what's the best season to get married

Just like most everything in life, the “best month to get married” will wholly depend on your definition of best, not to mention what part of the world you live in & what your seasons actually look like. You may love the hot summer. The next bride may love the icy cold winter months.

Please do not let me dissuade you from picking any particular season or month–they all have their pros & cons. I simply want to point out a few observations so that when your wedding day arrives, you aren’t caught off guard by the temperature, the lack of color in the trees, the early setting sun, or when your florist tells you your desired flowers will be double what you thought because they’re out of season. By setting yourI simply want to set your expectations correctly so you can make a better decision about what season will work best for you.

When you’re freshly engaged, the very first decision you make as an engaged couple is picking a wedding date. You can shop for vendors all day long, but most won’t reserve a date for you until you have a venue & date secured.

A few questions you have to ask yourself:

How long do you want to be engaged?

How long will it take to plan the wedding of your dreams?

If you have your heart set on a venue (or for the availability of a specific vendor), are you willing to wait for their next available date? And is that next available date in a season that you like?

Of the people on your VIP guest list, is there any time of year that doesn’t work for them? (If their job is something like mine where I’m contracted to be in a certain city for a wedding on a specific day, I can’t just reschedule it or not show up.)

Once you have these answers & your wedding priorities sorted, you can start honing in on the season that works best for you & your dream wedding.

Below are purely my observations for weddings by season according to Texas weather (where we have 4 seasons: Summer, Still Summer, the Devil’s Bathroom, & Christmas.)

You may be thinking, “The weather won’t be an issue. Our ceremony & reception are both indoors.”

Yes, BUT. Most of your bridal party portraits will probably be outside (weather permitting) unless you specifically tell your photographer you don’t want to step outside whatsoever. I, like most wedding photographers, prefer to shoot most of my portraits outside, & the only times we’ve stayed 100% indoors was due to rain.

spring weddings

Spring weddings are the most pleasant & definitely the most colorful, but those dates are highly coveted & you may struggle to find vendors available. You’ll definitely have fresh greenery & new blooms everywhere!

The heat is still very manageable, but rain is a little more common, so have your backup plan ready! You may also consider doing a first look. This way, if it does rain part of the day, we have another chance later for the sun to come back out & for you to get those dreamy sunset photos!

summer weddings

Oh they say when you marry in June, you’re a bride all your life. - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

If you’ve read my Top 10 things I love, you know that this is from my favorite movie. And because of this song, I grew up dreaming of a June wedding. That is, until I started photographing June weddings & realizing how hot it could be.

Like spring weddings, you’ll have plenty of color in your landscape, that’s for certain. Flowers will be in full bloom. Grass will be green (given that we aren’t in the middle of a drought). You will probably have a nice summer glow (please wear sunscreen) & rain is scarce during the summer.

But with that can come extreme heat. Our Texas summer temperatures stay above 100 for most of the summer (& well into the fall months) & there is no escaping it or the humidity.

Remember that men wear full suits to weddings. Your wedding dress will probably have many layers. The good news is that most professional makeup artists have the correct types of makeup & knowledge to apply sweat-proof makeup, so you’re good there.

My biggest plea for any couple choosing to get married July through mid-September in Texas: Be patient with your photographer & don’t cut your portrait time in half when you start to realize how hot you actually are.*

Remind yourself that this is your ONLY chance for your wedding portraits (unless you schedule a post-wedding photo session later in the year.) Let your photographer work & put up with the heat for a short time. Your photographer is just as hot as you are & is trying to get as many photos as he or she can in the time allowed. The more you cooperate, the quicker portraits can be finished. Also, you’ll be glad to know that sweat doesn’t show up near as much as you may think!

* If you’re about to have a heat stroke or are dehydrated & feel faint, that’s a completely different story. Please take care of yourself, drink a ton of water, & listen to your body.

Consider picking a venue with beautiful indoor spaces or plan AC breaks throughout your day if your timeline allows.

fall weddings

More & more couples are choosing to get married later in the calendar year, & I am completely ok with this! Weather can still be rather unpredictable & could bring Summer Part #5 with temperatures in the 90s or Pre-Winter #1 with cold, windy, & rainy days.

While we don’t have that much fall color where I live, the dying-yet-still-slightly-green trees look nice & rich when paired with fall jewel tones on your bridesmaids & in your flowers. The evenings are decidedly cooler, & outdoor receptions or cocktail hours are way more pleasant.

I didn’t want to sweat (as much) on my wedding day, so we chose early November. When we had it narrowed down to a weekend in November. My brother came storming into the office where I was working one day. “That better not be an Alabama or Texas A&M football game day!“ (He was mostly joking, but fully serious.) As it turned out, it was a bye week for both teams. Perfect.

winter weddings

Our Texas winters are extremely unpredictable. While they’re mostly disappointingly mild, we can have extremely cold spurts that feel so much worse because it’s also wet. As I’m writing this, it’s February & we’re in the middle of the coldest, snowiest, iciest stretch of winter Texas has seen in over 30 years. #snowmageddon2021 #snowpacalypse2021

Unless you live in a part of the country that consistently gets snow during the winter, you can expect the landscape to be dry & brown with bare trees. Depending on your venue, this coloring may not be overly obvious or your venue may be able to keep things more green & alive.

Lastly, don’t forget how early the sun sets in the winter months. Be sure to take that into consideration when picking a ceremony time. My November wedding was completely dark by 5:30pm. Having an early ceremony or incorporating a first look will help ensure you get those dreamy sunset photos of you & your new spouse.

I think winter weddings are so magical, especially those who embrace the idea of ‘winter’. Think twinkle lights, holly, & evergreen boughs & in shades of deep red or emerald green, or (for those wanting to avoid going too Christmas-y) icy blues paired with furs & silvers.

holiday weddings

Not all holidays are created equal. You’ll find that some vendors may have cheaper rates for holidays they’re less likely to book (like Christmas or New Years) while others have higher rates for popular 3 day weekends (like Labor Day & Memorial Day). You may also struggle to find vendors willing to work family-oriented holidays like Christmas or Easter. I’ve even heard of some venues offering discounts on any Fridays that fall on the 13th!

I may not need to say this, but remember that your anniversary will ALWAYS fall on this holiday, so make sure you’re prepared to share this date!

don’t forget these seasonal things!

Your favorite flowers may not be in season, so if there’s something you have to have, research when they bloom. They’ll be cheapest then.

Does your area experience seasonal natural disasters that you wish to avoid? Hurricanes, seasonal rains or fires, & the like, can make pushing through with a wedding extra stressful. A few years ago we had record flooding for several weeks & I had at least three weddings move locations at the last second. I even worked with one poor wedding coordinator who got stuck at her previous wedding for THREE DAYS waiting for the flood waters to recede.

engagement & bridal portraits

Another thing that is contingent upon the weather is your engagement & bridal photo sessions.

Depending on how long you are engaged, your engagement portraits have the potential to take place in any season. Most of my couples choose to schedule their session based on them sending out Save the Dates featuring their photos. In that case, most want to get those sent out quickly & the season takes backseat to urgency.

Bridal sessions are typically scheduled 4-6 weeks prior to the wedding date because that’s when dress alterations are completed. Rescheduling bridals can be a little more complicated due to the number of vendors involved (hair, makeup, flowers, photographer), so consider finding an indoor bridal location to reduce the chances of rescheduling due to bad weather.

so…how to pick a wedding date?

After all this you may still be asking What’s the best month to get married?

It’s simply up to you, your preferences, & your priorities.

Where I live (central Texas) the most popular months to get married is between April through early June & October through early November.

A weird piece of advice is to check the almanac. Yes, I just said that! I had a bride years ago tell me her bridal date should be good “according to the almanac.” I remember thinking, Almanacs are still a thing?? I decided to test that out for my wedding date & it was SPOT ON.