Don't dread a Winter Wedding.
Well, here we are, almost a year later, in another lockdown, & I cannot quite believe I am moving weddings once again. I am holding out for the roadmap at the end of the month now, otherwise I don’t think I will be able to cope in 2022. I laugh sometimes as you may have seen me mention before that I wanted to start cutting down on weddings for 2021/2022 & next year I already have more than double what I wanted. I shouldn’t moan, as it’s work, but you could flip it & say that over half is lost work. I really do have hope now for this Summer though, that’s the one positive at the moment, I feel that there will be at least some form of normality & a way for weddings to happen with more people than last year. We shall just have to see. My gut tells me that I will have lots of weddings this year though…
For now, I am fully booked all Summer in 2022 April - September. I have found this month extremely difficult, moving weddings for a second or third time, taking new potential dates & leaving this year looking more & more sparse. What keeps me going is knowing I am not alone, & also the strength of my couples, especially the ones going through this again. Almost everyone (unless they have chosen a Winter Wedding), wants a Saturday in Summer, so you can see why this is a recipe for disaster when trying to move everyone, taking into account bookings I already have. Therefore it will inevitably get to the point, where couples are having to make a decision to loose certain suppliers, & I am starting to hit that point now. I am talking from my point of view, but know everyone is going through the same. It will come down to a date vs a supplier, & everyone has different priorities.
However with all this being said, I wanted to give some inspiration to what Winter Weddings are like. I feel most are put off by the most obvious - the weather, but as we all know, there isn’t a month of the year where we can rely on it. I have done weddings in July where it has poured all day vs weddings in December with the best low, soft light I have ever seen. So if you have your heart set on one of your main suppliers but don’t want a Winter date, I would really advise to consider before thinking the worst. Yes, it could rain, but it could in the Summer & if it doesn’t rain in Winter & the sun is out, I can assure you that Winter light is THE BEST. The only sacrifice with Winter weddings is that it means preferably getting married earlier in the day so you have more time to get photos whilst it’s light, but the results are always very exciting, & also the earlier you get married - the longer you have of the best day of your life! You will also find that venues will most probably be considerably lower in cost during Winter months, which after everything that has happened this year, I know is a big factor in decision making. From what I have heard from my couples, venues aren’t charging more to move to winter dates but they are for Summer. Little things like this all add up & sometimes the financial stress can be the make or break, & it isn’t worth it when you would have the best day of your life whether you got married in January, February, March, April, May…..I won’t type every month, but you know where I’m going! I know this to be true, as all I think about from our wedding day are the feelings & the people we spent it with. Yes we were blessed with a lovely day (in September), but I would’ve had the same day if it rained or I was chilly.
I have PLENTY of availability in Jan, Feb, March, October, November & December 2022 & below I have selected a selection of images from these months over the years. Obviously all of these couples chose to have a winter wedding, but hopefully you can see why.
If your only options are Winter months for whatever reason, please see the positives & go for it, knowing the most important thing is that you will have everybody there that you want & you will be married! Otherwise, be graceful if it means you have to loose one or more of your suppliers, there are 1,000s of us around & you will find someone just as perfect for you. We are going through this too, so let’s all be kind, patient & considerate.
Hugs x
SOME OF THE WEDDINGS BELOW I HAVE PREVIOUSLY BLOGGED OR HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN FULL. YOU CAN VIEW THEM HERE:
