My fiance and I are a little tight on money so we are considering having a wedding on a weekday as they are soooo much cheaper. Has anyone else out there done this recently?
Are the savings as big as they claim to be or are there "hidden" extras?
Do you think having the wedding on a thursday or friday would put off many people from coming? Im concerned that if we did a weekday wedding that no-one would come?!! :-s
K x
CommentAuthornickers
my sister got married on a friday and it was alot cheaper didnt stop people coming tho if they want to be there they will be hun everyone turned up at my sitsters where we just got married the price brichure was alot cheaper weekday than a sat or asun i think ul find most places are xx
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CommentAuthorx~Hails~x
Personally I think it depends on your venue the time of year and where you are! Some venues do deals for week day weddings some dont, some have deals for out of season weddings and again others dont and of course the location is Key in my opinion as where you live means the price differs HUGELY! If you want a weekday wedding then I would personally check if this was workable with your main guests, would they be able to get time off work etc??? If the main ppl you want there are able to attend then go for it. Also another good idea for a weekday wedding is sending save the dates a year in advance so ppl can try to get the time off in advance.
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CommentAuthorkatie_lou
cool thanks ladies.
Would either of you consider a group-on deal wedding? my mum keeps seeing them come up and i'd be tempted if a deal came up near where we live.... is it too much of a gamble!?
CommentAuthornickers
possibly yes if details were all right for us both i love groupon!1xx
MRS RICHARDSON HERE
LOVE MY LITTLE FAMILY MY GORGEOUS SON
AND HANDSOME HUSBAND XXXX
Hi Katie_Lou, we are having an out of season (5th october) on a Friday and it saved us probably £1500 on the venue and £100 on the car.We checked with our 'main people' that they would be available on a Friday first and noone had any problem with it.I also agree with Hails it would be a good idea to send STD cards out nice and early so that people can book leave if they need to. x
CommentAuthorTinsel
For me weekday weddings are very difficult. As a teacher, I have set holidays. My H2B's friend is getting married on a Tuesday in May - I've had to take a day off unpaid to attend. If I worked in another career, I could book it as my day off and I wouldn't lose money. Also, I've got to drive there on the morning as I am teaching the day before and we've got to leave early to make the 2 hour journey home as I have to work the next day!
Fridays aren't too bad, although I think places tend not to discount Fridays as much as they are becoming more popular.
Do you have any guests who couldn't get the time off or for whom it would be difficult?
07.04.12 - the best day of my life!
Living happily ever after as Mrs Nottage x
CommentAuthorkatie_lou
well im a teacher too so i guess all my fellow teaching friend would struggle unless it was a half term/summer holiday date. I was thinking of maybe looking for date on a bank holiday week day.. does anyone know if bank holidays are still generally cheaper than weekends or do they put the prices up as they are effectively a weekend date?!
CommentAuthorTinsel
I would think Bank Holidays would be more expensive. I know our registrar charged more for BH, but we're getting married on Easter Saturday so it didn't matter.
I think a weekday in the hols would be fine :o)
07.04.12 - the best day of my life!
Living happily ever after as Mrs Nottage x
CommentAuthorkatie_lou
Tinsel, are you having a church wedding? my fiance wants a church wedding but thinks they wont marry us on an easter weekend...
CommentAuthorJane
we saved 2k on havin it on a 2 week day at our venue
yay soon 2 be Lady Jane Bradbury
CommentAuthorJilly17
A discount for Bank holidays depends on the venue but generally the larger more typical wedding venues charge the same as a Saturday. Churches do marry on a Easter weekend but again it depends on the Church but I have been to Easter Saturday and Easter Monday weddings. I dont think they would marry you on Good Friday though but it will be worth asking. Would you consider an 'out of season' wedding rather than a week day? As people have said it can be very difficult to get time off work but as long as your main people can attend and you accept you may have a few refusals based on the time off thing then go for it!
CommentAuthorTinsel
No, we're getting married in a manor house. I'm an atheist so would be hypocritical to get married in a church.
07.04.12 - the best day of my life!
Living happily ever after as Mrs Nottage x
CommentAuthorkatie_lou
thanks for the info guys, good to know tht there are savings to be made if we scout around!
CommentAuthorPB
katie_Lou, i would check with your vicar as to whether he will marry you on Easter Sunday for 2 reasons.Firstly Easter Sunday is the most important day in the churchs calender and therefore one of the busiest.Secondly its up to individual churches whether they do weddings on Sundays or not.I originally booked my venue for a Sunday only to find that my church does not do weddings on Sundays so had to rearrange.My cousin however got married in another local church on a Sunday . x
CommentAuthorWifey2be
I think if your going to go down this route I think Friday would be the best day as your already asking guests to book the day off work! But if you do it another day they will need two days off to deal with the hangover! Lol
I looked into this btu realised people who had to travel for the wedding more and likely would not be able to come if they couldmt get the time off work so I decided against it lol x
If you don't get married in the summer season most venues offer a discount even on the weekends ;) hope this helps hehe x
CommentAuthorMrsowen2b
im having a friday wedding and its 20% cheaper than a saturday so i really considered this and have now booked it for the friday :D :D
xx
CommentAuthortweedwedding
I don't think that having a wedding on a Friday would put people off coming, as long as you gave them plenty of notice - it's a nice long weekend :-) xx
CommentAuthorbridalmiss
Yeah I'd definitely weigh it up with asking guests to take time off work - but then again if you're looking to save money etc by having a midweek wedding, definitely send out save the dates in advance so people know to make arrangements x
our venue puts the price up on a bank holiday, but only on the Monday - we're getting married on a bank holiday Sunday which is actually cheaper than the Saturday or the Monday, but everyone gets the next day off to recover/travel back home etc x
CommentAuthorkatie_lou
good to know that its still possible to get a cheap deal on a bank hols sunday - would be perfect if the venues dont bump up the prices because they realise that its effectively a saturday! defo gonna go for a non saturday date i think! :)
CommentAuthorbecky -mrs firth
mine wydnt b any cheaper as my hotel had deal on 4 everyday! n i dint want my weddin nay day other than saturday x
Engaged 27th November 2010
Hen Do Newcastle 2nd June 2012
Marrying the man of my dreams 11th August 2012!
Honeymoon To Jamaica 14th October 2012
CommentAuthorJessie11
I wanted a weekday wedding, but were getting cped on our 4 year anniversary which is on a saturday nayway!
CommentAuthorUnknown
i think it depends on the venue. my best friend was looking to get married on a friday as that is what her fiancee wanted but it was the same price as the saturday so they have gone for the saturday x
CommentAuthorWifey2be
yeah i think it does depend on the venue about price :)
CommentAuthorNicsquared
We have a lot of friends who are teachers who wouldnt be able to come unless we got married on a weekday in school hols so we went for a saturday I think that as long as you give people enough advance warning it doesnt matter and people who want to come will come - people use days off for much less fun things than weddings!
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CommentAuthor
we are getting married on a friday because we are on a very low budget and it was £4000 more expensive to get married on a saturday...although i think sundays are just as cheap (providing your getting married in a venue rather than church) the people who you mean most to will be there no matter what day it is, so dont worry about people not turning up! if someone doesnt turn up its their loss! xxx
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CommentAuthorMrs Davro
We are having a weekday wedding, I think it will be quite a bit cheaper. Both of us and most of our close relatives are nhs employees so days off in the week are easy. Both of his parents are retired too :).
We chose that date so that he had no excuse to forget it as it is his birthday,
CommentAuthorLittle Kettle
We went to a wedding in Dublin in 2010 where my hubby was the Best Man. We went over on the Monday and stayed with the groom for the M, T and W nights. The wedding was on the Thursday. They had about 80 people for the day thing and then about another 40 or so for the evening do, so it was certainly well attended. I know that they saved about a third by having it on the Thursday and I persoanlly loved it. They paid for us to stay at the hotel where the reception was for the night of the wedding and we paid an extra night and came home on the Saturday. It was great - felt like a nice holiday, well for me anyway as I didn't have any official duties to do LOL! It wasn't just the venue they saved on, their entertainment (magician, characateur, band and DJ) were also cheaper. I think they still spent over 20,000EURO's on it though! But it was a lovely, lovely day x
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CommentAuthoriluvcakes
We are having a midweek wedding, we're getting married on a wednesday and it's surprising how much cheaper things are midweek, compared to a weekend. We will be sending our save the dates out about a year before, giving family and friends plenty of notice to book time off :0)
xx
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Can't wait to do it all over again on the 4th October 2017!!
CommentAuthorTinsel
My issue with weekday weddings is you need to book TWO days off if you and your partner want to both drink and have to travel a fair distance. If you live local, you could get away with one day, but not stay out too late.
I suppose you have to do what's best for you, your family or your budget, but I will say it again, I always think of the bride on 'Four Weddings' who wanted to get married at Fennes and in order to afford it held it on a Tuesday. She only had about 30 guests and everyone was leaving at 9.30-10pm as they had to get up for work the next day.
07.04.12 - the best day of my life!
Living happily ever after as Mrs Nottage x
CommentAuthorMrs Badger
We're getting married on a wednesday, partly because we wanted a specific date and partly because it would work out easier/cheaper for finding suppliers.
Tinsel: I agree that it does make it more difficult for guests, it should be considered that when booking. Most of our guests would have to book time off work anyway as most live far away, some work the weekends. xx
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CommentAuthorbabybex
Weekday's are well worth the consideration, bargains to be had, and although it could be hard for some guests to make it, those who want to be there will be there and will take the time off work etc. The only thing I'd be worried about would be say my niece and nephew getting the time off school for it. Things to consider but well worth a weekday for the cost savings xx
CommentAuthorTinsel
I don't think its a case of those who want to be there will - some people don't have the choice, no matter how much they want to be there. I work in a school and I am taking unpaid leave to attend a Tuesday wedding. Also, students at my school are marked 'O' - unauthorised absence - for things like weddings unless the Head Teacher gives special permission for them to be off. And, even if it is authorised, it still means the students' attendance will drop, as will the school's overall attendance and we have really strict targets to meet.
You have to do what is best for you, but accept that some people will not be able to be there, even if they'd love to attend.
07.04.12 - the best day of my life!
Living happily ever after as Mrs Nottage x
CommentAuthorbarbie86
We're having a Saturday wedding, in the summer holidays. My mum works at a school, my MOH is a teacher, and another guest is also a teacher. We also have 4 school-aged 'children' (10; 12; 16; 18) coming. While I'm sure the kids could have made it, and my mum and MOH could have swung a day off in term-time, I would feel uncomfortable asking them to do that. I also didn't like the idea that people might have work the following day, so they'd have to either book it off, or else not be able to relax and enjoy it properly. While there WERE discounts for weekday weddings at some venues I looked at, on average the saving was maybe £1-2k; which with a total budget of £17k excl. honeymoon, hardly seemed worth it to us.
As it turns out, at our venue, the day was largely irrelevant: they do require a 'minimum spend' of £6k on a Friday or Saturday, which they don't weekdays, but our food and drink costs are going to be over £7k; so this was irrelevant.
I would say it depends on your budget, on your guests (eg if you and your guests work in retail, a weekday wedding would actually likely be much easier than a weekend one), and on whether you'd be OK with things possibly winding down earlier because people have work the next day. For me, the savings would have to be seriously substantial to contemplate a weekday wedding; and for the most part, they aren't; though obv our budget is large-ish, so if it'd been £5k then £1-2k saving would have been a much bigger deal if that makes sense?
CommentAuthor~feebee~
Our wedding is on a Saturday and is costing the same as a weekday or a Sunday. Got a special package deal. My workmate's couldn't come in the day if it was on a weekday as they wouldn't all be allowed the time off at the same time. They aren't coming in the day anyway but it's something that could affect other people's weddings x
Finally Mrs Grove :)
CommentAuthorbabybex
Barbie ur very true in what your saying with the budget, as my friends and family all got married on relatively small budgets (all under 10k) I see savings as big things, whereas like ur saying £1k on a £17k wedding is a very small drop in the ocean. As I am noticing there are quite a few teachers on here who I do understand their predicaments for the weekday weddings and what note, but for those of us in other careers are alot more flexible to when we can have weddings and holidays etc, because one thing with a teacher you're very limited to your holidays and the premiums you pay for that. Everyones opinions are different and gives so many varied reasonings for and against.
CommentAuthormoobag
Im getting married on a sunday, for our venue it was cheaper and everyone can attend might be worth looking at that, and we have done it day before bank holiday so extra day off for most people :)
CommentAuthorBanks
Im getting married on a wednesday and it has worked great money wise, I think I am saving at least £1,500 overall for the whole day (well needed with a young family and little spare cash) as we are have the whole wedding in one place! Even though we arent getting married for another 20mths, I am sending out STD's asap as some people will have to travel to bristol and also I know that I have given everyone more than enough notice that it's on a weekday. : )
CommentAuthorlows
Have a look at venues that offer inclusive packages, we found quite a few that did all inclusive weddings for 50 guests on selected weekends for around 5k. These can work out just as cheap as a weekday wedding but with the benefit of being on a sat so more chance of everyone being able to attend. Hope this helps Hun x
CommentAuthorSweetchilli
We are getting married on a Friday and we have saved £4000 and we have exclusive hire of the castle. I can't believe how lucky we have been to get this fabulous venue and we only found this out last Monday after a chat with the manager as I wasn't happy with a few things and was going to pull out and move to a new venue in Edinburgh and they made the offer which I snatched up.
CommentAuthorbecky -mrs firth
my venue is same price watever day! i personally wudnt want a weekday weddin!
Engaged 27th November 2010
Hen Do Newcastle 2nd June 2012
Marrying the man of my dreams 11th August 2012!
Honeymoon To Jamaica 14th October 2012
CommentAuthorkrissy905
my venue is the same price which everday so i went with saturday as i know most of the families have weekends off so made sense. But if you are on a tight budget i would deffintily do a week day wedding if it ment getting a venue you wanted but other wise wouldnt be able to afford. I know a venue i originally wanted had a set package on a saturday during peak wedding season of £7000 but if i went with the friday i would of got the same package for £5000 also winter weddings are classed all the way up to march so getting married march instead of april onwards would all so save a bit of money x
CommentAuthorLittleMissBossy
We did think at first to have the wedding on a wed as it's our anniversary - but we scrapped this idea again for a lot if the reasons mentioned.
I then had 2 bank holiday weekends (bank holidays in Austria) up for choice for my family back home - the weekend the majority chose was then booked up with my venue but they still had the Friday free. The British party was fine with that and the Austrians have to take off anyway but there's a bank holiday monday and tuesday for flying home - no time lost. It turned out to be the perfect choice - the registrar is much cheaper and we can have the main room in my chosen venue for a reasonable rent (£600) whereas on a Saturday it would have been £2000 or rent a marquee for the garden and share the toilets with the very full restaurant (which we exclusively rent on the Friday for the mentioned £600).
So for us it waa worth it - people can still sleep in on the following day and it's much cheaper. There's a wedding there the next day - I feel sorry for them because I can come and decorate on Thursday night but they can't because we are there and they pay a hell of a lot more!
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CommentAuthornatalie2614
Ours is on a Friday at the registry office. £100 for the room and then £67 to give notice all in. If we had it on a Saturday the price more than doubled for the same services!
Plus its our anniversary the day we get married so there was no question. We figured that if people really wanted to come and celebrate with us then they would get the time off work.
Married my best friend 05.04.2013
CommentAuthorA.Bird2b
We're having ours on a Monday, it was the best choice for us as weekends were quite expensive for the receptions and the ceremony and bank holidays were just extortionate, its also cheaper for people to travel and stop over which i thought was only fair. Our reception had about £300 knocked off just because it was on a monday and not at the weekend. It also great for us because at the weeekends the town is very busy and weekdays its a lot quieter and we're not that fond on crowds!
CommentAuthorAnastasia
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CommentAuthorOfficially Mrs M
i think that if you do it on a weekday and give them enough notice it isn't a problem as people can book it off. I would do it on a friday but its the week all the kids go back to work and half the family is teachers so i didn't really have a choice. also the OH's parents are paying for the honeymoon and they said we had to go after the kids had gone back to school as well so i only had the choice of one weekend also guaranteed good weather
8th September 2012 I married my best friend
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CommentAuthorMrs Forrest :-)
We are getting married on a Tuesday. Its the day after a bank holiday and its also half term.
We did think over all of the points raised but we couldnt afford a weekend wedding. Ours is costing £4000 less for having the Tuesday. We have set the date already and are giving people plenty of notice as they already know the date and the wedding isnt till May 2013.
CommentAuthorElle23
We are getting married on a friday, have always wanted a friday wedding. We avoid minimum numbers that would apply for a saturday. After we got engaged, we realised our anniversary fell on a Friday in 2013 so the date was set. Just so happens it falls on bank hol weekend also so nice 4 day weekend for our guests.
Our friends got married last year, on a tuesday (5th Jan) I felt for her as a few people left after the meal in order to get home and ready for work (kids were back at school the following day after xmas) Some people never showed up! Then the evening reception was a bit of an anti climax (dont think the time of year helped) No-one really let their hair down due to work the next day, no-one was really spending at the bar due to straight after xmas. All in all everyone was gone by 10.30 This friend however, did not send Save the dates and had a lot of family that had to travel.
Each to their own and i may come across some declines or no shows due to being a Friday but there are discounts available for a reason x
To be wed on our 10 year anniversary! 23.08.2013
CommentAuthorMrs Forrest :-)
I guess its a risk we take but hoping as we are giving plenty of notice that it doesnt affect us too much. We are able to invite 100 people to the day and an extra 30/40 in the evening by doing the Tuesday. I guess only time will tell :-(
