Picking a wedding day isn’t as simple as just picking a date out of a hat. You’ll need to do a little (or a lot) of research before choosing that big day. Here are the most important things to consider when you’re deciding on a wedding date.

Time to PlanYou’ll want to make sure that you have enough time to plan your wedding – without getting too stressed. Taking at least a year to plan your wedding is recommended and will make for a less stressful experience, but it can be done (if you start now) in nine or six months. Less than six months will be difficult, but many couples have made it happen!

The Season and Weather Winter, spring, summer or fall – what’s your dream season to marry in? Consider the weather conditions in the part of the country where you’re planning on marrying, especially if you’d like an outdoor wedding.

Dream Venue If there’s a venue where you’ve always dreamed of marrying, then check their availability before setting a date. If you’re open to any venue, then you can do things in reverse – set a date and then start your venue hunt!

Holidays While hosting a wedding on a national holiday or during a holiday weekend isn’t a total no-no, you should be aware that many of your guests won’t be able to attend due to travel or family obligations and vendors may be extra busy as well. Religious holidays are also important to consider – there are some religions which have specific dates when couples cannot wed.

National Events Think about big national events that your friends and family actually care about. If your family members are football fanatics, clearly hosting your wedding during the Super Bowl would be a no-go.

Local Events Parades, sporting events, major conventions, and other local events that will cause sold-out hotels and lots of traffic should be avoided. Call your local chamber of commerce or town hall to find out when major events will be occurring.

Your Nearest and Dearest Talk to your closest family members and friends about any important dates they have coming up. Maybe your dad has a work convention every year that he can’t miss? Or your sister is expecting her baby in the spring. Make sure that these dates are truly important (the person would not be able to attend your wedding) before taking it into consideration. So that means your mom can miss her monthly book club meeting.

Other Weddings Is anyone in your family or close circle of friends getting married soon? Think about their wedding dates when planning for yours. It may be difficult for family members or friends to travel on back-to-back weekend, so try to have a buffer of at least a week or two in between weddings.

Work Schedules You don’t want to leave for your wedding while totally stressed about an important work deadline or event. Try to set your wedding date for a time that’s relatively calm at both your and your fiancé(e)’s jobs.

Budget Concerns While it depends on where you’re getting married, generally, the most popular months to get married in are June and September. It will probably cost you more to get married in one of these months as opposed to January and February, which are less popular.

by Kim Forrest