Choosing a month in which to get married can be a tough decision… it’s a date that will follow you for the rest of your life, every anniversary! I’m here to help make that decision a bit easier and to walk you through the advantages and disadvantages of each month of the year with this helpful guide!
In general, while October and June are the most popular months in which to get married* due to mild and comfortable weather, there are a myriad of factors to consider for each individual couple when choosing a wedding month — including:
- Colors and themes you want to incorporate
- How much money you want to spend
- Luck, folklore, and culture
- And yes… the weather (and where in the world you’re getting married)
*According to the latest Wedding Wire report (Source).
QUICK TIP: To save money on your wedding, get married in the cheapest months which tend to be November, January, March, or April (depending on where exactly you’re getting married)… For luck, according to ancient traditions, get married in June — named for Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage!
Below you’ll find each month of the year listed, with info about the PROS and CONS of each to help you choose the perfect wedding month for YOU! Personally, we chose to get married in June, because our wedding will take place outdoors in Quebec, Canada — where the weather is only mild for a short time in summer.
Whatever decision you make will be personal and dependent on your own individual wedding location and circumstances (culture, color schemes, money, weather, etc.). Don’t feel pressured to get married in the “wedding season” but instead choose the month that works best for you and your partner.
January
“Married when the year is new, you will always be loving, kind, and true.”
Kentucky Superstitions, book published in 1920
PROS
January, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, isn’t exactly everyone’s first choice of wedding month. Which is precisely what makes it ideal for bargain-seekers. Many venues will offer reduced prices in January since these dates usually just aren’t in high demand.
But just because January isn’t a popular month in which to get married doesn’t at all make it a bad choice! There are plenty of reasons to get married in January in addition to the cheaper pricing on venues and vendors.
January offers a good excuse to bring family and friends together at the beginning of the year, in the spirit of renewed hopes and goals for the future. What better way to start off everyone’s year than to witness a wedding?
Historically, the ancient Greeks saw January, which they called Gamelion, as the best month to get married. According to a 2014 article published in the Royal Meteorological Society‘s journal, “this particular month was the month of the holy marriage of Zeus and Hera and thus the ideal month for the mortals to marry under the full moon of Gamelion.”
The article says that in Gamelion, ancient Greece experienced “days called Halcyon days, characterized by clear, sunny weather conditions.” If it’s good enough for Zeus and Hera… well, why not?!
CONS
The only really big con for January is the weather. Obviously, it’s cold… At least here in the U.S. and Canada. You’ll have to nix any ideas of an outdoor ceremony or reception. Outdoor wedding photos will also be a bit more painful, although not impossible. In fact, if you can handle the discomfort, winter wedding photos can actually be quite beautiful and a source of creativity.
Avoid an actual New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day wedding, as this is the exception to the cheaper pricing rule — many places will actually charge more for a popular holiday date such as these.
Something else to think about is that guests may have less money to spend after the holidays and less vacation time to use, but these matters can be counteracted if you give everyone enough advance notice.
COLORS FOR A JANUARY WEDDING: royal blue, silver, white, ice blue, lavender, dusty rose, berry pinks, grey, burgundy, emerald, gold, black
THEMES FOR A JANUARY WEDDING: Winter Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Harry Potter, New Year, Great Gatsby, Enchanted Winter Forest
February
“Though February is short, it is filled with lots of love and sweet surprises.”
Charmaine J Forde
PROS
I may be a bit biased about all things February because it’s my birthday month (!!) but really, it’s not the terrible, gloomy month some people make it out to be! And especially if you’re getting married in the Southern Hemisphere, February seems to be a good wedding month — it’s the most popular month to get married in Chile, for example.
There are a lot of reasons to get married in February, including the price. Like January, February is a less popular “out of season” time to get married which generally drives down venue costs — although this is not the case everywhere. Some areas do see an increase in February weddings due to the connection with Valentine’s Day and — once every four years — Leap Year.
It’s a romantic month for many couples, and an advantage is that it will be an easy wedding anniversary to remember if it falls around the same time as Valentine’s Day.
In some cultures, this period is considered a lucky time to get married:
- Lunar New Year, which usually takes place in February, is considered an auspicious time to get married in many Asian cultures.
- Traditionally, in Ireland, it used to be forbidden by the church to get married during Lent. Therefore, the period between Epiphany (January 6th) and the Tuesday before Lent (Shrove Tuesday) became the most popular time to get married. This period became known as “Shrovetide” or “The Marrying Season.”
- The month of Adar in the Jewish calendar, which coincides with roughly February or March, is considered a favorable month in which to be married
CONS
Yep, it’ll still be cold in February. And if you get married on or leading up to Valentine’s Day, your floral bill could be more expensive. Especially if you have red roses in mind. There’s a lot of demand for them around this time.
Be wary of getting married at the beginning of February if your family are big football fans, because they may be more interested in the Super Bowl than your wedding. This is kind of unavoidable, I’ve found, at American weddings any time of the year — there’s always some really important game of some kind going on! Just know your crowd and take that into consideration.
COLORS FOR A FEBRUARY WEDDING: burgundy and pink blush, gold and cream, black and gold, forest green and peach
THEMES FOR A FEBRUARY WEDDING: Winter in Paris, Victorian Winter, Valentine’s Day, Candy Land, Fairy Tale
March
“This is the perfume of March: rain, loam, feathers, mint.”
Lisa Kleypas
PROS
March continues to be off-season and can save you money on venues and vendors. Also…
March is unexpected! It’s a jump-start on the wedding season, full of promise — it also feels cool and fresh, with the excitement of full blown spring and summer ahead. You can incorporate beautiful seasonal spring eco-friendly flowers, and enjoy the “off peak” prices.
There’s a nice thing about getting married in a month like March in which the weather is almost expected to be bad (or at least not amazing)…. stay with me… this is good because no one (including you!) will be especially sad if the weather is terrible on your wedding day! So many couples get upset when it rains on their well-planned summer wedding days. But getting married in March, you’ll know that showers are common and to expect rain… and then if it happens to be sunny, it’ll be a pleasant surprise!
Just book a good photographer who has experience shooting in less-than-ideal weather conditions (check out the umbrella photo from the next section — April — who wouldn’t want these cool wedding shots?! Bring on the rain!).
CONS
If you’re the superstitious sort, past wisdom has told us to “beware the ides of March” (or March 15) — traditionally the Roman day for settling debts, and the day that Julius Cesar is murdered in Shakespeare’s play. So… avoid March 15 I guess, if you believe in that kinda thing!
If you want an outdoor wedding, this will still be difficult, and risky, to plan… at least in many places in the Northern Hemisphere (although you could get lucky!). It can also be chilly in March — and depending on the age group of your guests, you could be competing with spring break (either spring breakers that you want to invite to your wedding or the parents of spring breakers)… probably not a huge deal, but something to think about.
COLORS FOR A MARCH WEDDING: Lavender and mint green; royal purple and pastel pink; mint green and coral; navy blue and peach; forest green, mint, and cream
THEMES FOR A MARCH WEDDING: Pot of Gold, The End of the Rainbow, Enchanted Garden
APRIL
“April showers bring May flowers.”
PROS
Much like March, April can be unpredictable in terms of weather — but still I see this as a pro and not a con in the case of spring months, because expectations are lowered (weather-wise). And the key to happiness is managing expectations! There’s probably a beautiful and wise quote that encapsulates that sentiment better than I just did, but you get the idea 🙂
April is also the month of the Royal Wedding — Kate and William were married April 29, 2011. Prince Charles and Camilla were also married in April (April 9, 2005). Obviously there are many famous weddings for every month, but here we can see that a little April rain in the UK didn’t dissuade the royals from marrying and it can work for you too!
Speaking of royal, why not kick it up a notch to a godly level? April is the Roman month of the love goddess Venus! Such love, what luck!
One last reason to get married in April is that it’s the month of the fool –– the April fool — and some say a wedding in April symbolizes being a “fool for love.” The modern image we have of a fool is of course a negative one, but in ancient traditions (and in tarot card reading!) the “fool” isn’t negative at all. It represents a clean slate and new beginnings.. and who doesn’t want that kind of symbolism for their wedding month?!
CONS
For superstitious people, the number “4” (April being the fourth month of the year) is considered very unlucky in some Eastern cultures because the word for “4” in Chinese is a homophone for “death.” Yikes.
You’re still going to need a solid back-up plan for your outdoor April wedding as it’s still more likely to rain in many places. Cons also include prices beginning to rise as we enter… dun dun DUN: Wedding Season!!
COLORS FOR AN APRIL WEDDING: Fuchsia & orange; pink and grey; navy blue and light pink, shades of green, yellow, and cream
THEMES FOR AN APRIL WEDDING: Cherry Blossom, Spring, Butterfly Garden
May
“Let all thy joys be as the month of May, And all thy days be as a marriage day.”
Francis Quarles
PROS
May! Such a perfect wedding month, supported by centuries of May festivities!
May celebrations have often been organized throughout history to fete the start of spring. May Day, on May 1, is a modern public holiday with ancient roots in European cultures where people would dance, sing, and eat sweets as part of the joyous festivities to celebrate the warm weather, the rebirth of plants, and general “aliveness” ahead.
One such ancient May Day celebration was the Roman Festival of Floralia for the goddess of flowers, where people wore floral wreaths in their hair and celebrated over the course of several days.
Beltane is another ancient May Day celebration, held by the Pagan Celts (halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice). People wore flowers in their hair and danced around a maypole.
And did I already mention royal weddings? Yep, I went there. So I may as well say that May is also a modern royal wedding anniversary month — Harry and Meghan got married May 19, 2018. So maybe that makes it… lucky? I don’t know! Why not.
CONS
The biggest con for May weddings is going to be the same for all of the popular months — it’ll be harder to find a bargain because demand is higher. Besides this, I don’t really see any cons for a May wedding. Higher chance of floral allergies getting in the way possibly… !
COLORS FOR A MAY WEDDING: Pastels — blue, yellow, pink and purple
THEMES FOR A MAY WEDDING: Festival of Floralia, May Day, Beltane
June
“At midnight, in the month of June, I stand beneath the mystic moon.”
Edgar Allan Poe
PROS
Well, if you want to get married in June… you’re definitely not alone! It was the most popular wedding month for a very long time (only recently surpassed by October as autumn weddings become more and more in vogue). “June” is literally synonymous with weddings, having been named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage.
In addition to (mostly) good weather, there are traditions attached to June weddings:
The Summer Solstice, which occurs in June and is the longest day of sunlight of the year, was thought by the ancient Druids to be the “marriage of heaven and earth.” The Summer Solstice is also called “midsummer” and was considered such a magical time of year for love and romance that Shakespeare even wrote a play about it (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
CONS
The only cons I see are price, competition in trying to get the venue you want (unless you search early or don’t mind waiting a year or two more than expected), and potentially competing with other weddings of friends and family. It could also possibly be HOT in June depending on where exactly you’re getting married.
COLORS FOR A JUNE WEDDING: Hot pink and shades of light pink; green and white; green and peach
THEMES FOR A JUNE WEDDING: Summer Solstice, Celebration of Summer, Enchanted Forest, Nautical
July
“The summer looks out from her brazen tower, Through the flashing bars of July.”
Francis Thompson
PROS
A July wedding has a celebratory feel to it, a built-in “party mode” if you will. It’s the height of summer and everyone is excited and ready to have a good time! You should have fewer difficulties locking in your guests as people tend to plan to take time off in the summer anyway.
You won’t have to stress about the likelihood of rain… although you should always have a back-up plan for an outdoor wedding no matter what!
CONS
Depending on where you get married, a July wedding can be really hot… for some, TOO hot. If you’re getting married outside, you may have to ensure you have access to AC or fans especially for your older guests. This can be expensive so think about it before making any final decisions.
COLORS FOR A JULY WEDDING: Plum, lavender, and peach; green, white, and copper; neutrals; pink and green; orange, green and teal
THEMES FOR A JULY WEDDING: 4th of July, Carnival, Waterfront, Rustic Country, Barn Wedding
August
“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.”
Sara Baume
PROS
August is the eighth month of the year, and in Chinese the word for “8” is a homophone for wealth and fortune, making it a “lucky number” — and thus August a lucky month in which to get married… especially if your wedding date is the 8th of August!
August comes from the Latin word “augustus” and is related to the Latin “augur” which literally means “auspicious” (“conducive to success”) …sooo that’s a good sign if you’re superstitious!
CONS
Although August can offer some of the best weather of the year in many places, it’s also hurricane season for the Eastern seaboard of the U.S., making it somewhat risky for scheduling outdoor weddings.
COLORS FOR AN AUGUST WEDDING: Deep purple, brown, and ivory; orange and cinnamon; brown, mustard yellow, and pink; watermelon pink and green
THEMES FOR AN AUGUST WEDDING: Golden Summer, Garden Party, Rustic Country
September
“All at once, summer collapsed into fall.”
Oscar Wilde
PROS
The number “9” is considered fortunate in Chinese culture (“9” being a homonym for the word “enduring”) — making the ninth month of the year a lucky one in which to get married. September is also a lovely month weather-wise. Not too hot but not too cold to have many options for attire.
CONS
September is becoming more and more popular as more couples realize the wonders of fall wedding dates. Because of this, it might be harder or at least more expensive to find the September date you have your heart set on.
COLORS FOR A SEPTEMBER WEDDING: Coral, mustard & blush; midnight blue & marigold; lavender and dark purple
THEMES FOR A SEPTEMBER WEDDING: Rustic Wedding, Woodland Wedding
October
“In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October.”
Alexander Smith
PROS
The colors of an autumn wedding are no doubt breathtakingly beautiful. The weather is perfect in many places in October and wedding pictures this time of year are stunning. It’s also the most popular month of the year to get married, a recent change (that crown used to belong to June for decades!).
October also means opportunity for really beautiful and unique decor with a “cozy” fall feeling.
CONS
Only the premium prices! As far as I can see. And if your wedding is close to Halloween, you risk people showing up in costume… which is… bad? I suppose!
COLORS FOR AN OCTOBER WEDDING: Warm jewel tones; pumpkin, sage, and blush; elegant navy and gold
THEMES FOR AN OCTOBER WEDDING: Halloween, Fall Harvest Ball, Rustic Autumn
November
“November is auspicious in so many parts of the country: the rice harvest is already in, the weather starts to cool, and the festive glow which precedes Christmas has began to brighten the landscape.”
F. Sionil Jose
PROS
In the U.S., November is a time to remember what you’re thankful for and celebrate family and friends dear to us. People are beginning to get into the holiday spirit this time of year and will be really happy to come together and celebrate your wedding.
November is one of the least popular months to get married and so you can often find better deals on venues and vendors!
CONS
The weather starts to become risky as we head into November. It tends to be a less popular month to get married because outdoor weddings (and sometimes photos) are not as much of a possibility.
People are also traveling, or planning a lot of travel, for the holidays which could compete with your wedding — just be sure to get on your guests’ radars early enough so that they can include you in their plans.
COLORS FOR A NOVEMBER WEDDING: Rich shades of purple; mustard and natural greens
THEMES FOR A NOVEMBER WEDDING: Late Fall Forest Wedding
December
“December’s wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer’s memory…”
John Geddes
PROS
Similarly to November, people are in the holiday spirit at this time of year. Guests are feeling generous and want to share their time with family and friends. You’re guaranteed to have a highly emotionally charged crowd of guests ready to receive you for a December wedding!
CONS
December isn’t a popular wedding month, which you would think would make the prices lower… however, many businesses throw company Christmas parties this time of year, and so weddings can actually be just as expensive and as difficult to book as in one of the more popular wedding months. If your heart’s set on a December wedding, get in there as early as possible to book the date you want 🙂
COLORS FOR A DECEMBER WEDDING: Dusty blue and white; indigo and cream, shades of cherry and mint green
THEMES FOR A DECEMBER WEDDING: Winter Ball, Fairy Tale, Mistletoe and Holly
Finally, I’ll leave you with a kind of terrible poem that I’ve found floating around the Internet for choosing your wedding month… not to listen to, but to laugh at. Know that ANY month you choose will be perfect for your wedding because it’s a wedding and it doesn’t matter. No matter what, it will be great!
“Married when the year is new, he’ll be loving, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, you wed not dread your fate.
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you’ll know.
Marry in April when you can, joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you’ll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you’ll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labor for their daily bread.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.
Marry in September’s shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.”
— Terrible poem I could not find a source for!
