How do I choose what month to get married for my wedding day in Cornwall. By a Cornwall wedding planner.
Choosing the date for your wedding is one of the most important decisions that you'll have to make during the planning process. Whatever date you chose will impact every other aspect of your day.
You may already have an idea of where you picture yourself walking down the aisle or what you want your dress to look like, but until the date is decided you are unlikely to commit to anything.
Most couples ask me, "How do I pick a date that works for everyone and is still special to us?" or "Where do we even start?"
For every couple, the process is completely individual and that's part of what makes your wedding date so special to you.
1: Taking the weather into account.
Summer weddings are very popular but the weather can never be guaranteed so making alternative plans for your event to be both outside and inside is really important. Every couple hopes the weather on their wedding day will be perfect: 25 degrees heat, and not a cloud in the sky. But what if it isn’t? It’s best to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws your way, be it rain, sleet, snow or fog. After all, you can’t control the weather no matter how hard you try but you can plan for it!.
If you awaken with the weather offside, don’t let it ruin your day. The one thing I can promise you is whatever the weather it will quickly be forgotten as soon as you see each other at the end of the aisle! With a back up plan for all weather scenarios the day will run as smoothly as hoped.
Just remember as much as it’s your day consider your guests and their comfort levels. You may not be worried about standing in the cold when you say I do, but for your guests sharing this occasion with you will be baring the cold for a lot longer. The last thing you want is ruined heels, muddy trousers, numb fingers which equals unhappy guests! If you are braving the the colder weather or open locations, add a little extra to the budget for a cup of hot chocolate, or a rug to wrap around their shoulders. Adding these little touches will make a massive difference to the atmosphere of your ceremony.
Talk to your venue. Although they will tell you, “it won’t rain,” “think positive”, you should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Before you book a venue, find out what their Plan B set ups are. Do they have an indoor space available? Do they provide a canopy or some other type of temporary structure? While you were probably drawn to the venue for its primary spaces, you want to understand what you’ll get if the weather doesn't cooperate. If the backup options are not going to suit you, (or there isn’t one), you may want to consider another venue or figure out if you can bring your own backup.
2: Create a list of what you envisage for your wedding day.
Imagine that your wedding day has finally arrived — what do you see? A beautiful Cornish Coastline as the backdrop for your ceremony? Luscious green trees overlooking Bodmin Moor, Historic Country Estate with acres of lawns to roam. By narrowing down your potential wedding date to one or two seasons you can cut down your options in half.
Start by deciding as a couple what’s important to you both. If you hate the thought of sand between your toes a beach location may not be right for you! If it’s roaming through the moorlands in your wellington boots then head in land for a country affair.
4: Think before getting married during a major holiday period.
In addition to Christmas, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, you may also want to reconsider tying the knot on religious holidays, event weekends, major sporting events, Father's Day and other holidays of this nature.
Although these weddings can be super fun and festive, your wedding date is something you want to celebrate for years to come because of the meaning behind it not because it was also NYE. Another thing to keep in mind is the significant costs that are associated with holiday weddings. For example, the price of roses during Valentine's Day can be overpriced, so having them at your romantic Valentines wedding could really put a dent in your overall budget.
But perhaps the biggest factor to consider is your guests. As much as they love you, do they really want to spend a major holiday celebrating you instead of being able to celebrate them? Yes, your wedding is about the two of you, but you also want to make it an event that your guests are excited about and can afford to attend. Hotels, flights and car rentals can all get very expensive,
For my husband and I now after getting married on January 10th we share our anniversary with the aftermath of Christmas, and the empty pockets of the new year, for us this also means my birthday, my brothers birthday, and my niece’s birthday! So January is now a super expensive month meaning we don't always get to celebrate our wedding anniversary the way we would like.
5. Consider your budget.
Getting married in November or January might help cut your higher venue fee down but you have to be prepared to make sacrifices in other areas. For example, let's say that daffodils are your absolute favourite flower and you can't imagine having a bouquet with anything else. Depending on the time of year, it may be hard (if not impossible) for your florist to find them at a price that fits your budget. (In general, off-season flowers can be incredibly expensive).
The same concept applies for Friday vs. Saturday weddings. Although a venue might be able to give you a slight discount for a Friday reception, be aware that the rest of your wedding vendors might not be able to.
Choosing a winter wedding date gives you a big bargaining chip with your suppliers. Winter tends to be a less busy time of year so you’ll find more availability and suppliers are keen to sell their wares at this time. Look around and use the Internet to see what’s on offer.
6: Focus on what you want your wedding day to be and how to portray that in a date.
At this stage, you should have your potential dates narrowed down to a month or two and this is where it gets fun! Within the months that made it to the final round, are there any dates that are meaningful to you as a couple or as individuals? Do you want to honour a family member who is no longer with you by getting married on their birthday or anniversary? Are there any dates you want to avoid?
7: Chat to your nearest and dearest.
Now, depending on what other aspects of your wedding are important, you might want to keep an open mind to a few dates. What if your dream venue is booked or your favourite photographer is unavailable? Better yet, what about the important people in your family? You will want to make sure they can attend.
I wanted to make sure all of our guests could attend, so January worked for us giving everyone something to look forward during those January blues.
Once you are juggling a couple of dates around, letting immediate family know is a good move. Chat to your family and friends and put the feelers out as to if any dates are. Since the date could be far in advance, and you haven't announced officially with save-the-dates just yet, it’s a good way of being respectful of them in letting them know that we do have a plan.
8: Give yourself plenty of time and don't rush it!
I have planned full weddings in just a few months and we've all seen how weddings can be pulled together within weeks on TV. However, what you might not be aware of is the cost that it takes to ensure that a big celebration can be executed quickly.
When a bride reaches out to me and asks if I can help plan her big day in a short amount of time, I always tell her that anything is possible, but there might be areas that she will have to sacrifice. For example, a custom wedding gown can take over a year to create, depending on what you want. Also, your custom logoed favours, centrepieces or invitations may not end up exactly how you had planned.
The moral of the story is to make sure you give yourself enough time to plan for the things that are truly important to you, whether it's incorporating lace from your mum's dress to use in your own gown or getting hand-crafted favours from your favourite travel destination.
Which are the best months to get married?
Statistics show that June - August hold their titles as the most popular wedding months to get married in Cornwall, however trends are changing and more and more couples are now getting married in the spring months of April and May, followed by the autumn months of September and October. It's no surprise why as the weather can be absolutely beautiful in Spring, and autumn.
What is the cheapest month to get married?
For those on a budget February and December are now also in-demand to tie the knot thanks to Valentine's Day and Christmas. Therefore, the cheapest months for your wedding would be November, January, and March. During these months, vendors are normally more available and less expensive.
Getting married in Spring.
Who doesn't love Spring! The month when you can wear those gorgeous pastel colors like pistachio, dusky pink, and duck egg blue. The spring flowers are out with gardens in full bloom, the hedgerows and fields are a carnival of gorse and daffodil yellow, and the lighter mornings and evenings are finally encouraging us to get up, get out, and enjoy everything that Cornwall has to offer. Choose between daffodils, bluebells, rhododendrons to Peonies. If flowers aren't your thing, embrace greenery, moss, and herbs and succulents.
Spring is all about rebirth and renewal. The best season to start your life together as a married couple. With perfect temperatures that are not too hot and not too cold, your signature cocktail will be cooled by ice with a fresh spring menu of new potatoes, asparagus, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, strawberries, apricots, and rhubarb. Photographs are always so gorgeous during the spring months with Cornwall bursting into life and colour.
From spring flower shows, walking weeks and art exhibitions to the annual and utterly Cornish centric, World Pasty Championships, Trevithick Day, May Day, Flora Day and St Piran’s Day – there’s a jam-packed and eclectic schedule of entertainment and events across the county. Two bank holidays so your guests can enjoy a really lovely long weekend.
Getting married in Summer
The most popular time of year to get married! Summer is when those who are planning their wedding envisage hot days, the possibility of sipping drinks outside and entertainment that goes on long into the evening.
Heat up the celebrations with outside locations either in marquees or beautiful gardens. Summer weddings lend themselves best to beachside locations, barn style venues and Pimms on the lawn of a country estate.
Look for mobile bars, ice filled buckets of beer and gin fizz ice lollies to really make the most of the season.
Summer is the best time of year to have traditional games on the lawn, outside acoustic vibes. Festoon lighting surrounding low hanging floral arrangements or dressed pergola lined with bright posies on chairs, or natural foliage. As the nights extend into the late evening your cocktail bar is in full swing!
If you are a family with lots of children a summer wedding could work perfectly for you and your guests. School children and teachers can all enjoy an extended holiday sightseeing beautiful parts of Cornwall. On the other hand if you are not a fan of children attending the wedding, then guests will find it difficult to attend or to find childcare during the holidays.
Getting married in Autumn
Could there be a more beautiful season to get married than autumn? As the nights start to draw in and a crisp chill hangs in the air, gather together your closet family and friends for a cosy celebration.
You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing your floral arrangements. Take your inspiration from the rich and sumptuous reds, oranges and golds of the autumn leaves to create a warm and inviting ambience for your Ceremony and Wedding Breakfast.
Bathe your celebrations in soft candlelight to create a warm, intimate atmosphere. Autumnal weddings lend themselves best to rustic, barn style venues. Look for original beams, low ceilings and open fireplaces to really make the most of the season. Autumn is also a lovely time of year to use fairy lights to decorate your chosen wedding venue, both inside and outside. As the nights are drawing in and it will get dark earlier, you could also decorate any outside spaces at your venue with fairy lights and/or candles to make the best possible use of the space.
The best thing about an autumn wedding is the food and drink! Break with tradition and serve warm, Cornish spiced mulled cider or winter Pimms during your drinks reception instead of Prosecco. Who wouldn’t look forward to a smooth, full-bodied glass of red wine and a hearty portion of pie and mash or slow braised beef followed by apple and blackberry crumble on a chilly autumn evening? Autumn really is the perfect time of year to serve all of the delicious, crowd-pleasing dishes that your guests, young and old, will love.
An autumn wedding also takes the pressure off the weather being such an important part of your day. If you are not expecting glorious sunshine, then you won’t be disappointed if you don’t get it; but on the other hand, if you do get lucky with some hazy autumnal sunshine, it will be an unexpected bonus! You can still get some gorgeous weather in September and October and autumn weddings tend to be more reasonably priced and less booked up than weddings in July and August. By autumn a relentless, frantic summer of weddings will have come to an end and everyone will be in a calmer, more relaxed frame of mind. With the excitement and anticipation of Christmas just around the corner, give your family and friends something to look forward to before the long, hard winter months take hold.
Getting married in Winter
The coldest of the seasons, where the dark nights arrive early and everybody huddles together as one for warmth. A winter wedding is a true highlight of everybody’s year, primarily because it is a chance for celebration during what many find to be a lonely few months (well, except for Christmas!)
When it comes to the wedding entertainment, most alfresco ideas are unfortunately out of the question, but venues do tend to be cheaper at this time of year and you can still book entertainment of all sorts to wow your guests.
Winter weddings are becoming more and more popular for a number of different reasons. When you’re looking for venues, check out ones that are particularly suited to the winter season. Castles and stately homes that have big hallways dominated by an open fire place. As your guests arrive at the reception, serve mulled wine or Cornish Cider in the warm and later on you could use this area as a chill-out area for offering tea, coffee, cake and maybe a nightcap. If your venue has a Christmas tree, all the better! A fireplace to welcome your guests in from a the cold.
If you’re lucky enough to get a dusting of snow on your big day then your photographs will really make your wedding day look like a winter wonderland. For Cornwall we rarely get snow, however when we get it, we really get it! So take into consideration guests commute on a winter's day through the country roads that do not normally get gritted.
The light can be amazing for a winter wedding, think of all those candles, tea lights, open fires and lanterns, but remember to book an early wedding ceremony, otherwise you will run out of daylight. If you go for a 3pm ceremony the light will be gone by the time you get out of the church. Winter weddings also work well for smaller more intimate groups as you’ll already have a cosy atmosphere to start with.
Whichever season or date your choose will be truly wonderful and will leave you with cherished memories for a lifetime. Getting married in Cornwall is magical!
Also featured in Silverlinings Wedding Magazine
https://silverlinings.co.uk/wedding-planning/choosing-your-wedding-date/
