When should I get married?

[legallyspoiled]

Technically, I''m not a bride yet. But we bought the ring this week so close enough!

Here is my problem. My dream wedding date is 10/10/10. Here is why:
1. I want an outdoor ceremony. It is too hot for that in Houston during summer months.
2. It is a Sunday, venues are less expensive.
3. It is a three weekend which works well because I am expecting a lot of out of town guests.
4. 10/10/10 is just super cool to me.

However, it took us much longer to find a ring than we expected. I think that it is near impossible to pull off the wedding of my dreams in 4-5 months.

I''ve started to consider other 3 day weekends but my problem is that we have been experiencing true winters in Houston as of late. Thus, I risk not being able to have the ceremony outside. Also, I have a sibling graduating the first week of June 2011. I''m scared that some family members won''t make two trips in a short time frame. I even considered doing the wedding on the same weekend as the graduation but I don''t think that is fair to either of us. Not to mention, the exact date and time of the graduation probably won''t be announced for months.

I guess that I could always choose a non-holiday (3 day) weekend.

 

[RaiKai]

I am not sure what a true winter in Houston is like...I am sure it varies quite a lot from a true winter up here in the Canada-land prairies though!

While I do think a wedding can be "pulled off" in 4-5 months no problem particularly if you are flexible......I do think it becomes harder when you pick certain dates like 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 as it becomes a matter of what is available if you have specific venues in mind rather than how much time you have (seriously, I had a ten week engagement and we planned it all within 1-2 weeks). Even though it is a Sunday I have heard that 10-10-10 is already a rather popular date. And it might not be less expensive because vendors know it...not impossible though so you can still look around and see what response you get.

I don't think it is good to get too hung up on a date. I mean 10-10-10 would have been great for DH and I as it would have been 2 years from our very first date. And would have been a year since we got engaged. But...we were married 01-02-10 as that is what ended up working best for us for many reasons. And we did not want to wait a year to get married. It was not a date that had any particular significance for us. And now I think 01-02-10 is the best date we could have ever had it on! So, be flexible for September dates and other dates in October and such. A three day weekend may be more convenient, but the lack of one is not necessarily a deal breaker for guests as long as they have some warning! Or, aim for sometime in spring of 2011 - and take some pressure off yourself right now knowing that is lots of time and you don't need to pick a date TODAY!

 

[KittyGolightly]

I''m in a similar situation as you. My BF and I are looking at a 9/25 wedding date in NYC. We''re on opposite coasts and he won''t propose until his next trip out here in a couple of weeks, so I don''t feel ready to plan the ceremony and reception. It will be tight, but I think it will be doable. I don''t have a "dream" wedding in mind, and I''m really flexible about locations, so I think we can pull it together relatively quickly.

I say, shoot for the 10/10 date because it''s special to you, but do a bit of research to see if the venues you want are available. And honestly, if your venue is really popular, you might want to put a deposit down before you actually get the ring. Best of luck!!!

 

[AustenNut]

I''m from New Orleans so I understand how variable a southern winter can be. As my mom likes to say, one Christmas they had the meal out on the porch. The next year the pipes froze. I also understand how hideous an outdoor ceremony can be during the hot and humid long summers we have. So, on to the date!

10-10-10 is very popular. As Raikai said, don''t expect discounts. And if you''d like your wedding in a traditional wedding venue, it''s probably already booked. But, there are lots of other venues available that can be lovely and wonderful. I don''t know how hard it would be to find a caterer either. I think it really depends on the type of wedding you would like to have. If you want a formal, ballroom style wedding then choosing this date will be difficult. But if you a more informal shindig then I think it''s still quite possible.

Is there a reason why you want a 3-day weekend for your wedding? Because I don''t think most people get Columbus Day off, so it may not be a 3-day weekend for most of your guests.

Also, I have to echo Raikai that it is possible to plan a wedding in a relatively short period of time. I got engaged about a month and a half ago, and have enough decisions and plans done that I could marry in 2 months time. So don''t worry about 4-5 months only.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

 

[legallyspoiled]

I am shooting for a three day weekend because I am anticipating a lot of out of town guests and also because most venues are less expensive on sundays.

 

[meresal]

What about Memorial Day Weekend of 2011?

 

[Kellybell]

Date: 4/12/2010 1:16:34 PM
Author: legallyspoiled
I am shooting for a three day weekend because I am anticipating a lot of out of town guests and also because most venues are less expensive on sundays.

Just as a heads up, when I was looking at venues the Sundays of holiday weekends were all priced the same as Saturday evening weddings. We got married the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and did not receive a cost savings due to the holiday.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I got married on a Sunday, and it was cheaper for a few things, but not the biggest ones. Anything with a special date or a 3 days weekend is going to be more expensive. We got married 07/21/08 but we did briefly look at 08/08/08 and everything was totally booked way in advance.

I think you may have to pick between the date you want and the wedding you want to be honest.

As for weather, have an indoor backup plan. We had a perfect 70 degree day, but Denver has also gotten the big snow storm of the year in mid Sep, so we did get our outdoor wedding, but we were not in trouble if things didn''t go quite right

 

[PumpkinPie]

I think if you are really set on a 10/10/10 wedding, you will have plenty of time to pull it off

 

[legallyspoiled]

I thought about Memorial Day Weekend 2011. However, my younger brother will be graduating the following weekend. My immediate family hosts a big family crawfish boil in March every year. All of my relatives who are on the east coast have already suggested that we post pone the 2011 boil from March to May so that they can kill two birds (crawfish boil and brother''s graduation) with one airline ticket.

My Mom swears that my family wouldn''t choose between attending my wedding and my brother''s graduation, which will likely be within a few months of each other. I hope she is right. I would hate to do that to my brother. But I don''t know what else to do. I''m hoping that with enough advance notice, everyone won''t have a problem making two trips.

I really want an outdoor ceremony which restricts me to the spring and the fall. The fall is out for 2010 because I just won''t be able to pull it off financially in time. I''m kicking myself for the renovations (that weren''t necessary, more vanity) that we just splurged on. Otherwise, I would be all in for a 10/10/10 or at least a 2010 Fall wedding.

The last two winters in Houston have actually been pretty cold...imagine that. So, I don''t want to risk not having an outdoor ceremony.

That pushes me into Spring 2011 (i.e. within a few months of my brother''s graduation).

Oh, and did I mention that FF doesn''t want a long engagement? I''ll just go bang my head against the wall now...

 

[emeraldlover1]

If you go for 10/10/10 there is still plenty of time to plan. The most time consuming part if finding the right vendors and if you don''t feel you have enough time to research, interview, and compare then a wedding planner might be a good option for you. If your concern is cost and fall is not an option for you in 2010 then why not wait till fall of 2011? It really isn''t that far away.

I understand planning a wedding when you aren''t engaged yet. We started looking at diamonds in Feb/March time frame of 08, booked our venue in July of 08, got engaged in August of 08 and married in September of 09. A friend of mine planned a napa June 09 wedding (we live in NYC) and got engaged the same weekend in August and her wedding was amazing. Of course she had a fantastic wedding planner but it really was not that stressfull for her.

So, I think the time frame is ok assuming you know what you want for your wedding and you don''t need to spend hours looking for a venue and vendors. If you want a fall wedding, don''t sacrifice that. In the end I imagine you will be happy that you waited the few extra months. I know it doesn''t matter when you are living in the moment however after waiting years to get engaged...waiting a few extra months to get married is nothing. I never thought I would say that. In fact this weekend is our 7 month aniversary and I can''t believe it has gone by so quickly.

 

[meresal]

Legally- The winters in Houston haven''t really become cold until we are into December and then thru March. The Fall weather still sticks around PLENTY long.

The last two years I have been to outdoor weddings in late October and they were both beautiful. Even one that was the first weekend of November wasn''t too bad until late at night after the reception was over, it got chilly (in the 50''s).

A friend of mine just got engaged on New Years'' and her wedding is the first weekend of June. It is doable to pull off a wedding in 5 months. Stressful, yes, but still doable.

It sounds like your options are either this Fall or next Summer/Fall.

 

[YSQueen]

Okay....so let''s look at some dates that could be cool...

At earliest you would try for 10/10/10, but as others have said, because this date is popular, you''re probably not going to receive any discounts at this point. Also, do you have enough money and previous planning to get the wedding that you want by this date? If not, you may really want to look at some other dates.

Upcoming 3 day weekends:
Easter weekend
Memorial Day weekend - pretty much off the list already though due to your family''s crawfish boil and brother''s graduation
Independence Day weekend - you''ll get the 3 day weekend but you may not get any discounts and it may be too close to the previous events
Labor Day - you''ll get the 3 day weekend, outside ceremony, enough of a gap between previous events, but you may not get any discounts
Columbus Day weekend - the same as labor day

Cool Dates:
September 10, 2011 (9/10/11)
November 11, 2011 (11/11/11)
October 1, 2011 (10/01/11)
December 11, 2010 (12/11/10)

HTH!!!