12
I am getting married on a sunday of a holiday weekend (so no one will be working the next day). I thought it would be cheaper--but it is not. the resort told me they still require the same number of people to cater and set-up and the same amount of food, drinks etc.

I was thinking of doing this too--it probably really depends on the location. One of my venue choices only charges pp, and has a minimum of 150 on Saturday nights and only 100 on Sunday nights. The other front runner does booking fees, and the difference is only $800 ($2,800 on Saturdays and $2,000 on Sundays). So neither saves a significant amount of money (in the grand scheme of budgeting) and certainly not enough to be worth inconveniencing any guests (in my case it would).

The only difference for me is that, if I decide I REALLY want venue A, it's easier to meet their pp minimum on a Sunday.

In most cases, it probably won't end up being the big budget-saver that brides.com says it is. I'm sure that there are venues for which it would make a big difference, though, if you do your research!

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 4/18/2007 12:12:36 PM
Author: piccolascimmia
I''ve only researched venue costs so far, and the venues I''ve looked at in the SE definitely charge the least for Sundays, then Fridays, then Saturdays.


I had heard rumors that getting vendors on Sundays could be cheaper too, but I wonder if its just *easier* to book a Sunday from a scheduling standpoint. Sounds like dtnyc didn''t find vendors to be cheaper on alternate days.

It''s definitely easier to get some vendors and venues on Friday/Sundays vs. Saturdays. Also it''s often times much less to go w/ a Saturday DAY time wedding- because people drink less so your alcohol costs will be less.

My venue is actually closed on Sundays so that wasn''t an option for me. I think some photographers may charge less for non-Saturdays- but as I mentioned in my previous post I found certain costs to be fixed it''s not as if it costs a vendor less to bake a cake for a Sunday vs. a Saturday, etc.

 

[FireGoddess]

I think this is a location specific question but I saw a definite price difference...Sat was more than Fri was more than Sun. We had our wedding on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 4/18/2007 1:19:09 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I think this is a location specific question but I saw a definite price difference...Sat was more than Fri was more than Sun. We had our wedding on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

Agree---savings was bigger on Sunday than Friday night. It was about 25% cheaper on Sunday afternoon for the venue.

I''d prefer Sunday to Friday myself, so that''s what we did. Sunday pm.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks for the responses!

Alj, you''re from MA, right? We''re looking in the NH area, possibly extending our search into northern MA or southern ME. Do you have any "you must look at..." suggestions?

One thing we thought of was to do a brunch buffet and hold it either on Saturday or Sunday (I''m assuming late morning or early afternoon). We''d like to keep it casual yet classy. That''s just one idea we''re thinking of.

 

[akw94]

Zoe, I found that Sunday''s were quite a bit cheaper when I did some searching. Also, doing daytime vs. night time makes a difference. I am doing a Sunday lunchtime event and that was, by far, the cheapest possibility. Although I found this mainly just when searching for venues, it was enough of a difference to make it affordable. As far as if it''s cheaper w/vendors, I don''t know but I do think there is more availability.
Just to throw something else out there, when doing your searching, if you''re trying to stay cost-effective, look at options outside the wedding package. I am doing the a la carte options and I am saving a huge amount of money. A lot of places will really work with you if you tell them you want something a little less formal and less $.

Good luck!

 

[Fancy605]

The problem with Fridays is that people tend to have trouble making to to Friday weddings due to work. I am going to be attending a Friday wedding soon, and I am just Praying that I have a personal day stored up by then. A lot of people I know are actually afraid that they won''t be able to make it.

To me it seems like Sunday would be a good balance between cost effectiveness and convinence for your guests.

 

[DiamondSmitten]

I am doing a Sunday May 25 2008 wedding which is memorial day weekend. I got my place for 75 a person instead of the Saturday price of 87.50 a person plus no ceremony set up fee which is usually 500 dollars. So its a big money saver for us as it looks to be a 150-200 person wedding. Also MANY places will give the Sunday price on saturday if the Sunday is booked already so you might want to try that. We went sunday of a holiday weekend for religious reasons but the other way works well sometimes.

 

[cara]

I think you have to look at the specifics closely to determine which would be cheaper. Would you really have the exact same wedding on a Sunday or a Friday or would you make other choices on the meal or beverages that would affect the cost?

In particular look at the reception venue pricing structure, the cost of different meal/food/drink options that you would choose on each day, and the effect on your guest count for having in on a different day. Some venues charge more for Friday nights than Sundays, others charge the same (and less than Saturday), others will charge more for a Sunday. A few vendors *might* offer discounts for off-days, but you should do your research ahead of time before counting on a discount. Most likely it is something like a florist has a $2k minimum on Sat. but only no minimum on other days, so not necessarily a real discount, just more flexibility on an off day. Photogs might have a little more flexibility on their day-of "salary" but not their album prices, etc.

Friday weddings are often evening affairs, which means either dinner or a dessert/cocktail reception. OR you could do it during the day, but people will have to take off work then which might mean less people depending on your crowd. Since we have a lot of far-away OOT guests, for us it meant many of our guest would have to take off two days of work which we felt was just too inconvenient. But you might be aiming to "inconvenience" your guests so that they decline and you save money...

Sundays can be evening affairs, but are often earlier. Brunch will cost less than dinner, and people will usually drink less at noon but there are no guarantees. If you have it in the evening do think about whether your crowd will party hardy or pack it in early to get to work on Monday morning, and which atmosphere you prefer.

 

[So_happy]

We found that having ours on a Sunday saved us $800 for the venue rental cost but we haven''t seen any additional savings throughout this process (yet). But on a 10k budget, $800 is huge lol. We''re doing a cocktail reception for 100 and with a 4-hr full open bar (we''re bringing in our own stuff) and cake included, it will come to a little under $6k. The other precious 4k is being very carefully spent (read: DIY almost everything lol) so we needed that $800 break to have the wedding of our dreams

 

[monarch64]

We had a Sunday afternoon wedding and on site reception and found it was a huge savings in all aspects. Our guests actually commented on the fact that they loved doing something different for a wedding than the typical Saturday night affair...

 

[dixiebride07]

We''re having our wedding on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The cost for the venue, caterer and photographer has been the same as it would have been for Saturday. I don''t think you save a lot by booking on a Saturday, but, you definately have more options as far as availability goes! I just started planning our Sept 2 wedding a few weeks ago and the venue I wanted was still open on Sunday (not Saturday, of course) and I''ve had my chioce of vendors. So, I think it''s easier to plan a Sunday wedding, but not cheaper.

 

[scarlet16]

We decided to do a Friday night evening wedding. The venue was SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than a Saturday night affair. I''d say at least $50/person less. I don''t think any of our other vendors will be any less expensive but $50 x 200 people is a good amount of money we saved! We figure with the money saved we can re-distribute it into our other costs.

We have a lot of out of town guests so this way they get to have a weekend in NYC without feeling rushed. We also are not starting the ceremony until 7:30 to accommodate people who have to leave from work. The event will be a full cocktail hour, and sit down dinner with dancing. We plan on also having a post party afterwards.

 

[Gypsy]

I've planned or helped plan quite a few weddings: a couple for myself, a few for my family, and a few for my freinds. I've researched venues in NY/NJ, in Washington DC, in SF Bay Area, in LA, and in Atlanta. I'm not a paid planner... don't mean to imply that I am... but I'm a research nut and like to help people get a good deal.

Here's what I've found.


It is REALLY venue specific what discount, if any they offer you for Sundays and Fridays or for Holidays. In EVERY city I looked at I would call one place and they would say, "Labor Day Sunday is the same price as Saturday, same capacity," I would call a place RIGHT down the street from there and they would say, "Oh Labor Day Sunday, we can offer you 180 a person with a minimum of 100 instead of 210 a person with a minimum of 150. "

It made no sense... it's just property/management's perception on the popularity of that date. So call around! You will be surprised by what you find.

Another money saving tip for Friday or Sunrday weddings: Some places will make a deal with you if you coordinate your menu with another wedding's menu for that weekend-- this works with Caterers, Restuarants, and Hotels. If say Saturday wedding is servicing Halibut and NY Steak, and you are willing to have the same or very similar menu... they will work with you. Sometimes its not an outright discount, instead it's a "well, if you do the same menu instead of the Halibut and Chicken you were thinking about, I'll give you the NY steak at the same price as the chicken."

Still it's helpful.

Another thing I found is that some hotels like the Four Seasons and the Intercontinetal hotels are more willing to work with you than the W hotels or other 'modern' hotels.

With all the research I've done... IF we don't do a destination wedding, we will be doing a Holiday Sunday Brunch reception wedding at a place that offers a Sunday discount.

Some photographers, DJ's and videographers will also offer a slight discount for a Sunday or daytime wedding. It's usually not much... a few hundred off, but it's all helpful.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[So_happy]

I wanted to echo dixiebride07''s comment. Having a Sunday wedding (besides finding a salon to do hair so far) really relieves the stress of booking vendors as most of them are still (18 weeks before the wedding now) available since it is a Sunday.

 

[krockie]

In NYC, Sunday afternoons and Friday nights are generally the same discount from a Saturday night, which is typically the most expensive. We were able to negotiate quite a bit off of our space''s per person cost for a Friday night. Good luck!

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 4/19/2007 9:40:55 AM
Author: scarlet16
We decided to do a Friday night evening wedding. The venue was SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than a Saturday night affair. I'd say at least $50/person less. I don't think any of our other vendors will be any less expensive but $50 x 200 people is a good amount of money we saved! We figure with the money saved we can re-distribute it into our other costs.


We have a lot of out of town guests so this way they get to have a weekend in NYC without feeling rushed. We also are not starting the ceremony until 7:30 to accommodate people who have to leave from work. The event will be a full cocktail hour, and sit down dinner with dancing. We plan on also having a post party afterwards.

Now THAT'S the way to do a Friday night wedding. (Well, not THE only way, but a good way to insure that guests can make it and have a great time).