It's a Date!

Bonjour mes amis,

As some of you know, my sister happily accepted a proposal earlier this year. Since then we've been trying to decide when the wedding should be held. some say May, some say September and some don't have an opinion. We've reasoned with family commitments, budget, optimal weather conditions and a whole range of other factors.

Anyone who's engaged or is close to someone that has just been proposed to know that setting a date is sometimes not the easiest task on the planning checklist.

To help you decide when to hold the most romantic date of your life, here's a list of things for you to consider.

Weather - no one wants to be rained out on their wedding day so take the time of year into consideration. Look at the previous year's rain fall and temperatures for that time of year and use that as a guide. Key word: guide.

Family Commitments - once you have settled on a time of year, check with those who are close to you to ensure they don't have any existing commitments for that time. You don't want your best friend or sister to be in the middle of an overseas trip!

Budget - If you have a lot of spare change lying around this won't bother you but if you are budget conscious have a discussion with those contributing to the wedding and decide when would be a realistic time for it to be held. You want to avoid starting your marriage in debt!

Availability - If you need to book a venue for your ceremony and/or reception you may need to be flexible with your date depending on their availability. This of course also depends on your desire to hold your wedding on a particular date or at a particular venue. Know your priorities from the beginning.

Public Holidays - There are two side to this factor. If you choose to get married on a public holiday you will most likely encounter extra fees from your suppliers. If however, you get married over a long weekend (but not on the public holiday) you'll miss out on those extra fees and be able to extend the celebration without having to worry about work schedules.

There are of course a couple of "issues" that may arise when trying to set a date:

Difficult Friends/Relatives - When it comes to your wedding those close to you are always going to have an opinion...about EVERYTHING! Stay focused on the factors that are important to you and follow your instincts. It's your wedding so you need to be happy with the final decision.

Pleasing Everybody - This is never going to happen so forget about it...RIGHT NOW! The average wedding has approximately 120 guests. That's 120 individual schedules that you'd have to coordinate! If your invitations go out on time it will give your guests plenty of time to clear their diaries.

Try not to let these factors dominate your decision making. As I said before it's your wedding and you and your fiance need to be the ones happy with the final decision.

My one final tip: Follow your instincts; we have them for a reason!

Victoria x

Photograph courtesy of:

Ruby & Scarlett - www.rubyandscarlett.com.au