Like getting a marriage license and deciding on a guest list, the date you choose to get married is a very important date, and can also be the detail where you can start planning your wedding. Your entire schedule, time line, and your life for the planning period will be geared towards this end date. Perhaps you have a date you prefer for sentimental reasons, or maybe your fiancée has a particular date or time of year they like. Before you agree on a specific date, however, consider the following:

      BUDGET: If you are planning a wedding on a budget, you have to choose your wedding date wisely. There are some dates on which hosting a wedding will be more expensive. This usually happens when it's wedding season, like the month of June, or when other factors play a role in making the overall outcome higher, like Valentine's Day.

      TIMING: There are also some dates which you should not choose in terms of people's availability or in terms of other possible celebrations taking place. For example, the holidays and the vacation months can be a bad time to have a wedding because people may have plans with family that they cannot get out of. The same goes for birthdays and religious holidays. Some brides and grooms use this to their advantage, though, and choose a “bad” date so they can invite many while having only a few come.

      Remember that though your wedding is your special day, and many things will revolve around you, the world and society's outside factors can affect your day. Be aware of outlying circumstances that can affect certain outcomes you would like for your wedding. So that you can either avoid these or work around them.

      Some facts on wedding dates:

      The cheapest dates to get married are the Fridays and Sundays of the weeks comprising November, December, January, February, and March of any year. Why? First, most people want to be married on a Saturday, so that many people will attend. Having a wedding on a Friday or Sunday will then ensure a cheaper outcome for venues and other suppliers. The middle of the week is also much cheaper. Second, choosing these cooler months are also cheaper because not many plan to have weddings during these cool months, most prefer the warmth of late spring, early and mid-summer, and early fall.

      Remember to consider that between November and March, there are some holidays you will have to compete with such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, and Valentines. These holidays can either work with you or against you. Also, in places where winter becomes bitterly cold, you will have to pay more for fresh flowers because they will all be from hot houses.

      On the other hand, the most popular times to get married, and therefore the more expensive dates are between June and August of any year. These warmer months are quite popular because garden weddings or outdoor weddings can be hosted. Also, many people are more relaxed during these months, and a pretty good guest list is assured. You will have to compete with summer vacationing, however, and this is something to keep in mind. Also, chilling your drinks will be much harder because of the warmer weather.

      If you don't want your wedding to be too warm or too cool, consider the months of April, May, September, and October. If you would like to make sure your wedding doesn't hit any of the holidays, these months will do well too, though keep national holidays like Labor Day in mind. Finally, if you would like to make sure your wedding sticks to it's budget, consider having it in the middle of the week. Trust that many prices change for many suppliers when the event is in the middle of the week because this is usually down time for them, and they are happy to have the business.

Next Article: Where to Start Planning a Wedding - Choosing a Venue