So right after our engagement announcement, the number 1 question we got was “have ya’ll set a date?”  Probably the most frequent question every couple will experience. We didn’t pick an official date until about 4 months after being engaged. My fiancé and I knew we were going to have a long engagement to give us time to budget for the wedding and for my fiancé to finish school the following year, so we weren’t necessarily in a rush to pick a date in the near future. We did have a couple of factors in helping us pick a date so read below for some of those:

• Budget: Yes a budget is a HUGE factor in picking a date. We knew that we didn’t want to hold back on our wedding day but at the same time had to be realistic on what we could afford. My fiancé and I are actually paying for most of the wedding so we had to take a step back and have that quick reality check on 1st, how much weddings really cost and then what we could actually pay. This is how we knew we were not looking to have a 1 year engagement so instantly we thought 1.5-2 year engagement would be fine with us.
• Season: This is random BUT if you have ever spend a summer in Texas, you know that there is not much to compete with the Texas heat. We instantly knew a summer wedding was not for us. I personally am more of a Spring/Fall type of girl so this narrowed down our dates. Spring 2018 was too soon but Fall 2018, well it was perfect. Fall of 2018 not only possibly gave us an exact 2 year engagement but also the weather in Houston can be *nice* around that time. So Fall 2018 it was for us.
• Special Dates: So October has always been a special month for my fiancé and I. Our dating anniversary is actually on October 17th, and then the day he proposed was October 27th. We instantly thought, why make life difficult and lets get married in October! With Houston weather, October can either be still summer hot, or it can start getting a little chilly, this felt like what made the most sense for us!.
• Venue: OK so the venue will obviously play a huge impact on setting your date. When we decided on October, we noticed that the 27th fell on a Saturday, so when I started emailing venues to get quotes, my “wedding date” was on Oct 27th 2018. When we came across our venue, we decided to set up tour and by the time we actually did tour and inquired about our date, the 27th had just been booked. So all other October Saturdays were still available. We loved everything the venue had to offer so we decided to move the actual date a week ahead. This then taught us how sought out fall weddings were in Houston and knew we were doing good by starting our planning pretty early for the time frame. Quick tip: some venues have “Peak season” and “Peak day” pricing, meaning depending the city, the more  “popular” wedding months there may have a premium price while off season months will be discounted. We learned quickly, that October was very popular in Houston + having a Saturday wedding was more expensive than Friday/Sunday wedding. Since we were planning about 2 years out we felt OK with the “extra costs”.
• Holidays: This is another great factor to consider when deciding your wedding day. We knew we didn’t really want a wedding date near the holidays. It’s usually an expensive time to travel plus we knew we would be inviting family from out of town. So that then narrowed out November and December for us. Other holidays to consider would be like 4th of July weekend, Memorial day and etc. I actually found this great article from the knot on what days to NOT pick for your wedding as a guide. It sort of gives you that “light bulb” moment when you are like “oh yeah didn’t even think about that holiday”. Check it out here!

Hope these tips help you at least have a time frame in mind so that when you start contacting vendors, you know what month/day you guys are thinking about having the wedding on. With the “wedding date” being one of the most important first decisions you will make during your wedding planning, how did you decide your wedding date? Also stay tuned for next week’s post! I will be discussing “The Wedding Budget” & how to set one. Til next time!