Timing is Everything! Time Right... Save Money!

The timing of your wedding has a big impact on you budget. Now, when I talk about timing I am referring to three distinct elements: the time of year, the time (or day) of the week, and the time of day.

Season/Time of the year: Vendors can no longer use the term "Wedding Season" as liberally as they once did. It used to be that the wedding season ranged from May until September. Those were the "prime" months for matrimony - more and more couples, however, are choosing to marry at all times of year. That being said, summer is still the most popular season for weddings (with fall coming in a close second). So, many vendors will offer a discount for weddings held outside of the busy months. This means that if you decide to hold a wedding in February you can negotiate some pretty great discounts.

Day of the week: Saturday is still the undisputed winner when it comes to favourite wedding days among couples. So, choose to host a Saturday wedding (especially in the summer) and you're sure to pay top dollar for it. However, should you decide to hold a Friday or Sunday wedding you can benefit from some added savings.

Time of Day: The time of day also has a big impact on the cost of your wedding. The typical wedding ceremony starts around 4:00 with cocktails at 5:30, and dinner at 6:30. That's followed by dancing at 9:00 and a late lunch at 11:30. So in this typical scenerio you're paying for cocktails, dinner, alcohol, DJ, decor, late lunch, etc.

Now let's say you decided to hold the wedding at 10:00am followed by a nice garden brunch. Suddenly you cut out two big "food sessions" (cocktails and late lunch) and you're paying about half the price per plate for a brunch than you would pay for a dinner. You also eliminate the need for a DJ, alcohol, and you shorten the length of time needed for room/venue rentals.

The same goes for holding your ceremony later in the evening. A 7:00pm ceremony can be followed by a cocktail reception, followed by dancing, followed by the late lunch, etc. Suddenly, you've cut the need for dinner altogether as your guests would have eaten prior to going to the ceremony but you're still able to have a party and dance into the wee hours of the night.

So, if you're on a budget mind your timing.

Happy Planning!

Sophie
Coverall Event Coordination