For some reason I am having a really hard time picking a date. I realize the date needs to be flexible due to available venues and vendors, but I'm just having a hard time with it in general. Initially, I thought Spring of 2012 would be perfect! Then I started thinking that's way too long. All the girlfriends that I have talked to had about 10-14 month engagements and said they were too long. I know I want a longer-ish engagement so I can enjoy this time in my life and plan this wedding without stressing out. I want to have fun planning, not morph into a scary Bridezilla version of myself. Plus, we own a coffee shop. A coffee shop that hasn't even been open a year, in fact it's only been open for 6 months. It's hard to say where the business will be in 1-2 years time and we need to be able to actually leave work to attend our own wedding. I got to thinking that fall of 2011 could be great! It gives us a little more than a year to plan but we don't have to wait forever and a day. Then I get nervous about the weather. Minnesota is cold and I hate the cold. If we got married in October/November it could be anywhere from 15-70 degrees, and do I really want to be outside posing for pictures in 15 degree weather? And, is next fall too soon for Coffee Buzz? I just don't know and it's driving me nuts! There's going to be positives and negatives to any date you choose and honestly weather in Minnesota is going to be a question mark no matter what month I settle on. So how do you weigh the options? Did anyone else have this much trouble with step 1?
I consulted the internet in hopes of finding some magical date-picking formula and here are some guidelines I found:
Consider the Seasons of Potential Wedding Dates I know I don't want to get married in the winter, but I'd be fine with Spring, Summer or Fall. Which really doesn't narrow it down all that much. Although, I do know the wedding will be in 2011 or 2012.
Which Day of the Week? I know for absolute sure I want a Saturday wedding. So that actually narrows it down quite a bit, cutting out winter months and every day but Saturday in the years 2011 and 2012 leaves me with about 70 dates to choose from.
Marking Special Occasions with Your Wedding Date I know I don't want to do the wedding on a holiday or birthday. Our anniversary is in November, so it could be cool to do it then. J and I each also have lucky numbers that play a bigger role in our lives than they probably should, but it would be great to have an anniversary with one or both of our lucky numbers in it.
How Long Should Your Engagement Be? Clearly, this is where my biggest issue lies. I definitely want at least one year but don't really want to wait too much longer than that.
Prioritize Your Different Desires I am super lucky to have a fiance that is just excited to marry me. His desires are that I have the wedding that I want. He'll have input on certain things, but as far as a date he just wants to marry me and he wants to do it as soon as possible.
Make Sure You Avoid Certain Wedding Dates Like I said, I'll avoid all holidays. Then we have some weddings already on the calendar for next year and we have the Gopher football schedule to consult...I don't want my family and friends (or myself) mad that they're missing a big game.
Consult Key Participants Once we choose our 'key participants' we will definitely consult them and our families, but I think with planning a wedding a year out you avoid a lot of conflicts in regards to this.
Consult Your Favorite Wedding Locations and Vendors I'm starting to look at and research different ceremony and reception sites. I am hoping by planning in advance we won't run in to any issues getting what we want, but this will definitely be a key component in picking a date.
