Why Weekday Weddings are Awesome
Weekday wedding dates are growing in popularity, and they can be just as fun as weekend weddings! I can personally attest to the number of weekday weddings I’ve photographed that were well-attended and partied long into the night. A different day of the week is not going to stop most wedding guests from taking part in your big celebration!
With so many weddings affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, many couples are looking to change dates and are now considering weekday dates for their big day. And venues and vendors are dealing with lots of rescheduled dates in late 202o and even into 2021 - so when it comes to available dates, most vendors are seeing their calendars fill up faster than normal. If you’re one of the couples in the process of choosing a new wedding date, here are a few reasons why weekday weddings are awesome:
You can enjoy a long weekend with your guests. If you plan for a Friday or Monday wedding, your big day easily lends itself to becoming an entire weekend-long event! Everyone knows the wedding day itself goes by so fast; it’s common to feel like you didn’t get to spend enough time with your guests. But planning a whole weekend of fun activities will allow you to spend plenty of quality time with all your guests!
More vendors are available for weekday dates. Popular venues and wedding vendors book up fast, and prime weekend dates are always the first to go! Whether you’re planning your wedding for the first time or dealing with rescheduling, you will have much better luck with finding available vendors on a weekday than on a weekend.
Many guests would be taking time off from work anyways. Even if you have a weekend wedding, your out-of-town guests will likely have to take a day off of work to travel to or from the wedding. So while it is important to be considerate of your guests’ time, often your loved ones are already saving up vacation days to celebrate with you!
You might save money. There are some venues and vendors that offer lower rates for weekday weddings than weekend dates. This is not the case for every vendor (since it is the same amount of work they are doing for your wedding, regardless of the day of the week), but it’s a possibility.
Special wedding dates can be chosen. If you’re trying to get married on an anniversary, another significant date to your families, or just a cool date that’s easy to remember, you’ve got a lot more flexibility if you aren’t limited by just weekend dates!
And here are a few examples of some of my weekday weddings and what the couples had to say about them!
"People thought it was a bit odd for us to plan our wedding on Monday, but for us it was perfect! All of our friends and family came to celebrate with us, and we had the whole weekend leading up to the wedding to spend extra time with them. We also were able to save some money by having our wedding on an off-peak day of the week. The venue was less crowded then too, so we ended up having the whole place to ourselves. It was everything we hoped it would be!"
Sarah and Kieran, Monday wedding
“We loved getting married on a Friday! Our goal was to make our celebration an entire weekend long extravaganza! About 50% of our guests traveled from out of state and almost every one of them came in early to see us starting on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. We had activities planned for each day allowing us more time with our friends and family which meant so many more memories! We had a happy hour for everyone Thursday, wedding day Friday, and then brunch and hanging out at a winery all day Saturday. While our wedding was more formal, our other events were casual allowing our guests to drop by any time. Additionally, we saved thousands of dollars choosing a Friday, as the venue price was discounted and there was less competition for our vendor’s time demands. Looking back, we were both worried about a Friday wedding but in hindsight, we know it was the best decision and it worked out perfectly!”
Emily and Chris, Friday wedding
“When Martin and I realized that both of our parents shared a wedding anniversary we were determined to also get married on 7/11 even though it was on a Thursday. On the day of our wedding, Martin’s parents celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary and my parents celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary. Even with a weekday wedding 50 of our closest friends and family members were able to attend and celebrate with us. Our wedding planner was amazing and helped us to secure deals with vendors since our wedding was on a weekday. I’m so happy that we decided to share this special date with our parents and our weekday wedding was a great experience!”
“We got married on a Monday which was actually incredibly beneficial. Our venue was at a winery which was big enough that it had the ability to hold two weddings at the same time, while still accommodating the public. Getting married on a Monday, obviously isn’t as popular as a Saturday, but it proved beneficial because we weren’t competing with another wedding, and the winery wasn’t as crowded at the time, allowing our entire event to be intimate and just about us. We were also able to book all of our first-choice vendors because their schedules were more open during the week. Our Monday celebration also allowed us to plan a fun weekend for our out-of-town guests (which was about 90% of the guest list). We planned tours in/around DC, booked their hotels, and provided restaurant/bar/sightseeing ideas. Our out-of-towners ended up making a mini-vacation out of the trip and absolutely loved it. It’s been about 8 months since our wedding, and we still get guests telling us how much they needed that long weekend vacay. In the end, our wedding was beautiful and our guests had a great time, and no one even remembered it was held on weekday rather than the typical weekend. Our ceremony was about our promise to each other and our reception was about celebrating that promise with our loved ones; the day itself was irrelevant and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
Holly and Joe, Monday wedding
“We specifically chose a date (September 21st) and it just happened to be a Friday. However, it worked well because we were able to really spend time with a lot of our out-of-town guests by having other activities throughout the weekend. Plus, it gave our in-town guests an excuse to leave work early! 😊 Definitely helped keep the celebration going!”
Juli and Brian, Friday wedding
