Save the Date!

What a great way to let help your family and friend remember not to make any other plans on that special date! Send your out-of-town guests save-the-date cards four to six months before the wedding so they can plan accordingly, and then send all your invites (local and out-of-towners) at least eight weeks prior to your wedding date.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• Your save-the-date cards can be as simple as a postcard or as elaborate and interactive as a magnetic puzzle.
• We're fans of a picture taken shortly after the engagement (think holiday cards).
  Some brides favor save-the-date cookies, although you may have to send out a second reminder to all your sweet-tooth friends who might munch before they mark down your date!
• We absolutely love the idea of save-the-date stickers that will fit into those tiny boxes in appointment books or on desktop calendars.
• Refrigerator magnets -- ones with just your names and wedding date -- are cool too.
• An all-time favorite done many different ways is the calendar. Invitation designers are creating cards that look like a mini calendar month with the date you've chosen circled or decorated or knocked out with a mini three-hole punch.
• The hottest trend is a photo strip (the kind you create yourself on a beach boardwalk) with funny faces and the wedding date. In each of the four pictures, hold up a sign. 1) We're getting married. 2) Save the Date. 3) June 5, 2005. 4) Be there! (You get the idea.)

Wedding Dates that your guests might rather be somewhere else.

Most of the wedding articles you'll read will tell advice on the best wedding dates to have the best weather and the biggest discounts. What they don't tell you is what the WORST wedding dates are. Here are wedding dates you'll surely want to avoid when planning:

• New Year's and Christmas (Anywhere between the 23th of December and the 5th of January) Thanksgiving (In US, the fourth Thursday of November. In Canada, the second Monday of the month.


• Valentine’s Day (unless you are willing to spend more) – Although many couples pick this date out for their wedding, it could be something to re-consider especially if you have a limited budget. Not only would flowers cost too much around this season but venues would also have high-time high rates as restaurant reservations and venues are in-demand for functions and romantic dinners.


• Mother’s Day or Father’s Day – Like Valentine’s Day, flowers would not be cheap during this time and reservation rates in restaurants and venues would be at its peak.


• Prom Season – Flowers, venues and transportation hire would be too expensive at this time of the year, so it would be wise to avoid this date when choosing your wedding date.


• Final Four/March Maddness- (April 4 and 6, 2009)


• In the US, the weekend before April 15 - tax day! Okay, probably no one would rather be doing taxes, but they might be a little stressed out!


• Memorial Day weekend (May 25, 2009)


• Daylight savings time If you're having a Sunday wedding on daylight savings weekend, will your guests remember to change their watches and get to the wedding on time? It is more of a problem in the spring (when the US springs forward) than in the fall (falls back) as its better for guests to be an hour early than an hour late.


• Labor Day weekend While some wedding experts say these both Labor Day and Memorial Day are good days to get married (as you'll likely find cheaper rates on venues and vendors, and your guest will have three days to travel), I find that wedding guests often have other plans for these weekends. It's also harder and more expensive to travel on those weekends.


• Religious observance. If you are Jewish, or many of your guests are Jewish, you may wish to avoid Friday evening weddings, and Saturday weddings before sundown. You'll want to consult a Jewish calendar before setting your date. Don't marry on Rosh Hashanah (Begins at sundown: Sept. 18, 2009) or Yom Kippur (10 days after Rosh Hashanah). Most synagogues frown on marriages during the Days of Awe (the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), as that is a very busy time. Depending on your community or denomination, you may be able to get married immediately after Passover, or may have to wait until after either Yom HaShoah or Shavout.


• If you are Christian, or many of your guests are Christian, you'll want to avoid Holy Week (from Palm Sunday Weekend through Easter Sunday - generally late March to early April), and Christmas weddings. Some churches find Sunday weddings after the service a joyful celebration of the Sabbath, others frown on a wedding during the day of rest. Check with your congregation to be sure. Also, be aware that December is a busy month for most Christians, and thus it is better to plan a wedding for a different month if many of your guests are Christian.


• If you are Muslim, or many of your guests are Muslim, be aware that Shawwal is considered a favorable time for a wedding, but the sacred months of Muharram and Ramadan are very bad times for a wedding. Many Muslim weddings occur on Sunday. You'll want to consult your mosque before selecting a date, of course.
  
  Before you pay non-refundable deposits, or send out save-the-dates, avoid disaster by making sure your wedding doesn't fall on one of these dates.