August or September wedding?

[AugustOrSept]

Getting married this summer (yes I know it's not long but MN assures me I don't need two years to plan...)

We are lucky that our venue allows us the choice between two dates - mid-August or mid-September.

I would prefer August because of weather/daylight.
DP thinks mid-September will be better for parents hoping to have holidays in August.

Really really don't want to open Pandora's box by asking key people what they want because sod's law it will be split. So hoping MN can give an idea of how awkward a mid-August wedding really would be?

Relevant details:
Wedding is in our parish (ie not a destination!!) Most guests within a 1-2 hour journey time but a few will have 3+ hr drives
Wedding is childfree other than babies (not going to debate this please - if we invited everyone's kids it would add at least 60 additional guests which we just can't afford!)
Wedding will be on a Saturday, early/mid afternoon timing.

YANBU - an August date isn't a major issue for parents
YABU - go for September and cross fingers for good weather

September definitely.

A lot of people especially with children go away in the summer holidays. Childcare is also hard to find or a lot more expensive in the summer.
If people want to stay in a hotel for the evening prices are usually 3x the usual amount due to the holiday season.
Weather can go either way in august it can either be ridiculously hot or horrible rainy days. I went to a wedding once on the hottest day of the year in august and it was horrible people were irritable, venue was hot, no one wanted to sit and eat a four course roast dinner and not many danced either and left early because they were dripping in sweat. It’s was not enjoyable.

Another vote for September! Also - thinking into the future, you may wish to go away to celebrate any anniversaries so if you get married in August, you'll be paying too prices!!!

We had an August wedding (I’m a teacher and live abroad so it was the only real option).
Honestly, if you want most people to come then I’d choose September.

• Lots of people will have already booked their holidays for this year (we let people know our wedding date 18 months in advance so they could plan).
• The weather is unlikely to be much better in August than it is in September (our wedding day was nice but it rained the day after).
• Accommodation and travel is likely to be cheaper for your guests and have more availability (especially if you’re getting married somewhere that’s a popular holiday destination).
• You’ll have more choice of suppliers (we booked things over a year in advance and some of the caterers/bands/florists were already booked up). Suppliers often have a high minimum spend for weekend, summer dates (one florist I contacted only did bookings worth over £2500 in July and August!).

There are often discounts for less popular/off season dates, so you might get lucky in September.

• If you want to go on a honeymoon straight away then it’ll be much cheaper outside of the school holidays (and most places in Europe will be quieter/cheaper/have better weather in September).
• If lots of your friends will need to find childcare then it might be easier in September when their friends/family are less likely to be on holiday or have weekend plans.

Considering that it’s fairly short notice, I’d speak to anyone that you absolutely wouldn’t get married without (parents/siblings/bridesmaids/best man etc) and ensure that they’re free before you book anything. They may have commitments they can’t reschedule and it’ll be much more difficult to figure it out once you’ve booked somewhere.

We got married on 21st September and it was the warmest day that year! A couple of guests ended up running to town to buy different outfits on the morning of the wedding as they had bought Warner autumn clothes

Definitely September.

I'd prefer a September wedding !

Sept weather is better especially first 3 weeks.
I did a LOT of research on this for my own wedding.
We had an amazing not too hot sunny day... in mid Sept!

September, many people with school age children (or teachers) will have already booked/planned August holidays (most people I know have).

Another vote for September. We got married in May but I kind of wish we’d chosen September. It’s always been one of my favourite months.

As a parent of school age children the august holidays are a full on military operation. If they are asking grandparents etc to help with childcare over the summer for work then they’re going to be reluctant to ask for a weekend as well. September would have my vote personally because of this but it’s completely what you would prefer

Wedding photographer here - September generally is the nicer month and if you go towards the end of the month, you may get beautiful sunshine and the tiniest hint of autumn too

In my experience (England) August has a LOT of unpredictable rain showers, while the first few weeks if September are more reliably long golden days. I would much rather marry in Sept than August…

That's pretty unanimous for September!

Think about an early afternoon start to make the most of the daylight - the sun sets about an hour or so earlier by mid September, so you don't want long late afternoon shadows for the photos.

We got married in mid September and it was beautiful.

Few parents will be prepared to put their kids in childcare or postpone their holiday in school hols to attend your child free wedding.

September would be better but the weather is often awful.

I guess it depends how many people you want to come and whether it’s just an afternoon ceremony/meal or extends into the evening. If the former at least parents can put their kids into after school club until say 6pm.

Definitely mid September. I went to a wedding a few years ago in September, it was absolutely lovely.

I'm in Scotland - most wedding ceremonies here at 1.30, with speeches starting at 430. I'd photograph my couples between 3 and 4 (30 minutes) then usually grab them again later for some sunset/early evening portraits for 10 mins

September. More people can attend, probably better weather.

September every time. The weather and light is often lovely. Also think about anniversary mini breaks - much more affordable in September..

We got married in august and it was wet and windy.

Another one for September. It's a gorgeous month, but also practically speaking it works better too.

At such short notice, a good chunk of your guests will be on holiday. Any wedding suppliers or services you might want (hairdressers, photographers bands etc) are more likely to already be booked in mid August than mid September, especially with the last two years having been so disruptive. There is basically a backlog of people who had to cancel in 2020-1 and rebooked. Plus if a lot of your guests will need childcare to attend, this is probably easier to come by in September.

Basically if you want to pull together a wedding in just a few months, don't do it at peak wedding season.

Thanks everyone! I fully accept IABU!

As you were all so insistent about dodgy August weather and I'm a bit of a geek I got some weather data and compared the last ten years - and yes you're all right of course, August is wetter than September! Also quite a bit windier, on average more cloud, and huge temperature extremes (less of a surprise).
Looks like we're going for September then, and hope the weather plays ball. Thank you everyone!

Congratulations!

September is often much nicer weather than August. (I got married mid August and it poured!)

Another vote for September. We got married September 14th (20 years ago this year). Warm enough for bride and bridesmaids not to need wraps, but not so hot that the groom and groomsmen were wilting in suits.