What Time Should You Get Married?

When you plan your wedding you need to think about the timing of each event that is related to your celebration. The first timing issue that you need to think about is what time you should get married. The timing of your wedding ceremony will impact what venues will be available, when your reception will be held, what type of wedding attire you will need to wear and what type of wedding reception you will need to plan.

Morning Weddings

The first option that you have for your wedding timing is a morning wedding. Morning wedding will provide you with cooler temperatures in the summer, amazing natural light for photographs and it will keep you from having to worry about your wedding ceremony for hours before the event. On the other hand, if you plan a morning wedding you will need to get up early so that you can get to the wedding venue on time, you will need to make sure that everything is ready to go the night before the big day and you won't have time to deal with problems like missing wedding attire items, forgotten items that still need to be picked up or even or vendors that cancel at the last minute.

Mid-day Weddings

Mid-day weddings take place between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. These weddings give you plenty of time in the morning to troubleshoot problems that may develop, they provide your guests with plenty of time to get ready and to get to your wedding venue and you still have great natural light. If you are planning a winter wedding then a mid-day wedding time will also ensure that the roads have had time to be cleared if it snowed and time for ice to melt. The drawbacks of mid-day weddings relate to the traffic that can occur around the lunch hour. Not only is traffic worse between 11 and 1, but the availability of some vendors for emergency purchases may also be limited.

Afternoon Weddings

Afternoon weddings are generally planned between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. These weddings give you plenty of time to get ready and to make last minute purchases and adjustments to your wedding plans, the traffic is generally slower during these times and the weather is usually the best that it will be for the day during these hours. On the other hand, afternoon weddings can be hot if you plan a late spring or summer wedding, they can throw off your meal planning for your wedding reception and they can make finding an available wedding venue more difficult to do because of their popularity.

Evening Weddings

The final option that you have is an evening wedding. Evening weddings are planned after 5:00 p.m. These weddings are usually very formal, they are easier for people who have to work to get to and they take advantage of cooler evening temperatures. These weddings also make planning your wedding reception activities easier to do because people will be expecting dinner and dancing after an evening wedding. The drawbacks of these weddings are that you have to deal with darkness, you may have to deal with evening storms and you may need to arrange for special transportation for your guests to ensure that they get to and from your reception safely, especially if you are planning on serving alcohol.