Setting a Wedding Date and Time

It's hard to plan your wedding without a date.  As much as you'd probably like to wait to decide, you can't choose a location, caterer, photographer, ask your wedding party to participate, invite your family, plan your honeymoon, or pretty much make any plans without choosing a date. 

Choosing a Wedding Date

To choose the date of your wedding, first pick the season.  If weather is your only concern, spring and early summer and late fall are great choices.  If you live in Richmond and you want an outdoor wedding in August... well, possibly you should consider either an indoor wedding or another time of year.

You may also want to choose a time of year that's meaningful to you and your family.  If you met on New Year's Eve, you may want to get married in late December.  (One of our couples chose their wedding date for exactly that reason.)  Or you may choose a date that's convenient for your family and friends, especially if a number of them will have to travel to attend.

If you're planning an elaborate or involved wedding and reception, you may want to choose a date that's fairly far in the future.  If you're getting married in a couple months, you'll find it difficult to pull everything together if you're inviting 300 people to the service and a sit-down meal.  

Also give some thought to specific needs of some of your wedding party.  If your best man is expecting a child at the same approximate time of your wedding, he may not be able to attend.  Or if your family has another significant event to attend, like a graduation ceremony, you may want to shift your wedding date since the school is unlikely to change the graduation date to accommodate you.

If you're planning a summer wedding, keep in mind that May through October are prime wedding months.  The better venues, caterers, DJs, etc are all likely to be booked well in advance during those months.  (We generally are booked for most of our open dates at least six months ahead, and in many cases a year ahead... and occasionally two years.)  If you choose an "off season" wedding date you'll be more likely to have a better choice of wedding service providers.

Holiday weekends are often good choices for weddings, because people traveling can do so over the long weekend, but at the same time many may already have plans.  If you choose a holiday weekend like Labor Day or Memorial Day, announce your wedding well in advance so your family won't make other plans.

Choosing a Time

What time you get married is largely dependent on the type of reception you'll have.  If you plan to provide a meal at your reception, your service should be planned for 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.  If your reception is being held a fair distance away from the site of the service, you may want to plan to start your ceremony earlier in the day. 

To determine your service time, decide what time you want to eat, subtract the length of your service, about 30 minutes for post-ceremony bridal party photos (well, that's how long we typically take, but we bring two photographers and we work hard to make that session flow smoothly; some photographers take well over an hour), add fifteen to thirty minutes for you to gather your things and take a quick break, and add the amount of time you want to be at your reception venue before the meal is served.  (Also take into account the time needed to announce the wedding party and other reception events that you're scheduling before the meal.)  Then give yourself a little extra time for unexpected delays.  

Common service start times are 11 a.m. if you're having lunch at the reception, 2 pm if you're not serving a meal, and 4 pm if you are serving a dinner meal.  But you can schedule your wedding for any time you wish; if you give them enough notice, your guests will be there regardless of the time you choose.