Planning a Monday Wedding? Here’s How to Make it a Success

If you’re rescheduling your wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic, you might be struggling to find a new date not too far in the future when all of your vendors are available (head to the WeddingWire Rescheduler to seamlessly reach out to your vendors at once to find out their availability). Saturdays, particularly in the fall, may be booked up, and Sundays and Fridays may also be filling up quickly. Our recommendation? Go for a Monday wedding! Only two percent of weddings take place on Mondays, so your pros are likely to be available. And, because Monday comes right after the weekend, you can take advantage of Saturday and Sunday in a totally unique way. Yes, Monday weddings are the new Saturdays. Here’s how to make sure your Monday event kicks off the week right. 

Give your guests enough time to plan. 

Unless you’re hosting a hometown wedding and all of your guests won’t have to travel to attend, some of your loved ones will have to take off from work or school to partake in the celebration. Be sure to give your friends and family members plenty of notice so they have time to take the days off of work and arrange travel. While we love the idea of sending a “change the date” card if you’ve postponed your wedding, you should also send an email and update your wedding website to get in touch with your guests as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Accept the regrets.

Here’s the honest truth: Some people may not be able to make a Monday wedding work. And that’s okay—there’s no need to stress if you’re seeing a few more no RSVPs than you expected. As long as your closest loved ones can attend, you shouldn’t fret too much. There are lots of advantages to hosting a smaller wedding, including saving money and perhaps less headaches when it comes to accommodating all of your guests. 

Plan extra events over the weekend.

One of the best parts of having a Monday wedding is the fact that you have the entire weekend prior to plan some unique welcome activities. Particularly if your guests will be traveling to attend your wedding, it’s likely they’ll arrive over the weekend—and will be delighted to celebrate with you prior to the main event. Of course there’s the rehearsal dinner, typically held the night before the festivities (Sunday, in this case), but why not host a casual welcome BBQ on the Saturday before? You can even plan several group activities during the day, including a trolley tour, a scavenger hunt, a softball game, a picnic, happy hour, or something completely different. You’re really only limited by your imagination (and your budget, of course)!

Host an evening event—and expect some early departures. 

It’s best to host your Monday wedding in the evening, so people who have to go to work or school during the day can still join you. While some may say that Monday weddings should be shorter events and not burn the midnight oil, there’s no reason you have to cut down the timing of your festivities. Instead, be prepared for some people to leave early so they can rest up for work or school the following morning. It’s likely your closest family members and BFFs will be happy to celebrate with you for a longer stretch—even if it means they’re a bit bleary-eyed for work on Tuesday. Or, you can host a smaller after-party for the remaining revelers if you think a majority of your guests will need to cut out early. 

Skip the morning-after brunch. 

It’s likely that many of your guests will have to head home immediately after your wedding, so there won’t be a need for a farewell brunch the following morning. Use the money saved to plan a few more events for the weekend before your wedding. You can still host a small brunch at a local restaurant for your immediate family members, but it’s not worth spending the money on a big event.