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Just Said Yes February 2024

How To Decide a Date? Practical vs Sentimental vs "gut Instinct!"

Frankie, on March 7, 2022 at 9:05 PM Posted in Planning 0 8

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Hi all! My FH proposed to me last week (ahhh!!) and we're starting to plan our wedding. But we've already run into an issue.

We know we want an indoor, winter wedding. But actually figuring out a date is proving tricky. First of all, do we settle on a date and then try to find a venue that's available, pick one or two dates then pick based on availability, or should we start looking for a venue without an approximate date and go from there?

There are a few dates I'm considering:

- February 15th, 2024. 02/15 was my grandparents' wedding date. My grandma passed away a few years ago and I thought it could be a nice way to honor her. I thought about her birthday but it's not in winter. Plus in the midwest February has been more solidly "winter" these last few years, as snow has started later and later.

- First week of December, 2023. My heart is telling me I want a December wedding, but it's right after Thanksgiving! And Christmas is just around the corner! Plus, I don't know if I want a traditional Saturday wedding for the few OOT guests we're inviting, or if we should save our money and have a weekday wedding! Ahh!

- March 2nd, 2024. Exactly two years after he proposed, it felt fitting, but that's moving out of winter and into spring. But maybe having a wedding further from holidays will mean people get time off easier?

Idk what to do!!! Any advice is helpful. Thank you!

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8 Comments

Latest activity by Heather, on March 8, 2022 at 9:46 PM

Super March 2022
Candace · on March 7, 2022 at 9:37 PM
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Have a season/year in mind and then start looking at venues. Choose your venue according to your budget and then go off of the venue's availability. Since you're planning on 2024 there's a chance some of your dates will be open, but start soon. Weddings are getting booked up like crazy What I'm saying is don't count on your date and lose a good venue.
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Super March 2022
Candace · on March 7, 2022 at 9:38 PM
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Also, congrats!!! 💞
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Jm Sunshine · on March 7, 2022 at 11:34 PM
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Totally agree-- find your venue first and then go with available dates.
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Expert July 2022
Jmz · on March 8, 2022 at 2:35 AM
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Congrats! 😊 The dates are a sweet idea, but I think realistically it's more important to pick season or month then venue. Otherwise you might need to book out way longer than you want or not be able to book a venue that's otherwise perfect for you!
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Dedicated September 2023
Zully · on March 8, 2022 at 7:45 AM
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Definitely look at venues first and choose your date based off their availability. Winter months don’t tend to book as fast as summer/fall so you shouldn’t have an issue getting the date you want
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Dedicated January 2023
Tina · on March 8, 2022 at 9:38 AM
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We went with a few dates in mind. Also wanted a winter wedding. Our venue had the key date we were looking for. Are you set on those dates on those or open to some other ones?
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Super August 2022
Samantha · on March 8, 2022 at 10:50 AM
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We went into our venue search with our hearts set on one date (our 5 year anniversary!) and found that only one venue was available on that day. If you go in with a month or season in mind, you'll have much more flexibility. Many brides and couples just pick a date that made sense with their social calendars, the cost of the venue, and when their closest family members were available!
In the end we were able to use our anniversary because we're running away to the beach. If we had tried to do a venue in town we wouldn't have been able to and would have needed to be more flexible.
So maybe look at a few of the venues you're interested in and see if they have discounted rates around any of those days! That could help guide your decision!
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Savvy May 2023
Heather · on March 8, 2022 at 9:46 PM
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We’re going to be at the beach so I wanted it to be warm enough to be outside, not blazing hot, and not hurricane season. So now we’re checking venues for April and May dates because that’s when the outside world will match up with what we want. I’d say choose a general time of year and then check with your venues to see what they have.
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