My fiancée and I are in the process of setting a date in the next year or so. We are considering January, we live in MN so this could be tough weather wise, but most of our family lives near by so we're not too worried about travel. We're thinking about Sat. Jan 2nd, 2010... we're thinking this could be cheaper because it's after christmas/new year and the major holiday season.

I'm just looking for opinions about this... any thoughts would help, thanks.

January 2nd sounds good to me... it's my birthday! :)

January is fine. Not much happens in January, so most people would be able to attend. Also, most places take down there Christmas decorations on January 1st. Check with potential banquet halls about leaving the decorations up for your wedding. This could save you some money on decorating yourself.

You may run into a little bit of a problem with it being the day after New Years Day! A lot of your guests could be tired out from the holidays. Also, you may want to think that some people may be just getting home from their family celebrations, and just want to relax. The ones with kids might have a problem finding babysitters too!

I would also consider that many banquet rooms and reception venues, were probably very booked up and busy during the holidays. Some of their staff may be taking time off from the busy season, and you might not get the services you would like the day after New Years.

Another thing you would want to consider is if you are using a florist. Florists are dead tired after the Christmas season. Weddings take a long time to prepare, and a florist would have to come in on New Years Day to do your flowers. If you find one that is willing, your costs will go up considerably. I've been a florist and wedding coordinator for over 20 yrs. and we wouldn't do anything like that for cheap, if we would do it at all on that date.

All the way around, this is not going to be cheaper in the long run. Sure you would find decorations and things like that at bargain prices, but you sure aren't going to get a deal on the bigger things that really mean a lot.

You might find it very difficult to find a band, DJ, or whatever entertainment you might want. They have probably had gigs throughout Nov. and Dec. for C'mas and New years parties.

You have to think about your guests. They will probably be tapped out after Christmas, and may not be able to afford a gift! A lot will likely be partied out too! Tis the season right? Having a wedding the day after New Years Day is a recipe for disaster.

As I said, in the long run this will not save you money, but likely cost you more. You want your day to go as smoothly as possible, and you don't want to run into unexpected problems. You don't want stressed people taking care of the details of your wedding, and you don't want stressed out guests. You yourself mentioned the weather. That will just be an added stress on you. There are bound to be many stresses on any date, but Jan 2nd is just asking for trouble. I would seriously consider choosing another date, or be prepared for problems.

Best of luck to you with your wedding! :)

Thank you for that... there are some points I didn't think about. Should I assume in the weeks before the Christmas season things will be just as bad if not worse?

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Originally Posted by jigz1311

Thank you for that... there are some points I didn't think about. Should I assume in the weeks before the Christmas season things will be just as bad if not worse?

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Unfortunately, pretty much! It's all going to be very busy with all of the parties going on. Unless you are planning on a very small and intimate wedding, you will have your work cut out for you, and will quite likely spend more money than needed. Is there a particular reason you wanted to get married around this time of year?

As stupid as it probably sounds, we are both in the education field and neither of us will be working that time of year, we also really love it. We're thinking fall will be better but we know of 3 weddings already in Sept. and Oct. and don't want to overlap.

What about waiting a few weeks into January? Or will you be full force back to work by then? I'm trying to understand. Is it the time of year that you are liking? Or, is it just your time schedules?

Maybe I didn't explain exactly what I meant to say in the right way. I realise you will probably be off for Christmas vacation at that time of year, and you probably don't want to add another fall wedding into the mix with the others. What about spring break or summer vacation wedding when the kids are off school? Or is it that you just prefer a fall or winter wedding.

Edit: I sure hope the two of you have gone or are going for some pre-marital counseling. Your fiancée hasn't proven to be quite trustworthy in the past according to your prior posts. Just make sure it's about the marriage, and not just the wedding. It's hard enough when you have all of your ducks in a row! A lot of marriages fail because the work before the wedding isn't done.