The Most Popular Wedding Dates And Why You Should Avoid Them
Most couples want their wedding to be as stress-free as possible. Believe it or not, some wedding dates are more stressful than others because of their popularity. If you don’t want to be in that boat, read on for the most popular wedding dates and why you should avoid them.
Cavin Elizabeth PhotographyReason 1: Your Dream Vendors Might Be Booked Already For those most sought after dates, inquiries come in earlier than usual which means that vendors are going to book those dates quickly. By the time you reach out for that busy day, the A list vendors you want might already be booked. If you are going to choose a hugely popular date, be sure to reach out to vendors and book them as soon as possible to not lose out on their services. Lindsay of LVL Events mentions, “Other popular dates include those that land on a Saturday and have a catchy ring to the date like 10.10.19 or 8.18.18. People have a thing about numbers and when it is a year that has one of those clever dates we typically get multiple inquiries.”
Cavin Elizabeth PhotographyKate Siegel also adds, “Watch out for large social and corporate events! In the Bay Area, events like Bottle Rock, Napa Valley Wine Auction, WWDC, and Dreamforce overrun their host cities. Avoid scheduling your wedding the weekend before, during or after. The resources needed to produce these massive events are incredible. Rental, Catering, Venues, Lighting and Entertainment companies will often be booked solid. Usually employees take much needed time off in the following week.”
Cavin Elizabeth PhotographyReason 2: Holiday Pricing Hikes “Choosing a popular date like Labor Day or Memorial Weekend can be tough on the bank account for guests that need to travel. These are peek travel times and flights and hotel costs go up significantly. This can make it more challenging for those guests on a budget,” says Lindsay of LVL Events.
Cavin Elizabeth Photography “Memorial Day and Labor Day are very popular wedding weekends around the country,” adds Kate Siegel of Kate Siegel Fine Events. “I try to advise against these holidays, not only because the pricing for all wedding vendors will increase dramatically, but so does travel - airfare, car rentals and hotel rooms. Traveling to a wedding is already very expensive, try not to pick the peak travel weekends for your wedding guests.”
Cavin Elizabeth PhotographyReason 3: Local Events Make for Traffic Nightmares City-specific events like Comic Con in San Diego, for example, truly have a chaotic impact on the host city. Not only do hotels and vendors book up quickly, the traffic and roadblocks can seriously affect traveling logistics for your guests. Plus, if your wedding is in multiple locations anywhere near the city’s event, you’ll need to greatly increase your allotted travel time. That means you’ll have less time for photos and more time spent in the car.
Cavin Elizabeth PhotographyDates to Avoid Perhaps having a popular date is more important to you than the cons of choosing it. By all means, go ahead and book that date! If those pitfalls above do, in fact, sound like things you really want to prevent, here are the dates you should avoid:
Dates of large local events
Memorial Day weekend
Labor Day weekend
New Year’s Eve
Saturday after Thanksgiving
Valentine’s Day if it falls on a weekend
Mother’s Day (floral costs will increase)
July 4th if on a weekend
Dates with a catchy ring like 10.10.19 or 8.18.18
Cavin Elizabeth is a wedding film photographer based in San Diego, California. Her wedding work has taken her all over the United States and abroad. In addition to being a photographer, Cavin is an educator and an avid blogger of wedding planning tips for brides and grooms. She authored the book A Bride’s Guide to a Picture Perfect Wedding, which teaches couples how to make wedding plans that are best for photography.
