How on earth did you choose your wedding date?!

I've always liked the idea of having a date that means something. We got together on 16th January but didn't want a winter wedding. We knew we would be saving for a couple of years and it just so happens that in 2016, July 16th is a Saturday, so it worked out well! We'll be getting married exactly 6.5 years from when we got together

Ours just so happens to be the date we met which this year falls on a Saturday so it was easy to decide on that! The day we marry will be 17yrs to the day we met x

Was a no brainer for me. Its my late dad's birthday, so we can raise a glass to him. So sad that he wont be with me but im sure he will be in spirit x

16th Jan is my birthday! I thought we were date twins for a moment there, but no.

It was the date the resort gave us! We had 3 choices to give them, we wanted a Friday because it means we'll have a longer 'honeymoon' it was either going to be the 9th or 12th and luckily got the 9th!

It was one of the only dates in September and would have been OH's Grandad's birthday.

We both love the Spring, so went for April (also considering when we could save up by). We narrowed it down to a preferred saturdayl. It then turned out that the Registry office we wanted to get married in, only does one Saturday afternoon a month and it just so happened to be the date we had in mind! 25.04.2015. Was meant to be! ?

Date twin!

And I noticed you joined hitched on my birthday too... spoooky ?

My OH was really keen on a winter wedding. As it happens, we met the weekend before Christmas what will be 6 years ago, so we're getting married that weekend. It will also allow his Australian relatives to attend, as they're usually over in the winter.

We originally thought of a September wedding as I always thought it was a nice month to get married plus my engagement ring is a sapphire so thought it would fit in well. But then I realised that the last 6 months of the year we would have something on every month - my birthday is July, H2B's is August, our son's is October and our daughter's is November and then Christmas. So having something big on in Spetmember seemed like a bit ask.

I then decided on April as I liked the idea of a vintage type spring wedding. After looking at the Saturdays in April 2015, I chose 11.04.15 due to the fact 11 and 04 makes 15 which is the year we get married (I suffer number OCD) but it is also the day after which would be H2B's grandparents wedding anniversary as they were married on the 10th April. So it has a sentimental value aswell.

I just think with the UK weather you can never guarantee what it will be like so just go for what you both want. If it rains on your day - so what, people won't care / notice.

xx

We basically had to plan our wedding around the F1 season, the Moto GP season, and Mr McFarley racing in the TSS Sprint Series, lol. We also had to factor in my cousin and step-sister getting married (to seperate people - not together btw!) for parents being out of the country and unavailable (Mr McFarley thought it would be the perfect time with my mum away in Vegas and therefore unable to attend, cheeky scamp!), and also my best friend getting married at the end of Aug. Basically in amongst that lot the only date that was free at the venue we liked as Sept 27th - done deal lol

xx

We've chosen our date because we'll have been together exactly 25 years (and 2 days) on the 3rd of Sept 2016.

We wanted the wedding in September and they only had two dates left. We chose ours because it is my aunt's birthday, my cousin's wedding anniversary and my OH sister birthday. The other date they gave us had a 4 in it, which sounds like the word 'death' in Chinese and OH parents are more superstitious so didn't go for that day.

I think however you choose - you can't guarantee the weather so just think about what's important to you both. Our first decision was that we wanted to avoid school holidays, we didn't want to leave it too long after getting engaged, so decided on May, June or July. A lot of May was out due to school holidays and other things so we decided June or July,and then we found out that the Tour de France will be going just about straight past the venue in early July, so settled on June. There was no difference in price at our venue whether you got married on a weekend or weekday as they said it makes no difference to them price wise, so we decided on a Saturday. Then finally, when we clicked that 21st June was available and was the first day of summer, we decided that was the date for us1

We'll be basically working backwards from whenever we book our honeymoon. The plan is to have a low-key registry office ceremony followed by a meal in our favourite restaurant with our nearest and dearest before jetting off to the Maldives either that evening or the next day.

As the best time to go to the Maldives is between December and March we'll be planning our day around the typical temperature/weather conditions for that time of year.

I think we chose ours so that we would be on our honeymoon over Good Friday, Easter Monday and the Mayday bank holiday!! Also, the weekend that we are getting married was really rather nice in previous years, so it all made sense. It was also pretty much 18 months after we got engaged so that was a nice amout of time to plan and save, and as it turns out, it's worked out pretty well.

We wanted later on in the year to have more time to save up but also wanted nice weather. We were going to go for August bank holiday but that was booked so we just booked the weekend before.

We started off thinking June or September as they are not peak peak wedding season and they are quiet times at work for us both. I then thought September was too long to wait and tried to convince Mr Kevin to go for June! I also wanted a significant date, when l found on the 3rd of June was St Kevin's day (Mr Erin's name) then l wanted to go for that date.

We chose a date that meant something to us rather than a date for the weather as we love winter but we never get snow which is what would have been 'perfect' for us lol!

in the end we settled for 15 November 2014 - my Father passed away 5 years ago and this date would have been his 80th Birthday. It was the best way we could think of to 'include' my Father at the wedding without him actually being there.

To be fair though, if you have a good TOG, it doesn;t matter what the weather of month, they will capture your day beautifully.

We wanted to get married on the 26th of a month (because we have a lot of 26th's in our family! parents wedding anniversary, dads birthday, the date we got the keys to our first home, our getting together anniversary etc) and we wanted to get married on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday as it was a lot cheaper at our chosen venue. We also knew we wanted to get married somewhere between July and September (to have at least a glimmer of hope for nice weather!) The only Monday Tuesday or Wednesday on the 26th of those months was August.

So when the guy asked us if we had a date in mind, we instantly asked for 26th August 2014, so he flicked through his diary, and was one of only 4 dates left for August! So it felt as though it was meant to be!

I'm a wedding photographer, listed here on Hitched.

My advice FWIW - Hope for good weather, plan for bad. (whatever month)

Summer months can be so unpredictable. Also, people don't look so good in photographs, dripping with seat and squinting in the mid-day sun.

Summer weddings are also expensive.

Plan carefully. Work out how many guests would be inconvenienced by a cheaper Thursday wedding for example. Or Book slightly out of season and save loads.

As a photographer, I love winter light. It's cool and flattering. The anticipation of Christmas often adds an extra dimension as well.

Good luck!

Dave Sander

www.cocotureweddings.co.uk

We went with September because historically the weather has been better in September over recent years (although that's still a gamble).

Also so we didn't want to be honeymooning during school holidays (price increases and more kids to contend with in resorts )

We picked June as our venue looks a lot nicer in the summer months with all the flowers etc.

Picked a random Saturday they had free, the date has no significance

We had had one of those random conversations not long before we got engaged about when we would like to get married and H2B really wanted autumn. When we did get engaged, we decided to marry on the 4th October as that's my Mum's birthday, and she hates her birthday, but the venue we really loved couldn't do that date. They could do the 26th October though which is at the start of half term, awesome for me because I work in a school. Turned out as well that it is H2B's late mother's birthday, so we just had to have it when we realised that, as I would loved to have met her. H2B's entire family were over the moon when we told them the date.

x

Thank you so much for all your inspiration, we have now chosen a date