6 Tips for Planning a Wedding Around a Holiday

Planning a wedding is difficult enough as it is. Planning your wedding around a popular holiday can get even trickier. Thankfully, there are ways to use a nearby holiday to your advantage when wedding planning.

After all, try as you might, there are some instances where the date just works out better even if it happens to be around a holiday. It might not be avoidable due to specific circumstances or availability. In this case, don’t fret.

Below are 6 useful tips when planning a wedding around a major holiday such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving or Valentine’s Day.

1. Give notice ASAP

   Ideally, as soon as you confirm that the wedding will take place around a holiday, it would be best to send out a save-the-date to all guests. This way, they can plan around the busy holiday season, and you can get the date in their schedules right away, before any other requests or time commitments.

   Workplaces usually have many employees booking time off work during the holidays, so guests should get their vacation time approved well in advance.

2. Expect extra guests

   Having your wedding during or around a major holiday may cut into family time and other family events for guests. This could mean that you will get more “+1” requests from your guests who want to include and spend time with their important family members.

   It’s best to be prepared for this. If you plan on allowing multiple extra guests, you will need to make sure your wedding venue can accommodate the rise in attendees and ensure that there is more than enough catered food.

3. Get in the holiday spirit

   During your wedding, don’t let the major holiday be the elephant in the room. If you can and are willing, embrace the holiday and join in the festivities as well. As unconventional as it may seem, Halloween themed weddings are great fun and memorable.

   If you’re having your wedding during the Christmas season, you might want to incorporate some Poinsettias in your wedding bouquet or sprinkle some mistletoe around the venue for a little extra fun.

   Weddings during Valentine’s Day are usually quite appropriate and fit well with the theme. While you may not want to go overboard, it would certainly be fun and entertaining for yourself and the guests to enjoy a little holiday festive fun.

4. Use the timing to your advantage

   If you choose to have a wedding during the holiday season, it means that seasonal foliage and décor will be readily available and may even be on sale. Depending on your venue, it could even be decorated already in light of the holiday season.

   The use of light at your event will be crucial, and Christmas outdoor lights can be a beautiful spectacle that adds to the overall look and feel of your event.

   Another way you can use the holiday to your advantage is by having your wedding on a weekday or a long weekend. Not only will this ensure that your guests are relaxed and in a good mood, but it can be more cost-effective.

5. Be accommodating

   Having your wedding during a holiday means that you may have to be more accommodating for certain guests. Guests may show up late due to prior commitments and may even be absent at certain times throughout the night if they have to answer phone calls from family or friends or attend to other duties.

   Don’t fret if this is the case, as it’s perfectly normal during the holiday seasons. Allow your guests some flexibility during this time, and they will appreciate you even more.

6. Celebrate for multiple reasons

   Weddings during the holiday season don’t have to be a drag. In fact, when you have a wedding during a major holiday, there’s more to celebrate, which means that it can be even more fun than a regular wedding if done correctly.

Let loose and have a night that your guests will remember. Parties are a common thing during the holiday season, so why should your wedding be any different?

Inevitably, some guests may be inconvenienced by your wedding date if it falls near or on a holiday. However, sometimes it just means that there is more to celebrate, and your wedding will truly be twice the fun.

For more information on wedding trends to look out for, call Château Le Jardin at 1-888-534-3296 or contact us here.