To get married on a Wednesday

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We were due to get married on a Saturday early next year. We are currently looking into our options as our wedding would be in winter and with a second wave looming etc it is looking likely that it won't be the day we had planned (or paid for!!).
We have been given the opportunity to rearrange for next August but the only day they have free is a Wednesday (we wouldn't have to pay any extra). Obviously this will impact work and guests having to take holidays etc. One set of parents are really up for it especially as we could relocate outside if the weather is nice and one set thinks it's a terrible idea and just keep going toward our original date.

Neither myself or DP know what to do. And don't know what people think of midweek weddings!

Would IBU to reschedule for a Wednesday?

The receptions were busier, but in both cases most people were gone by around 7:30 due to work commitments the next day. In both cases this hadn’t been fullt considered as the evening food arrived after most guests had left so I imagine a huge amount of money was wasted on food.

This happened at both the ones I went to and I think it's what made them depressing - both were also in spaces that felt far too big by 8pm when half the guests had gone. I think if you're going to do it you should plan for it to be very short and sweet and actively end it early but on a high because people just slowly drifting off and leaving the bride and groom with half the wedding they were expecting is quite painful to watch. One of them loads of people had left even by the point the cake was cut.

As long as you're ok with the fact that some people will be unable to come, it's up to you. It's not always unwillingness to take holiday leave. Some people just can't. Dh and I are both teachers and wouldn't be able to go to a mid-week wedding unless it was in the school holidays.

Entirely depends what you want from the day. Weekday weddings almost always end early, so you wouldn't necessarily need the DJ/ band if you were planning one. We went to a large Wednesday wedding and were the last people there at 9pm.

We’re having a Tuesday wedding but we only have 7 guests so not so much of an issue

I would. Just think about how much money you'll save on people who can't come!

It's probably better than getting married on a Saturday with a big sporting event on like we did i.e. same day as the Grant National. We booked our wedding before the GN date was announced. We were 5 miles from Aintree.

I think with a year's notice it'll be fine op. If people really want to be there they will be, if not they won't. No one can moan about a weekday wedding with 12months notice.

it's going from £5500 for a Saturday in January to £9000 for a Saturday in October which is a huge huge jump

£9k for a 35 person wedding?

Tbh I’d be scoping out some other venue options, that is obscene!

We got married on a Wednesday, mainly to save money as we'd both just graduated and were skint. No one seemed to care.....everyone got sozzled as it was a cheap bar with a massive tab provided by my father in law. We partied till after 1am, had a ceilidh which is great once everyone's a bit drunk. 20 years later and folk still talk about our wedding reception as one of the best as it was good food, cheap drink and a lively band. Go for it!

I don't want to be mean, but threads about midweek weddings are always full of people who had weekday weddings saying it was great and everyone loved it and then guests of weekday weddings mostly saying they were a bit crap. I've never told any of the people who had midweek weddings that I went to that I thought their weddings were depressing...

The only weekday wedding I have been to was a Friday which isnt quite the same as obviously not so many people work on saturdays. Another thing to consider is august is school holidays so people may not be able to take more AL on top of holidays.

You have to take into consideration what the guests do. Can they take midweek time off?

There was a midweek wedding in DH's family and the Bride has never forgiven people for "not bothered". However, she comes from a family of school staff - teachers, TA's and school office staff. Most of them can't take two/three days off midweek. I was a SAHM at the time and she hates me for not going, but 3 of my kids were sitting their mocks so not a chance could I take them to a wedding.

I would be tempted to leave it when it is for now. No one quite knows what the winter will be like, and it would be a great shame for you to decide to postpone if there turned out not to be an issue.

What has been their policy for weddings that have already been postponed?

We have got the option of moving it to next October on a Saturday but the price goes up by £3000 and I don't think I can justify it

All depends on what kind of reception you want, a small number of people and early end to the evening then go for it on a Wednesday. But if you want a party at night then a Wednesday wedding would be disaster, I know someone who really regrets it, not just because everyone had left for 9pm but the lack of atmosphere really.

Go for it it saves a fortune just switching from a Saturday to a weekday.
I got married on a Thursday almost £800 cheaper than 2 days later on the saturday.

I've only ever been to two midweek weddings. One was a Monday, that felt odd for some reason.

The second was a Wednesday in the school holidays. I booked it off, no problem. It caused uproar at work as my taking that one day off meant no one else could take that full week.

We married on a Wednesday, 40 guests. Everyone who was invited came. It wasn't a typical wedding though.
Ceremony at 6pm, medieval banquet at 7.30 all done and dusted by 11.00. Perfect . We all lived within 40 mins of the venue.

A beautiful ceremony and a lovely meal with friends and family afterwards.

I have been to a lovely midweek wedding, it didn't cause a problem at all, most guests did take 2 days off and some more but in your circumstances, with 35 guests and fairly local I would definitely go for the summer mid week wedding. Much better chance of a good day and being able to mingle outside with a glass of wine rather than stuck indoors all day.

I love Wednesday weddings. I work in retail, so have had to take holiday for every single weekend wedding I've ever been to.

I would keep your January date - it's very hard to predict anything in rhe next 2 years - could easily be an issue in October next year.
If you have wedding insurance booked before cv19 you may well be covered if you have to cancel in January but unlikely to get cv19 for a re-arranged date.
Winter weddings are great.

So to answer some questions
The original price includes the ceremony, reception, 3 course meal (with 3 options per course), 1-2 bottles of wine per guest and 2 glasses of champagne, DJ, wedding planner, a couple of extras such as lights, postbox, stand etc, staying in the honeymoon suit + rooms for parents and breakfast the next morning. They also provide all the Centre pieces, chair sashes, linen etc.

Obviously apart from parents and brothers we also have grandparents, aunts, cousins etc with 3 close family friends.

We fell in love with our venue the moment we saw it it is gorgeous and it was the first one we were made to feel welcome in rather than being pushed for a booking the moment we walked in the door.

As I said we are not decided ourselves yet we also have the option to move it back a year until 2022 which we are considering

Tbh I think a DJ is going to be a bit awkward at a 35 person wedding under the best possibly circumstances; it'll be much more so if people do leave early. And you've said they don't have to drink, but a lot of what you're paying for there is alcohol so you're throwing a lot of money away if they don't (unless you're a very boozy family I think that's more than most people would get through at a party with their grandparents anyway - it's a bit different when you get big groups of friends at weddings).

To be completely honest, if I was invited to a midweek wedding 1) I would resent having to take a day off just to save you some money, and 2) I would only want to book one day off work so wouldn't stay later than 10pm at the most.

Sorry evening reception we are allowed up to 100 guests so we would be looking at around 65 people minimum

Sorry I've managed to confuse everyone and myself!

Ceremony and wedding breakfast - 35 guests
Evening reception - up to 100 guests but we would be looking at a minimum of 65

I think if the plan is that the evening reception is lots of people coming just for that then I'd be even more reluctant to do midweek as, realistically, people really won't want to go to an evening reception an hour away on a Wednesday.