Picking a wedding date can be stressful and even a sore spot, but it doesn't need to be. Sit down with your groom, take out a calendar and go through these five steps in brainstorming.
Step One: Think about the season.
Some brides have a set season in mind when they dream about their wedding day. There have even been movies based on this with brides competing for the day. If your dreaming of a June wedding and you get engaged in July, your automatically looking at at least a year before your getting married. Every season has it's own perfect romantic vibe, so you just need to decide which one you like the best!
Step Two: Big Whoopla or Small Shin-dig
Now you need to think about how big or small your wedding is going to be. Bigger and more extravagant weddings tend to need a little more time to put together. There is nothing wrong with this, but it will help you gauge how far off you need to set that wedding date.
Step Three: Decide whose planning the wedding.
If you are planning the wedding on your own, then you may want to give yourself a little more time. This is especially important if you are planning on that big wedding that will have a lot more to coordinate. Chances are you and your SO have jobs and won't be able to devote every waking minute to wedding planning. So, if you are wanting a big wedding, save yourself the stress and don't set that wedding date for two months out!
Step Four: Venue availability
Now you need to think about where you want to get married. Some venues have wait lists and are booked a year or more in advance. If your wedding venue of choice is one of these places and the your not feeling flexible on the where, you will need to be flexible with the when. To determine this, call up the venue you want and check for availability in the season on time frame you have decided on from steps one, two and three.
Step Five: When do you WANT your wedding date to be?
Last consideration, which is really the first consideration: How long are you willing to wait? Some couples are fine with waiting two years in order to put together the wedding of their dreams. Others are willing to trim down their plans in order to get married faster. If your timeline of when you can pull together your dream wedding is farther out than you are comfortable with, then maybe it isn't really your dream?
