Wedding Tactics

If you have already chosen a date for your wedding you know firsthand what a delicate little woven web it is to avoid offending people, trying to make people happy and manage to get married before the end of the decade. For all you recently engaged couples who are still “thinking it over” and “not yet settled on a date” … here are some tips, pitfalls to look out for and general complaints you can expect to hear.

The wedding over a holiday weekend debate meant that travel would be more expensive but people wouldn’t necessarily have to take as much time off from work. I thought I would feel guilty for taking someone’s intensely coveted three-day weekend. Although, in hindsight, I didn’t think much about it once the date was chosen and the invitations were in the mail. What seems huge today will be a faint memory tomorrow.

I got engaged in July, and I always knew I wanted a Fall wedding. That meant that we either had a wedding in December (yes, I know, not so much autumn anymore and also soon) … or we waited a year and a half.

I was not going to wait a year and a half.

Marc also said NO to December for that whole too soon reason. Men! If you can train for a marathon in four months; you can plan a wedding in four months.

When we finally decided where we wanted to get married, we just looked at the dates they had available and the openings began in early May. I did not want to get married on Mother’s Day or Memorial Day. May 20th was the earliest that our venue was available, so, that’s how we decided on our date.

I had friends beg me not to get married in December because they had another wedding to attend the week before, also in Florida and that would have been a lot of traveling for them.

My brother-in-law-to-be also asked me to move my wedding date, after I had put down a deposit, because his girlfriend’s sister was getting married the weekend before, and that’s just a lot of wedding-time for them. Sorry guys, you’ll get over it.

So much for my Fall wedding, or my December wedding.

We chose our date based on what was available at our venue. This was really just the beginning of the flexibility I would need to extend for wedding planning.

This outdoor wedding at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden is featured on TheKnot and shows good use of nature and simple colors .

Christmas is a magical time of year for many people. No wonder so many people want to get married during the month of December. It’s a time of year when people start thinking about family and celebration and being thankful.

It can be a great time of year for a wedding. If you like the decor of dark red poinsettias, holly bushes and tiny white lights, then you can definitely take advantage of the decorations already in place at many churches, restaurants and reception halls. You can save A LOT of money by using what already exists!

Just because red and green are all over doesn’t mean you have to use those colors. Consider silver and white, silver and light blue or red and gold. Typically, the white color you see this time of year is actually a cream color.

Even if you have been planning a wedding for a different time of year, you can convert the color choices into some that will work in the winter months. Click here to see an explanation.

If you are planning a wedding for this time of year, consider sending your invitations about more than the traditional six weeks in advance, rather, opt for about ten to twelve weeks in advance because people like to plan ahead and it is a popular travel time.

If you want to have a wedding this time of year but aren’t too into the actual Christmas theme and Christmas colors, consider the season and play of the idea of snow and warmth. I love this snowflake cake.

Regardless of what kind of color theme you choose, your venue can be all the inspiration you need. Think of rustic restaurants with roaring fireplaces and exposed beams. Country inns are also great places for wintertime weddings.