Friday, most likely guests will already have Saturday off. If you do Sunday, I guarantee guests will leave early due to having work the next day (unless they take Monday off).
We're doing a Sunday wedding! Ceremony start time at 3:30PM, serving dinner at 5, and plan on ending the reception at 8:30. The vast majority of our guests live within 30 minutes of our venue, so everyone should be home by 9:30 at the very latest
I think an early Sunday wedding is the most convenient time, but I've been to a Friday evening wedding that was well attended. If you want to have more of a party, Friday evening is probably better. If you're ok with a lunch and likely less partying, Sunday would suit.
Mine is a Sunday from 3pm to 9pm. The only people who will need to take off work are those who have work Monday and don't drink responsibly, but it won't be due to my wedding like a Friday would! Saved a ton of money as well.
I would think it depends on what time you're planning on having the wedding and if many of the guests will be traveling from out of town.
If you're having an evening wedding (6pm let's say) and the majority of your guests are local I would suggest a Friday wedding as they wouldn't need to take much work off at all to attend. Most people would only need to slip out of work 1-2 hours early in that case. Your bridal party will still need to take off the whole day though as well as both of you.
If you're wanting an afternoon wedding and have many out of town guests, a Sunday would probably be better as it gives everyone time to get into town and they would only need to take Monday off work.
I vote for Friday! I just recently went to a Friday wedding. It was fun and I had a great time. I had to take a couple hours early off work to get there on time but I think it's worth it to not have to worry about going to work the next day. When I went to a Sunday wedding last year it was hard to truly have fun and let loose when I was kept thinking about how I have to go in to work the next morning.
It depends. If you want a totally party vibe (drinking, dancing), and most local guests can get to the wedding in less than 60 minutes even in Fri traffic (or are from out of town and must get a hotel), then Fri might be best.
Otherwise, a Sunday brunch or early evening wedding (done by 8 pm) might be better for guests. You can do a dry brunch if you’re set on no alcohol (no dancing either without alcohol). Guests might be up to a little dancing Sunday night if that’s your crowd but perhaps not as long/much if they don’t drink (or as much) on a Sunday afternoon/evening. You’ll probably save more money on a Sunday because your bar tab will be less.
I would say Friday! My wedding will be on a Friday, most guests are local. Our ceremony is at 4pm and our reception is at 6pm. Worst case local people have to take a half day off of work OR just come to the reception right after work. Most people were inviting don’t work Saturday or are able to request Saturday off, so you don’t have to worry about going to work the next day.
To me Friday just gives off more of a party vibe. It’s a great way to start off the weekend! My fiancé and I went to a Sunday wedding 3 hours away. We left at 8, and had to drive the whole way back and work on Monday. At the wedding not that many people were drinking and many had to leave early.
I would say it depends on the vibe that you’re going for. It may be hard to get to a Friday wedding because you may have to take a half day, but then you can party away into the night.
On the other hand, if you’re not looking to get rowdy, a nice Sunday brunch is a great money saver!
We chose a Friday afternoon wedding for the prices. They were slightly less than Saturday. A lot of places around here treat Sunday as premium prices as well so it didn't make a lot of sense if we were doing an off day to save money. That being said we're having a very small wedding so there's not a lot of people to inconvenience by having them take off from work. I'd have done a Sunday afternoon wedding all things being the same
I’m doing a Friday wedding. 5:30 ceremony. People might need to leave work a little early to get there. But a lot of the people that are important to me don’t work a typical M-F 9-5 job.
Whatever day/time you pick won’t work for someone. Pick what works for you.
Our Venus was $2000 cheaper to do a Sunday or Friday wedding. We ultimately chose Sunday after a lot of debate. It gave us more time for our pre-wedding events like the rehearsal and welcome party for our out of state guests on Friday and Saturday. Most guests are taking Monday off work and for those who don’t, our reception ends at 9:30pm.
I agree with PPs that it depends on the vibe you're going for, but as a guest, I'd prefer a Sunday wedding. I really hate taking time off work (and it can be difficult to schedule) and wouldn't do it for a wedding unless I was really close to the bride or groom. I understand some people work evenings and weekends, but the majority of our guests work traditional hours and I wouldn't ask them to take time off.
I recently attended a Sunday evening wedding that was supposed to end around 10 or 10:30, but most people were gone by 8 and it didn't have a strong party vibe. A good portion of the guests were from out of town (including myself), but apparently all planned to leave Monday morning. (My FH and I made a vacation out of it and stayed the rest of the week.)
An earlier Sunday wedding would be a great compromise, though! If I hadn't been adamant about my date, I would've probably opted for a Sunday brunch wedding.
For Friday weddings, I'd have to take at least a half day off of work, which can be super inconvenient or sometimes impossible depending on the time of year. Some people may only be able to make it to the reception. That being said, as PPs mentioned, Friday has more of a party feel. One of my very good friends will be having a Friday wedding next year out of town, so with most people having to travel, I'm imagining it'll be well-attended since they have to take time off regardless.
