Planning your wedding around the holiday season can be one of the best ways to ensure a very memorable night for yourself and your guests. However, with the addition of a unique wedding date come unexpected challenges as well. Therefore, we’ve compiled some of the best dos and don’ts for hosting your wedding day during the holiday season.
Do Give Guests Advance Notice, Don’t Sent Invitations Last Minute
The holidays are a heavily traveled time of the year. People are planning to visit family and friends over the winter months. In fact, many people ask off from their work for this specific reason. Therefore, it is crucial to understand that your batch of invitations must be sent months before the actual wedding date. Your friends might understand that a wedding is something that cannot be missed, but they also want to spend their holidays with family. Don’t place your friends in the position of having to choose. Allowing plenty of time for your guests to rearrange their holiday plans to include your wedding is the best route to take.
Do Have an Indoor Wedding, Don’t Have an Outdoor Wedding
Hosting a wedding in the midst of winter but also wanting to have an outdoor wedding can be a very conflicting issue. However, even in warmer areas of the southern United States, temperatures during winter can plummet to 40-50 degrees. Therefore, having an outdoor wedding might be out of the realm of possibilities. Not all is lost. However, many indoor facilities can actually provide you with a better experience. That could mean no chilly guests, bugs on your food, or major risk of injuries due to uneven grounds. That said, you can still (of course) get all your gorgeous portraits outside.
Do Book Vendors in Advance, Don’t Call Them Right Before the Wedding
Just because your wedding takes place during the holidays does not mean wedding planners and photographers are not busy. In fact, it’s QUITE the opposite! Trust us; there is always going to be a wedding or holiday event happening somewhere. It is highly recommended to book your venue and wedding services well in advance. Booking in advance also allows you to have options in your preferred venue rather than having to settle for a last-minute dud.
Do Remember to Have Fun!
Planning a wedding can be a rather stressful task, but you should never forget to have fun. Specifically make space for days of fun to balance out the boring and stressful parts that come with wedding planning. After all, picking vendors, signing contractors, and mailing invites can be pretty tedious and even frustrating. But not everything about wedding planning is a drag — there are many fun things, too! One of the most fun things about planning a wedding can be choosing the rings. Set aside a day to visit different jewelers and browse their inventory. Avoid feeling overwhelmed by the salesperson’s jargon by educating yourself a little beforehand on common terminology, like the 4 C’s of diamonds. Aside from ring shopping, cake and catering tastings, wedding dress shopping, and deciding on a honeymoon destination can be great opportunities for the engaged couple as well as the wedding party.
Scheduling your wedding for the holiday season presents a unique set of challenges, but it can also create an especially memorable experience for you and your family. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be on the right track.
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