Photos on thumbnail courtesy of Julia Trotti Photography.

Having hosted hundreds of weddings over the years, we can safely say that there are so many possibilities when it comes to planning your “Best Day Ever.” Whether that be in terms of the season in which you tie the knot (and the theme that can correspond with it), carefully selecting each of the members of your vendor dream team or anything else in relation to the wedding planning process, we’re sure you and your spouse-to-be will have an absolute blast.

One of the main focuses of our wedding blog has always been to create resources that engaged couples can utilize in the wedding planning stages. And as you can likely imagine, there is no shortage of topics to discuss. With this week’s blog post, we will be taking a closer look at one of the decisions that you’ll make early on in the planning process and that happens to be tied to the actual wedding date that you’ll select for your big day. Chances are you’ll start this decision making process by determining which season you would prefer. After that, the day of the week will likely come into play, as will certain vendor’s availability, such as your favorite venues that you’re considering. In addition to all of those, some couples may also be intrigued by the possibility of considering holiday weddings. While certain holidays are more popular for wedding dates than others, there are definitely some fun things you can do when planning a holiday wedding. Throughout this week’s blog post, we’ll discuss a few of the things you’ll want to consider prior to signing on for a holiday wedding. Let’s hop right in!

Guest Availability

When picking out your wedding date, chances are something that will impact your decision is the availability for your family and friends to be able to attend, right? After all, they’ll undoubtedly be a big part of the big day and you’ll want as many as possible to be there. With that being said, this is a great topic to start with to see how certain holidays are more popular than others. Take the week of Thanksgiving, for example. While Thanksgiving day itself might not be the most ideal date (since many of your guests may already have plans), the weekdays leading up to Thanksgiving could work well. After all, if you have guests that are already traveling into town for the Thanksgiving holiday and possibly off work, this might be the perfect fit.

Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend are a couple of other holidays that tend to make sense in relation to guest availability as well. The main reason for this is the fact that many people will be off work on those Mondays for the holiday. If you had the wedding on Saturday or Sunday, guests wouldn’t have to rush back right away, especially if they’re traveling from out-of-state to be there. All in all, everyone might have different situations when referencing guest availability, but it should still be a factor that you consider!

Vendor Availability

In the section above, we discussed one factor that will undoubtedly play a role in which date you select for your big day and that was the ability of your loved ones to be there for your wedding. This is something that every couple will take into account! However, as we’ve talked about in countless previous blog posts, your team of talented vendors will also be a very important part of the big day too. Whether that be the photographer capturing all of the special moments, the caterer serving a delicious meal or anyone else, you’ll definitely want to take your time to ensure you select the perfect vendors for your big day. After all, there’s a reason why we always emphasize the importance of prioritizing vendor selection early in the wedding planning process and that is due to the fact that many vendors can get booked several months in-advance (especially for popular dates).

The reason why this topic finds its place on this blog post is to encourage couples to double check if different vendors are even available on particular holidays. With this, I’m not just referring to whether or not they’re already booked by another couple, but rather if they’re even working on that specific holiday. Some holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, might be dates they’ve got blocked off the calendar for personal obligations. Nonetheless, if you’re considering a holiday wedding, it wouldn’t hurt to ask some of the vendors you’re considering and see if they typically work on that holiday. If you already have your venue selected, they should be able to help out here, especially if they offer all-inclusive packages.

Which Holidays are Best for Weddings?

It goes without saying that holiday weddings can create some unique opportunities for a wonderful celebration. Even if you don’t get married on the actual holiday itself, but rather around that time, there’s nothing wrong with including some of those components into your theme still. Whether that be in regards to the decor, color palettes or anything else, this could likely inspire some ideas in no time! To wrap up this week’s blog post, we thought it would only make sense to highlight a few of the different holidays that would make for terrific dates for weddings. Since we already mentioned Labor Day Weekend and Memorial Day Weekend above, we’ll skip those here even though they are great for wedding dates!

Halloween – While Halloween might not be the first holiday that comes to mind when thinking about potential wedding dates, there are definitely some cool things you can do with a Halloween-themed wedding. You’ll want to avoid going over the top with spooky decorations, but there’s no denying that a “Til Death Do Us Part” theme can create an amazing wedding celebration!

Valentine’s Day – A holiday that is about love could clearly be a great fit for a wedding, right? Does Valentine’s Day fall on a weekday, but you’re looking for a weekend wedding date? If that’s the case, then just pick the weekend before or after, and you can still add in all of the beautiful reds/pinks that are sure to pop in the photos!

Holiday Season – As mentioned above, you can still incorporate holiday-themed components, even without tying the knot on the actual holiday date itself. Considering a winter-themed wedding around Christmas and New Years time? If so, there are plenty of ways you can go about creating a winter theme. Whether that be in regards to the dress attire, color palettes, floral arrangements or anything else, winter weddings during the holiday season are always special!

While this isn’t a comprehensive list of every possible holiday wedding date, it should give you a few ideas of possible options! All in all, there’s truly not a wrong decision when deciding on the date in which you’ll say your “I Do’s” to your partner.

Holiday Weddings at Madera Estates

Are you engaged and searching for a wedding venue near Houston? Madera Estates is a luxury wedding venue located in Conroe, TX, just north of Houston and The Woodlands. Since opening up our wedding venue, we’ve been honored to have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of engaged couples as they craft every single detail of their “Best Day Ever.” Being able to witness and be a part of these magical wedding celebrations is truly something that never gets old. Throughout this week’s blog post, we discussed a few different things that you’ll want to keep in mind if you’re interested in holiday weddings. We’ve had plenty of couples go the holiday wedding route and they truly are always stunning!

Ready to learn more about Madera Estates? Feel free to fill out the form HERE to request a copy of our Pricing Guide and you’re also welcome to give us a call at (936) 441-9337.

About the Author
Ian Ramirez serves as the Venue Director at Madera Estates, an award-winning Spanish-style wedding venue located in Conroe, TX. Madera Estates hosts over 85 weddings and events each year, having recently been named as one of the top venues in Houston. Given that holiday weddings can be so magical, he was excited to tackle this blog post!

A lover of music, yoga and Netflix, Ian is an internationally trained opera singer and has sung around the globe, from Portland, Oregon to Stuggart, Germany. Working in the wedding industry has been a dream come true for Ian, as he not only gets to help bring magical wedding celebrations to life and utilize his creativity, but also help lead the family business!

Ian is also the Co-Founder of Venue Help Desk, the ultimate sales and business coaching resource for wedding and event venues.