Which day is best?

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This must have been done time and time again (apologies! I struggle to search on the app!), but what is the best day of the week to get married?
DP and I don't want to spend £££££s but we'd like a nice day. The Sunday - Thursday rates are much more budget friendly, but what day is actually best? Which day would you go for?

Depends on your guests- do you have any teachers, will it be term time? Do you want to have kids there- same question?

we did a Sunday to take advantage of the better rates but at least 60% of our guest list had a 4 hour + journey, so even if we got married on a Saturday, they would have taken Friday off work so we saw it as no issue to use the Sunday which would incur a Monday off work but not Friday!

my cousin got married on a Tuesday but she works in hospitality and most of their friends (also hospitality!) could negotiate this as a normal day off rather than use leave as they often worked all weekend and had days off in the week.

Saturday.
That’s probably not the answer you want though.

You've just got to bear in mind that you will have a lot of guests that then need to take annual leave which not everyone wants to/can. Even on a Sunday there's travel / hangover factors. I'd go for a Friday if you really can't do a Saturday and as late as possible as people are less likely to struggle if it's just a half day . But remember for some jobs it's very tricky to just take a day off for a wedding - eg term time only workers -so consider having in a school holiday .

I think the order is:
Saturday
Friday
Sunday
Thursday
Monday
Wednesday
Tuesday

It also depends on whether your guests are local, whether it’s a school day if guests have children, whether people work or are retired. If you are trying to keep numbers down then this will help! Also if it’s not going to involve lots of drinking and a late night then day of the week is less of an issue. If you give people plenty of notice too, so they can make arrangements (but don’t be annoyed if they decide not to come). If you are getting married in a nice part of the country then people could make it into a mini break (but again they shouldn’t be obliged to).

Depends on who you are inviting. If everyone is working age and lives more than 2 hours away, then Saturday (and preferably late afternoon) so they can get there without needing a hotel Friday.
If it’s all very local it probably matters less.
My guests were older, affluent and retired any day was fine.

Sunday is the cheapest because no one stays late. There’s been some sad threads where brides and grooms did a lovely reception which was empty by 10pm.It’s a worse way to spend money if it’s actually wasted.

Should have elaborated! Weddings are expensive enough for guests without making loads of them take annual leave. You’re likely to exclude anyone who works in education and it’s awkward for those with school age children unless you’re going for a school holiday. It’s a real nuisance. Sunday gets around some of those issues but you’ll probably lose a lot of non local people in the evening as they go home to get to work on Monday.

It depends on your guests I suppose but I’d never go for any day except a Saturday.

Nobody really wants to be forced touse their annual leave on going to a wedding.

I'd go for Thursday

I know no one wants to use their AL for weddings, I was thinking Sunday for this reason. However, looking through our small guest list, people are generally either retired, work shifts, or are self employed.

Mostly local too. We do have one set of guests from abroad but they're retired.

I’d go for a Monday in August

that way people can have a long weekend, possibly 2 days annual leave taking into account hangovers for Tuesday

children will not be at school

Some people would be forced to use annual leave for a Saturday or Sunday, to guarantee the days off.

If you want a Saturday wedding when most people are on annual leave then usually between Xmas and nee year is good, but Xmas day is a Saturday and Sunday for the next two years

I agree re school holidays being better for people who work in education, etc but I honestly cant see an issue with taking a couple of days of annual leave to attend a wedding, most particularly if it is a reasonably close family wedding. Surely people can spare some annual leave for a family event occasionally! It's a very sad world if not.

Saturday is obviously the best day really, whether or not your guests are local, especially if you want to have an evening party.

If you do it on a Sunday, people will leave early for work the next day. If you do it on a Friday, they have to take the day off. Regardless of travelling etc., Saturday is best.

It comes at a premium but there's a reason for that, because everyone wants it.

If not a Saturday, I'd go for Sunday and just have an afternoon wedding without an evening reception. People don't really want to party on a Sunday night.

Can you take a Sunday that's near a bank hol so some people already get Monday off? Not sure if that would push up rates though.

We've just booked a Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday. We have to wait for 2024 for the dates to be available at the venue we want though.

If you really think most people won't have an issue taking time off then I'd go for a Thursday as late as possible. Then they can work the morning and take pm and Friday off.

Is the rate the same for the Thursday before Easter or a Sunday of a bank holiday weekend?