Choosing a date!

Oh! There's also the option for an outdoor ceremony which OH loves which again is another factor for bringing it forward! Xx

Can they swop of to an indoor ceremony on the day if the weather is awful. Sounds like a good excuse for a basket of blankets for cold guests and warm Drink to me. ?

Thinking back on how we decided the date, I think we thought of the weather- but that was just for photos, as we're having an indoor wedding. I can understand your concern for October wedding- but looking back on last October it wasn't too cold! If anything, it might just be a bit wet. Will it likely be muddy if you have an outdoor wedding? Wedding wellies are all the rage nowadays! Also, as mentioned by a previous poster, could they quickly bring everything in for an indoor wedding if things took a turn for the worse? In the world of Pinterest, there's loads of ideas for keeping guests cosy when it's a bit chilly- blankets to share, big pots of hot chocolate- it could become a cosy theme for your wedding?

We're getting married on our Anniversary, so can't help you there, but my brother got married the first weekend in September.

It is ALWAYS good weather that weekend! I don't know why, it just always seems to be sunny and not too cold

As we are having a weekday wedding it had to be school holidays, we decided summer holidays in hope of better weather and went for August 1st as July was too close to my birthday! No real long thought process behind it for us really. I’d be more tempted to do September than October, just as you’ve said the weather is more likely to be a little nicer. You can still do the log fires etc in Sept even if the weather is pants – best of both worlds then!

We wanted a late spring or summer wedding (May to August). We actually chose ours because my parents were already planning to visit at the time so it saved them an extra trip from Germany to Scotland. In the end it was not ideal for our other guests though, as not everyone was able to stay with us and since it was during the festival, hotels were extremely expensive (although I think everyone found a solution that worked, airbnb etc.) Originally we hadn't planned to have anyone other than our parents so that's why we didn't consider other guests, but then our plans had already taken shape and we didn't want to change the date.

Anyway, we knew that a late August wedding was riskier than say, June or July, but actually we had the most amazing weather on our wedding day, sunny, warm and not windy despite being on the Scottish coast. And that is after the weather forecast had said rain for the day for the entire week leading up to our wedding, even when we went to bed at midnight the day before our wedding it still said rain.

My point is you can't predict the weather. Pick the date that you like. If having an outdoor wedding is important to you I would probably say neither September nor October are really good choices for that in the UK, but then you could have a rainy day any day of the year.

We both wanted a summer wedding and the wedding in between my parents anniversary and a few birthdays. The date is also the closest Saturday to when we got engaged.

Our date was set mostly based in budget and how long it would take us to save but we also considered honeymoon dates that didn't fall in school holidays to avoid sky high prices!

I always wanted december originally (as a little girl, I want to be the snow queen lol) as I got older I realised I hate being cold and my outdoor theme wouldnt work, then realised september was beautiful the month that convert summer to autumn, longer day and the ability to be outside combined with the beauty of autumn kicking in.

my finance doesnt really care... I just told him the date and that was that lol

Not particularly good way, as we're having 2 very good friends coming from overseas (Korea and New Zealand) we gave ourselves a minimum of a year. We then wrote down the months in order, and crossed them off. Jan and Feb we thought too cold, Oct, Nov and Dec would have been nearer 2 years and we felt that was too long. If you get married in Church over lent can't have flowers or bells, so Mar was out. Crossed off Jul and Aug because too warm and school holidays. Thought Sept was also too long. Then decided May instead of Apr, and (we have a little thing about the moon) so checked for a full moon, nearest Saturday to a full moon is the 21st. Ironically, also was my Grandparents wedding anniversary and we're getting married where the other set got married. So kinda cool for me.

We both liked the month of April and we wanted a saturday. We then found a venue we liked and saw what dates they had available. I liked the idea of the 16th as it is the day after my Grannys birthday (who passed away a few years ago) and I was very close to her. So the date just seemed right.

Over many years as wedding photographer I have noticed that the colour of the trees and so on at the same time of year is somewhat dependent on what the rest of the year has been like, some years you get to 21st of october and its virtually all over, other years the Autumn seems like it will last forever.

One of the reasons that sometimes everything can be gone is because September tends to be very windy at times which along with rain can be one of the main things to drive the photos indoors, so even though it may be warm enough it still could be too windy in September.But on the plus side both months tend to be dryer.

My best guess would be for around 10th Oct = more colour that you like and hopfully the silly Sept winds have had there say and still left you with a nice display.

To give you an idea of the colour change that can happen over 40 days. Here is a shot taken on a 5th of September Brooksby Hall

Tricky! According to this website http://www.holiday-weather.com/london/averages/ (for London, but I expect it's not very different in other places) there is more rainfall in October, although the number of rainy days is the same, which is what matters more than how heavy the rain is I suppose.

One thing in favour of October (which was probably part of your initial choice anyway) is the colour of the trees - I think September may be a bit too early for the leaves to have turned all orange and red, isn't it? I'd say if you go for an autumn wedding, it should be REAL autumn!

We choose our date around the football fixtures - sad I know - and it was me not my OH who had to make sure it didn't fall on match days! Haha! I always knew I wanted a spring/summer wedding (no football!) and as a season ticket holder I knew when the last game of the season was going to be and so knew it had to be from last weekend in May, and before August! I didn't want to wait 2 years so we went with this year, which is a European Championship year so we wanted it before they started hence we had 2 weekends to play with really and our venue only had one available!! Job Done!! I did go to a wedding year before last on 10th October and it was a beautiful day, you needed a coat stood outside but we did all the drinks & photos outside and everyone was fine! Be wary of your ceremony time though if you want daylight for the photos xxx

I originally wanted to get married in September this year, however it wouldn't have given us enough time to save so we decided on 2017 instead of 2016. I have never wanted a winter wedding so that left Spring and Summer. Both of our birthdays are in April and we went to a wedding at the end of April and it was cold and windy so that ruled that one out. We did consider May but thought that the weather can sometimes be unpredictable. We then thought of the end of June but the OH always has a football conference the last weekend of June so that was out! We considered the weekend before but it would be before a pay day for us and a lot of our guests! So we decided to go for 01/07/2017. It is a Saturday, which we both wanted and I like the 1-7-17 format. It will be after pay day for everyone and I am hoping that the weather will be nice in the early summer. August has been terrible recently and our photographer told us that every wedding that he has shot in August it has been torrential rain. Our venue is in one of the driest places in the UK so I am keeping my fingers crossed as we are getting married outside!

I say go for September as you are more likely to get nice weather. My friend got married in October. It poured with rain all morning but luckily it stopped at about midday and reminded dry for the rest of the day. It wasn't too cold during the day but it was freezing in the evening. She said that she preferred to expect that the weather would be awful in October and anything better than that would be a bonus! X

Another footbal fan! I too am the one with a season ticket in our house, had it properly since I was 13 he can't get one for his team ? another freaky thing, first nane is Rachel too.

Wow, thank you all for the replies! It's nice to see how people came to their chosen date decision! And also for all of the advice and things to consider! Having chatted to OH he's now swaying more towards our provisional date after I mentioned at our viewing how I'd love the log fires and how the weather may be rubbish if we moved it forward and we might be disappointed if we planned for a nice out doorsy wedding! I think we're just going to stick with the 21st October and have a cosy Autumn wedding! I want fires and red leaves! I also hate the thought of sweating on my wedding day if it was an Indian summer in the September!! I'm starting to get excited that I can really start planning with a date and venue pretty much sorted! Xx

Ahh amazing TidalWave, I've had mine since I was 6, my dad took me to my first game when I was 4 and I've been hooked ever since! Still go just me & my dad and I'm 32 this year!! My OH likes football but doesn't ever go to matches, he would struggle to get a ticket - he's a Liverpool fan! I'm Stoke City!!

An Autumn wedding sounds lovely RoseGoldsparkle, the log fires and everything will be gorgeous! You can really make a theme of it! How exciting you can now properly start planning - good luck and keep us up to date with your plans xxx

We wanted a date with a chance of good weather so we were thinking May-August. We were planning on a Saturday at first but then we found our venue and it's a lot cheaper Sunday-Thursday. My mum suggested the Sunday of a bank holiday weekend which we thought was a great idea. We chose the last Sunday in May as it had been glorious weather that year and I was too impatient to wait until August. Then last year we had hailstones on that day so fingers crossed it'll be better this year!

Don't want to highjack, so quick reply, to rach_217 (as quote function is down on desktop) That's lovely, we do something similar me and my brother both drive over to our parents and all go off together, I'm 29. Ooo the league cup must be fun in your house! Has he tried cup games, I went to White hart lane for a cup game as it was the only was OH could get a ticket. Stoke? This could be fun, with Pulis (we won't mention him) I'm Palace.

Our date was my 40th birthday. It was January in Scotland and the weather never even occurred to us! Thankfully it was perfect on the day.

We wanted a summer wedding and we also wanted to get married on a Friday (cheaper venue) so it had to be school holidays because of the number of children coming (including my own). We also have quite a few friends that are teachers who we really want there.

Having said that, Christmas is without doubt my favourite time of the year and this Christmas just gone I really wished we'd gone for a winter wedding.

We were restricted by OH's work schedule, so there were only a handful of weekends that we would be able to comfortably do. There were three weekends in August, one in May, the Easter weekend, and a couple in December. December was out because we wanted the wedding during British Summer Time so the evenings would be nice and light. We eliminated August because it's peak season and lots of people would be going on holiday. In the end we went for May, which ticks all our boxes! It still might pour with rain (I'd be the first bride in my family to have a wedding where it didn't!) but at least the evening will be light and the gardens will be green and in bloom The longer the daylight, the more chance you have of nipping outside for nice photos in between showers!

OH works in a school, so we knew it had to be in the school holidays. Our preferred venue did a package Mon-Thurs out of season. Maundy Thursday seemed to be the obvious choice - we got the cheap package, it saved any problem of anticipating holiday dates (the school would definitely be closed before Maundy Thursday), and it meant all of our guests have the Bank Holiday Friday off so they only have to take one day off work.

Hello, I’ve been away for a bit but works calming down now so I’m appearing back. We picked October as it was our anniversary month, our actual anniversary is on my best friend’s birthday so wanted to move away from that so we picked Halloween as I love Halloween and it was a Saturday so people could travel (OH family live down south). To be honest it was the best day weather wise, the day before it was raining and again in the day after. We had sunny and warm. Weather is just something that cannot be banked upon as I know August weddings that rained all day. Does the venue have a backup plan in case the weather isn’t great?

The indoor ceremony room would automatically be set up as well as the outdoor area, but I think as we're sticking with the 21st October and not moving to September, we'll stick with inside Still enjoying reading how everyone chose their dates too! X

We have booked for exactly the same date as you. I love Autumn and it has always been my dream to get married in that season, especially October. It worked well for OH too as he hates the heat of summer. We are also planning an Autumn theme to our wedding with Autumn colours, hot cider on arrival, pumpkin soup shots as canapes, firework table decorations and toffee apple stand. I really do love Autumn lol! My plan if it is too wet for outdoor photos is to use the balcony of our bridal suite so the grounds are still in view. I may also book an engagement shoot so we can at least use some of the grounds for those. I am not really bothered about having outdoor photos on the day if I am honest. Looking forward to seeing your progress with planning as we will be ticking things off along the way together!