Ahhhh – engagement season! We can feel the excitement of new fiances everywhere! We can also feel the slight bit of panic from all the couples hoping for a 2018 wedding and finding open dates hard to come by. But don’t despair – a Friday Wedding is your answer!

I could probably write a short novel on why I LOVE Friday weddings. I will spare you the super exciting read and just give you my top five reasons why you should consider a Friday date.

Friday Availability

If you are just beginning the venue & vendor search, you are likely finding most Saturday dates in 2018 have been booked already. It’s crazy how fast dates fill up! So for many couples who just became engaged, snagging a Saturday in 2018 might not work out. If you don’t want to postpone the wedding for another year, make sure to ask your venue and vendors about Friday dates and you will likely get a larger open selection.

Discounts!

Not all venues and vendors have discounted pricing for “off” days – but many do, so be sure to ask! And another insider tip from a venue – ask about guest minimums for Fridays. Even if a venue has a minimum guest count for a Saturday, they may waive that minimum for a Friday (ahem…like we do!).

A Better Guest Experience

Almost every wedding we host is a “destination” wedding even if guests are only coming from 90 miles away so they likely don’t want to drive home after the wedding. If you host a Friday wedding, your guests then have all Saturday to relax (recover!) in our beautiful little corner of Michigan without having to worry about rushing home to get ready for work. Your guests can experience a mini-vacation without needing to spend a fortune to get away. Maybe some guests will need to take that Friday off work but who doesn’t want an excuse to take a day off to spend with friends & family!

More Down Time with Friends & Family

We see it all the time with Saturday weddings, all the last minute details, the rehearsal, the nerves on Friday. The wedding on Saturday. Your guests leave early Sunday morning to get back to the grind. This leaves you with very little quality time to spend with people who have travelled to celebrate with you. But with a Friday wedding, you have all day Saturday, after the rush of the wedding is over, to plan a relaxed cookout at a rental property, organize a leisurely wine tour, sprawl out on the sand and refuse to move for 4 hours….whatever activity you would enjoy. It’s a great way to let your loved ones know how much you appreciate their being with you on such a special day.

Atmosphere

Now, this one could be all in my head (I have an obvious bias toward Friday weddings) but our friends at 1928 Planning Co. will back me up here….Friday weddings as a whole just feel different. There is a relaxed vibe from vendors and guests alike that is unique to an “off” day wedding. For us vendors, Friday is often the start of our weekend crazy-ness so we are fresh-faced and ready to go. For guests, they know they are about to begin an awesome weekend and are ready to let loose. We have been trained to love Fridays and this general emotion of TGIF is carried over into the wedding itself.

Of course, we love ALL weddings – but if you’re curious to know what Fridays are still available at The Vineyard, give me a call!

Photo Credits (in order of appearance)

Michael Koch Photo

Rebekah Albaugh

430 Studios

Rebekah Albaugh

Victoria Sprung Photography

Rebekah Albaugh