Should You Have a Weekday Wedding to Save Money?
It’s not a secret that weddings typically happen on the weekend. If you’re booking a wedding venue, Saturdays will be the most expensive, followed by Sundays and Fridays. Time of year, holidays, and special dates (like 11/11/11) will likely factor into the rates, as well. Since the venue is often your largest expense when booking wedding vendors, opting to host your ceremony and reception on a weekday may be something you’re considering. It’s true, many venues will charge significantly less if you host your event on a day like a Tuesday or Wednesday. If the discounts you’ve been quoted are making you seriously consider a weekday wedding, here are some things to consider before you make the decision.
Is your wedding happening in town or out-of-town? Is it a destination wedding?
By “in town” we mean that most of your guests live nearby, within an hour drive or so. “Out-of-town” would mean that most of your guests are traveling for a few hours and will need accommodations for at least one night. A “destination wedding” means everyone is getting there by train or plane and will need to book lodging for multiple nights.
If it’s in town, a weekday wedding happening in the evening is probably doable for most guests. Don’t expect people to stay late, however. If people need to go to work the next morning or get kids ready for school, they’ll probably be calling it a night by 10pm. They also won’t be drinking much at the open bar you paid for, either.
A destination wedding likely already requires guests to use multiple days of PTO and book travel. If your guests are already willing and able to do this, they may actually appreciate the lower prices for hotels and flights mid-week. Destination weddings are basically a vacation for everyone, so having your wedding on a Wednesday is completely normal when everyone is already 2,000 miles from home.
An out-of-town wedding where people can travel there in a few hours might be the situation where we’d avoid mid-week wedding dates. Some people may have been planning to not take time off work with a fly out Friday evening, fly home Sunday model. If all your guests get a save-the-date for a Tuesday afternoon ceremony, this means they need to take at least three days off work to attend. For some people, this just isn’t something they can swing, and they may opt out of attending.
How much are you really saving by hosting the event on a weekday?
In addition to the discount offered by your venue, are your other vendors offering lower rates, as well? Keep in mind not every vendor will offer a discount. A venue is a fixed, brick and mortar facility. They want as many events happening as possible to help pay for all of their expenses – rent, utilities, groundskeepers, valets, chefs, servers, admins, coordinators, etc. Mid-week events help them keep their staff employed, as they can offer them full time hours as opposed to just weekend or on-call work.
For vendors that operate smaller teams or are just a single person, they don’t have the same type of overhead. They may not even work on weekdays, as some vendors like DJs or officiants usually have day jobs and work weddings as a side-gig. Also, some venues, like churches, may be closed on certain days or already have standing events on the calendar, like Wednesday night services.
If you’re only saving a couple hundred dollars, host the wedding on a day that’s convenient, like a Saturday. If multiple vendors are offering you discounts or the venue will cut the price in half, seriously consider a weekday wedding.
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