Best month for an Irish wedding

saoirse88 · 21-03-2019 7:41pm #1

Hi all,

Just wondering from experienced wedding goers on here what is the best month for an Irish wedding outside the May-Sept?

Trying to factor in everything, weather, tempetures etc and have looked at a few venues.

Anyone have any input on what a wedding is like in days October or March? Is a Friday a real hinderence on people?

I’ve found two venues I really like but they don’t have dates in the summer available till 2021 so just trying to figure out what the cons are of a wedding later in the year.

jellybear · 21-03-2019 7:46pm

You would have to factor in things like daytime light for photos, the landscape as it will be quite different in March and October, depends what you would like as a backdrop for photos.

Personally, I would go for March as the daylight is longer and I love green landscapes etc.

Try to think of what you would like before you consider your guests

Just noticed you've added a bit more detail... I've been to an October wedding and the weather was unseasonably warm! Early October weather can be lovely. Friday weddings, while not ideal for most, are quite common nowadays. Once you give plenty of notice and accept that a few people might not be able to make it, I don't see an issue if you are happy to go with that date and venue

saoirse88 · 21-03-2019 7:51pm

jellybear wrote: »

You would have to factor in things like daytime light for photos, the landscape as it will be quite different in March and October, depends what you would like as a backdrop for photos.

Personally, I would go for March as the daylight is longer and I love green landscapes etc.

Try to think of what you would like before you consider your guests

Thanks a million for the response.

I actually was thinking about the greenery and looking outside today there’s no many leaves on trees while I think in October a lot of trees are still green.

The light isn’t as much of an issue as photos would be earlier in the day and once in the venue I don’t mind it being dark.

The tempeture is important alright

mazwell · 21-03-2019 7:52pm

I got married on the October bank holiday saturday. Depending on where you're getting your photos taken you might have to have an earlier wedding for lighting but I loved the autumn leaves in our photos. Weather is never really guaranteed in Ireland anyway. In terms of a Friday wedding I'm not really a fan because I work week days but it's definitely better than midweek (Wed/thurs) as the majority of guests will only need one day off work

yaboya1 · 21-03-2019 7:57pm

Yeah, whatever you do, don't book a date based on the expected weather. It's Ireland. You could get the nicest day of the year mid winter, while it could lash rain in mid July.
Last year for example,it was snowing heavily in late March!

saoirse88 · 21-03-2019 8:13pm

Thanks all for the replies,

I’m thinking possibly October also, the weather seems to be better in October than in March or April, unfortunately it’d be a Friday as all the Saturday’s are booked.

I’ve been to a Friday wedding but my work is fexible so it didn’t matter to me and was actually a nice extended weekend but I know that’s not the case for everyone

Shybride2016 · 21-03-2019 10:15pm

We got married in early April a few years ago.

Woke up to amazing sunshine, the sky got really dark and it then rained heavily for about 30 minutes during our ceremony, brightened up then but there was a freezing cold wind while we were getting our photos done and we ended up cutting our time outside short as it started to snow!

Before our wedding, we visited the venue with our photographer and picked out some great interior spots for pics in case the weather was a total disaster, so maybe plan for that possibility too just so you're not banking on super-sunny weather as there is zero guarantee at any time of year here.

afkasurfjunkie · 21-03-2019 10:24pm

Honeymoon may be a factor too. Hurricane season is late summer/early autumn in the Caribbean. Wet seasons in SE Asia, summer here is winter in Southern Hemisphere etc.

Sono · 21-03-2019 10:32pm

Looks like you’ve decided against the wedding abroad then!

We got married end of May and it pissed down all day till about 7pm, October or March would be my preference out of the months you proposed.

Edit I forgot about April, definitely this month out of all the ones you propose, longer evenings and weather definitely picking up, no brainer imo.

baby and crumble · 22-03-2019 12:41am

We got married at the end of November. It was fantastic. Our venue was already done up for Christmas so lots of fairy lights and Christmas trees everywhere. We had gorgeous sunshine for our photos which we did before the ceremony (2ish-4ish).

You never have a gaurentee of weather in Ireland even at the height of summer. We found it was great to have wedding at that time of year as it didn’t clash with anything and it wasn’t so close to Christmas that it effected people’s plans. We didn’t have to compromise on venue, photographer or any other suppliers because they were more free.

I’d highly recommend that time of year for a wedding tbh

saoirse88 · 22-03-2019 1:35am

Sono wrote: »

Looks like you’ve decided against the wedding abroad then!

We got married end of May and it pissed down all day till about 7pm, October or March would be my preference out of the months you proposed.

Edit I forgot about April, definitely this month out of all the ones you propose, longer evenings and weather definitely picking up, no brainer imo.

Haha, we actually haven’t and went to view a few different places in two different countries. Still love the thought of a foreign wedding and loved three venues but we’re still mindful that it’s a big expense on everyone else so we’re trying to find places we like that are available in Ireland.

saoirse88 · 22-03-2019 1:37am

Lots of stuff here I never considered like availability of photographer and honeymoon weather etc, thanks everyone!

What about Fridays? What are people’s feelings on this? Ideally I’d prefer Saturday because most people are free but they all seemed to be booked up until 2021

Sono · 22-03-2019 8:13am

We got married on a Saturday but I think if you are having a 2nd night you’ll get more takers if it’s on a Saturday than a Sunday, we still had a decent number but would have been more if it was Saturday imo.

Would many of your guests have kids? That’s the difficult thing for people attending weddings, we have a 1 year old and attending a wedding in 2 weeks which I would love to stay for 2nd night but no one to mind the little one, just something to consider perhaps.

Loveinapril · 22-03-2019 8:56am

We got married in April a few years ago (ahem, username!) and the weather was cool but dry and bright. I loved the spring flowers but October would be my next favourite month with the beautiful colours of the leaves. We had a local Saturday wedding so everyone was available but Fridays are still WAY better than Thursday or Sunday weddings.

c6ysaphjvqw41k · 22-03-2019 9:44am

We got married in March 2 years ago. I said to the photographer something like your probably not too busy yet and he told me no he was really busy in March that's when wedding season really starts.

The year we got married it was dry and the sun was out. It was a bit chilly though. We got some lovely pictures and there was flowers and greenery around. The same weekend last year we were snowed under. The same weekend this year it was lashing the whole weekend. Could also lash in June/July/Aug though.

We actually got married on a Sunday because nobody had to take a day off work unless they wanted to. Everyone who was going to work the next day just left around 12. All my close family and friends would have been staying overnight anyway and would have been taking the day off anyway even if it was a weekday.
I actually don't understand why Thurs/Fri weddings are so popular. If it was Friday I'd have to at least take a half day and probably wouldn't go unless it was a close friend or family member.

woodchuck · 22-03-2019 10:13am

saoirse88 wrote: »

What about Fridays? What are people’s feelings on this? Ideally I’d prefer Saturday because most people are free but they all seemed to be booked up until 2021

Personally I wouldn't have any major issue with a Friday wedding. I've been to a few and it's actually nice to have the rest of the weekend free afterwards. However I have flexible arrangements with work that wouldn't necessarily mean I'd have to take a day of annual leave to attend.

So do just bare in mind that you'll probably get less people being able to attend on a Friday compared to a Saturday. Not a ridiculous amount less I'd imagine (compared to say a foreign wedding), but if people get invited to multiple Friday/mid-week weddings in one year, they'll have to start picking and choosing which to attend due to limited annual leave.

However at least with a Friday wedding, some people might be able to attend the afters without taking time off work.

Sono wrote: »

We got married on a Saturday but I think if you are having a 2nd night you’ll get more takers if it’s on a Saturday than a Sunday, we still had a decent number but would have been more if it was Saturday imo.

When did having a 2nd day/night become the norm? It seems to be in more recent years only. I hate hate hate when weddings become a two day event. One night is enough, I need to recharge afterwards and don't like feeling pressured to shell out for a second night of accommodation on top of everything else. You get one day... ONE :P

BuboBubo · 22-03-2019 10:49am

woodchuck wrote: »

When did having a 2nd day/night become the norm? It seems to be in more recent years only. I hate hate hate when weddings become a two day event. One night is enough, I need to recharge afterwards and don't like feeling pressured to shell out for a second night of accommodation on top of everything else. You get one day... ONE :P

Never went to the second day/aftermath either, no idea if I'm missing anything. Just seems to add a lot more expense on everyone, is it expected nowadays?

OP, have the wedding whenever it suits you, you won't please everyone anyway.

Sono · 22-03-2019 11:05am

Nothing is expected of anyone, we stayed the 2nd night and put on food for those who stayed around, fairly low key but enjoyable, have been to a few weddings for the 2 nights and enjoyed It, no obligation to anyone to do anything.

woodchuck · 22-03-2019 11:11am

BuboBubo wrote: »

Never went to the second day/aftermath either, no idea if I'm missing anything. Just seems to add a lot more expense on everyone, is it expected nowadays?

It's not expected, but it does seem to be getting more common.

Sono wrote: »

Nothing is expected of anyone, we stayed the 2nd night and put on food for those who stayed around, fairly low key but enjoyable, have been to a few weddings for the 2 nights and enjoyed It, no obligation to anyone to do anything.

It just always seems to be my partners friends who want to do a second day/night. Obviously I don't want to be a party pooper for my partner, so I feel obligated to go along with it for his sake. I know it's somewhat self inflicted, but figure it wouldn't be an issue if the option wasn't there to being with :P

To be fair, the 2nd day/night usually is more low key and enjoyable than the "big day". Honestly, I don't see why more people don't just do the low key thing INSTEAD of the big day...

Not trying to have a dig you btw

Each to their own. I just didn't want the OP to think that they had to organise a day 2 on top of everything else!

Shelli2 · 22-03-2019 4:12pm

We made sure to view our venue on the most miserable day possible. We are getting married in May 2020, but like another poster said, Irish weather cannot be depended on at any time of the year.
I loved the cosy feeling of the venue when it was lashing and freezing, but likewise it has fabulous gardens should the weather be in our favour.

Friday weddings are nearly the norm now for most people. I don't think it would bother any guests, certainly not close family or friends anyway.

1perriwinkle · 01-04-2019 6:30pm

I wrote a blog post about what’s the best month to get married, in case you’re interested ðŸ˜႒
https://mycelebrant.ie/picking-month-get-married-ireland-better-think-carefully/

annoyedgal · 02-04-2019 1:48pm

We got married in late February. Would have loved a christmas wedding but was put off by the extra expense on guests at this time of year. February seemed like a quiet month and a good recovery time from Christmas binging!
We got our pick of suppliers as its a quiet time for weddings, negotiated a lot of extras and a discount with our venue too. Almost all pur suppliers gave a good discount due to the timing.
The evenings are starting to stretch so had light until 5 for photos. Weather was grand, sun and the odd rain shower, actually a good day for the west of ireland.
Married on a Saturday and was no issue getting one in Feb. Personally dislike friday weddings as its a day off work and can involve travelling after work on a thurs if wedding is a good bit away.
Second nights are for family only in my humble opinion, pain in the hoop for most everyone else! When i see an invite with details of a second night which you also have to rsvp to i cringe a bit to be honest!

tiredblondie · 02-04-2019 4:52pm

I'm getting married on a Saturday in October - no chance i am doing a second day / night, i wouldn't be able for it so not going to plan it!
We do have some people staying over in the hotel the night before including myself and i'm only thinking now reading the posts, should i put on a spread for the night before?? Maybe even a couple of platters and some sandwiches etc??

solerina · 04-04-2019 10:46am

The word Irish is important here.
I got married ona warm dry Saturday in October, my brother got married on a cold wet day in July.

Third_Echelon · 07-06-2019 12:41am

Ours was a Saturday in August - Sun was out and weather was great.

PinkLady2016 · 07-06-2019 9:30am

I think Summer months would be busy any months outside that would be less busy and you can pick what day you want. Were going for a January wedding and many suppliers are free then.

Best month for an Irish wedding

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