Christmas Wedding - thoughts please

[turtledovelove]

Has anyone been to or had a wedding in the week leading up to Christmas? Is it a good idea? Will people be put off coming as they've got enough going on around that time of year anyway. Does it make it an extra special time of year to get married or does it just added stress and pressure to an already busy period?!

Would like to hear people's thoughts around this and own experiences. Partner and I are considering our own wedding for December 2022.

New Year’s Eve wedding is really cool

If Cassie doesn’t want to come because she’s stuck in Pedants Corner, I’m fun and like a wedding and always buy a present that’s on the list

Don't do it.

The day itself is magical and the guests love it BuT every weddig anniversary is a nightmare. Weather is crap. Even abroad you can't go anyway hot Most of Europe is freezing or wet so it's long haul or nothing

Plus it's super busy. Add kids to the mix and it becomes a chore to fit in than a special
Day. Depending on the date doe places are shut too.

I'd
Never do it again if I could choose again.

@whenwillthemadnessend do people really generally do big stuff for anniversaries? Most don’t in my experience and it’s definitely not something I’d worry about particularly when booking a wedding date.

@FreddieStandensBFF

New Year’s Eve wedding is really cool

My mum & dads anniversary was NYE, no excuse to forget it

@lawnfever

Not all the time but it's nice to have the option

Been to one on 23rd December and it was amazing. Really big wedding so it didn't put people off, the church and reception venue both looked really festive, bride was able to wear a beautiful wintery looking dress and accessories and everyone was in an amazing mood. I'd have loved a Christmas wedding but we didn't think we'd have enough time to plan for Christmas 2021 when we were engaged earlier this year and didn't want to wait til next. I think with enough notice, people you're close to will plan and budget to be there so I'd not let that put you off and would go with the day you want!

If a church wedding: no (Advent is busy enough and some churches won’t do weddings in Advent anyway). If secular: yes, sounds magical. I think before Christmas rather than between Christmas and New Year works best.

We had a church wedding just before Christmas, it was really lovely - my DH went to the church and basically invited them all.

We married on the second weekend in December and it was lovely, we had a small wedding similar numbers to you. The only downside is that your wedding anniversary always seems to fall on the same day as the work Christmas party!

We did think of our guests and have a city centre wedding, so no overnight stay for most guests. We were also conscious that most years some part of the country is having adverse weather around then so didn’t want a far flung country manor with disrupted trains/flights.

I went to one on 22nd December. It was lovely and most people were more than happy with the date as they would normally be visiting family around this time and didn't need to that year as everyone was at the wedding.
The bridge and groom saved a lot on decorations / flowers too, as the church and reception venue were already decorated for Christmas- I think their only expense really was the table decorations at the reception.

Big multi generational party in the week before Christmas. Lovely.

Child free wedding in the run up to Christmas, the best bit with young children, not a chance I'd attend.

Yes, I got married the week before Christmas. Nobody declined as they had more than 6 months notice to prepare for it - although saying that, it never occurred to me about cost for others so close to Christmas so that would be something to bear in mind.
The venue was all decorated for Christmas already so I saved a fortune on flowers and decorations!
Because it is winter, you expect the weather the be cold and wet so you aren't disappointed if that happens and good weather is just a bonus.
Everyone said how lovely it was and several people said they also wanted a Christmas wedding after coming to ours.

It's an expensive time of year anyway and then you're asking people to spend money to attend the wedding. Depending on where you have it and how big it is, people have to spend money on hen/stag do's, gifts, clothes and accommodation. Then add unpredictable winter weather and people dropping out because of illnesses.
I personally wouldn't as lots struggle to afford Christmas anyway

Some great responses and advice. Thank you.

It won't be a church wedding. Civil ceremony followed by a meal. All under one roof hopefully.

I would say a third of our numbers are children so it would most certainly be a child friendly wedding.

Half of our guests are immediate family who all live nearby so even if that half are the only ones who could make it I'd be more than happy 😃

Have it in the week in between Christmas and New year as it'll be nice to catch up after Christmas. Not everyone celebrates Christmas together so it will be an opportunity to see everyone.

Pre-kids I would have been well up for a Christmas time wedding. Now we've got children, they have so many exciting things going on around Christmas and we've got lots of things we want to do as a family, that I wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect tbh. Unless it was a VERY close relative and all our other close relatives were going to be there anyway I.e. a sibling. Then I'd still be very happy to attend as I know it would be a wonderful, special day for the whole family.

I'd love to come to a Christmas wedding. If I had enough notice (at least 6 months) I'd definitely prioritise it.

I got married on the 28th. Christmas Day on the Monday wedding on the Thursday. Lots of people were off and enjoyed putting on their best to eat and drink with friends and family. No issues and would recommend a Christmas wedding to anyone

Got married on 17 December - magical time Also have a child’s birthday on 23rd December

Our friends got married on Dec 23rd, and I remember it as a very romantic small wedding — carols in the church service, Christmas-y flower arrangements of holly and white roses, mince pies and mulled wine in a little side room off the church afterwards, the bride wore a gorgeous velvet cloak over a sort of flapper dress, and it snowed during the reception, in a restaurant with a beautiful garden, so everyone went outside.

I went to wedding between Christmas and new year. Everyone was local, venue was stunning as Christmas decorations still up so very pretty and festive. Dress code for Winter weddings is fabulous- great colour options and you can get really dressed up! I bought a new dress that I wore to a festive night out with a separate group of people that would be attending the wedding

I got married on the 29th, we thought about NYE but then thought it was a bit presumptuous that's how people would want to spend that day. We reasoned lots of people would have time off. For reasons related to my DH's family we had to get married where he is from which is about 200 miles from me, but my family are lots of teachers so had to be holidays. It was lovely! We had to work with the Christmas decor of the venue (it was an all in one deal, no church) but that was no issue, and we gave just over a years notice. Some people did turn us down, but that was fine. There will always be people who can't attend a wedding. We then also made arrangements for an NYE get together for those who wanted to attend, some did and some didn't and again that was fine, it wasn't compulsory or anything

I went to a close friends on 22nd December. Everyone invited came, carols instead of hymns, everyone finished work for Xmas as it fell the Friday before Xmas on Monday so everyone was in a fantastic mood, lots of excited kids. Lots of notice to attend to plan for expense, no gifts at all requested, bride and groom paid for accommodation for anyone that wanted. Was amazing. Anyone who says they wouldn’t go probably just doesn’t like the bride and groom that much. It was amazing

You may find venue prices that week surprisingly high.