Any Day But Saturday, for a Wedding

 

Note from Natalie: I’ve been seeing more of a trend for small weddings taking place on any day but Saturday. Small weddings aren’t  like  traditional wedding sand the couples like to do things  differently. Having a wedding on a Monday or Wednesday is unique! Other times, like with Erin, she selected a date that meaning to it. That date happened to fall on a day that wasn’t a Saturday. For a lot of hotels, the room price goes up on a Saturday. Guests can extend their stay by a few more days if they maybe aren’t paying a Saturday price. For destination weddings, having the wedding on a non-Saturday also lowers the guest count. You can tell guests the wedding wasn’t big since you had it during the week. Then, you can plan a big party with family and friends, in your hometown, on a Saturday!

Here’s a little more about Erin’s adventure for not having a wedding on a Saturday…

 

One of the more obvious decisions for us to make was when to get married.  We decided to get married in June, and as much as I hate to admit it, the idea of getting married in June brought back memories of receiving wedding invitations in the past.  When I would see June for a destination wedding, or any summer month, my eyes would roll as if it were an involuntary movement. “June for a destination wedding,” I’d exclaim.  “Could they pick a more expensive time?” I’d think, feeling guilty. Yet here I was looking at the calendar with my fiancé and weighing our commitments and deciding on June for our destination wedding.

 

Friends, family, and wedding industry professionals had warned us that our destination venue was a bit of a bridal factory, as in churning out married couples by the hour.  The City Hall in San Francisco has become a favorite spot for a variety of weddings, big and small, extravagant and low key. “They have weddings on the hour all day long,” we were warned. I am happy to report; I did not feel as if I were in a Bridal Factory during our wedding!  The thought of that was slightly off-putting to me as I imagined the summer wedding traffic, but we wanted our wedding to be held in a place that had little to no chance of going away in our lifetime. A resort or hotel by the beach or at the foothills of the Sierra’s has the possibility of being sold or left to ruin.  A little dramatic perhaps but by selecting a historic city hall in a city we visit frequently means there is a higher chance that we could return to the site of our marriage. This is a romantic idea that was passed on to me from my parents, who took my brother and me to the church where they were married in Palos Verdes overlooking the Pacific during the summers of our youth.

 

 Once we selected June as our month, we both thought about what day would be special for us.  For me, the day practically jumped off the page to me: June 21st. June 21st is the Summer Solstice and summer is my favorite season.  My fiancé also loves summer, though, at heart, he’s an all-seasons guy. I could do without winter. I have never understood why people living in a warm climate declare to “miss the seasons,” which includes winter in my book.  

 

The Solstice happened to fall on a Thursday, which helped with our decision.  But we had other things to consider. Since ours was a destination wedding, we wanted to be considerate of our guests and their travel dates.  Asking people to fly during the summer is already putting a heftier expense on our guests and adding weekend prices to the travel and lodging would be, in our eyes, an extra burden.  The search for venues and receptions also clued us into the price differences between a weekend and a weekday wedding. The difference between a weekend and a weekday wedding ceremony was as much as $1,300.00 in some locations we examined.  The most dramatic difference we came across was a Tuesday afternoon wedding for $1,300.00 and a Friday or Saturday night wedding for $3,900.00. These are a few things to keep in mind if you do not have a specific day chosen for personal reasons or if you want to be more cost-effective.  

 

Since we settled on the Summer Solstice relatively early in our planning, we were able to give our guests who traveled plenty of time to make arrangements.  My brother and his family were able to plan a vacation to Tahoe after our nuptials took place. They enjoyed four nights in San Francisco; explored the Golden Gate Bridge, the Fisherman’s Wharf, and strolled through Japan Town before devouring a bowl of ramen with us.   In essence, giving your guests as much notice as possible will make things easier for everyone. They might even be able to make a mini vacation of their own after your ceremony.

 

Any Day But Saturday, for a Wedding

 

18 Mar, 2024
Best Event Catering Theme Ideas by Kimberly Gumera
By Natalie Jones 25 Feb, 2024
Looking to have a beautiful beach wedding? Have a San Simeon elopement or small wedding. There's a perfect location where you can stay and say I do. The sandy beaches at sunset are the perfect backdrop for your San Simeon small wedding. While you are having your San Simeon honeymoon, stop by Hearst Castle or venture up Highway 1 towards Big Sure.
By Natalie Jones 25 Feb, 2024
5 Ways to Have a Stress Free Wedding
Show More
Share by: