Holiday Weddings
©Copyright 2001 Glenna Tooman: all rights reserved
Memory Makers Event Planning LLC
www.memorable-events.com

You got engaged during the holidays, now you are setting your wedding date. Many couples choose to marry on or near a holiday, but are holidays really a good time to have a wedding? Generally, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are not good choices for a wedding unless you are planning a very small, intimate affair. Valentine's Day, however, is a very popular wedding date. Many people choose to have their wedding the week-end after Thanksgiving or on another long week-end, such as over Memorial Day or Labor Day week-ends. Following are things to consider before deciding on a wedding date on or near a holiday.

• You might choose to have the wedding on the Saturday of the holiday week-end, allowing your guests more time to enjoy their visit to your city.
• If you choose to marry near Christmas, many facilities are already decorated, thus reducing your costs, assuming the colors and decorations fit your taste.
• If you choose to be married on a holiday, you may not be able to find a florist, a hair dresser, or other merchants who are open on that day.
• Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are the two busiest days of the year for florists. If you plan your wedding or near either date, you may have difficulty securing a florist, and you may get old flowers that were arranged too far in advance and look wilted by the end of your wedding day.
• Some reception facilities may charge an additional fee for use of their facility on a popular holiday and hotels may charge your guests a higher room rate. This is particularly true if you are planning to be married near Christmas or New Years, and especially on New Years Eve.
• If guests will be coming by air, they may have to pay more for a holiday flight and make reservations earlier than at other times of the year.
• If you do choose a date on or near a holiday, be sure to notify family and friends as early as possible so that they can save the date and make travel reservations early.