Holiday Weddings: Should You or Shouldn't You?

HOLIDAY WEDDINGS

Holidays have always been a time to spend with family & friends. Have you ever been a wedding guest on a holiday? Although some couples think it’s the perfect time to have a wedding, their guests may think it’s rude and inconsiderate. What do you think?

Although there are lots of reasons that brides and grooms may choose a holiday wedding, there are just as many reasons not to pick that kind of date. Before you pick a holiday for your wedding date, please consider the following:

The Pros:

1. More of your friends and family are probably able to take off work to travel to your wedding

2. There fun ways to work a theme into a wedding during the holidays.

3. People can just take the entire week and turn your wedding in their vacation – especially if its’ at a fun destination.

4. If you know that family members are coming home for the holidays, it can be a perfect way to have more people attend your wedding without added travel costs.

5. A lot of places are decorated for the holidays so you can have a beautifully decorated venue at little cost to you.

The Cons:

1. Everyone has family that they want to spend time with on the holidays. Having your wedding on a holiday may prevent them from seeing relatives that they usually see.

2. Some people take their family vacations during the holidays and may not want to spend their vacation time and money attending your wedding.

3. Not everyone can take time off around the holidays. Some professions require extra work hours to cover those that have put in for leave early.

4. More guests decline holiday wedding invitations than the average RSVP rate. They may have long-standing family traditions, travel plans or company parties to attend.

5. If they do plan to attend the wedding, they may want to bring loved ones with them instead of leave them at home alone over the holiday. This will increase your food costs.

6. December is the most expensive time of the year for a lot of people who have gift-giving on their mind. Attending a wedding and purchasing a gift may stretch their holiday budgets, and travel tends to be more expensive as well over the holidays.

I personally believe your wedding should be a special day of celebration on its own and set apart from anything else. If you have your heart set on a holiday wedding, please prepare for the challenges below.

Challenges:

• Don’t go overboard and focus on the holiday. Instead, make subtle nods to the special day that you are sharing your wedding with, but let your wedding be about you – not the holiday.

• Use elements of the season (summer flowers, fall leaves, etc.) to incorporate the time of year but keep a personal feel to your special day.

• Give as much notice as possible to your guests that must travel through save-the-date cards. People plan trips 6-12 months in advance.

• Incorporate a fun, signature cocktail that relates to the holiday.

• Plan your budget to cover holiday overtime pay, increased costs of travel, hotels, flowers, etc.

• Don’t be surprised if there is a larger percentage of declines in RSVPs. Have a “B List” that you can invite instead.