Posted on: October 15, 2006
The Friday Bride
Saturday and Sunday steal the spotlight, but Friday offers couples cheaper rates and all-weekend festivities
By Bev Bennett
CTW Features
Image courtesy Amy Michelson
When Jewel Clarke set a date for her upcoming wedding, weekend nuptials weren’t in her plans.
“I decided to do the wedding in New York City. Most of my guests are coming from out of town and it would be thoughtful of me to have the wedding on Friday so guests could enjoy New York during the weekend,” says Clarke, an event coordinator in Boca Raton, FL.
She’s not the only bride opting out of a traditional wedding day. What used to be a secret among wedding planners and knowledgeable couples is now a full-blown trend.
Friday weddings offer several advantages, from lower prices to reduced crowds to a jumpstart to weekend-long celebrations.
“People may have heard Friday weddings are cheaper,” says Sharon Naylor, a wedding expert in Madison, N.J.
“Because the site is squeezing in an extra wedding they may charge 40 percent less [than on a Saturday or Sunday],” says Naylor, author of “1000 Best Wedding Bargains,” (Source Books, 2004).
Other vendors may slash their fees as well. For example, caterers may be booked during Saturday and Sunday but not Friday night. Hotels may offer weekend packages for two-night stays for your guests.
You’re less likely to compete for space with other wedding groups when you get married on a Friday. For example, you can avoid bumping into a bevy of brides at a picturesque site during a photo session.
Guests like Friday weddings because they don’t have to face a workday after a night of revelry. The wedding becomes more like a reunion than a quick ceremony.
“People aren’t in a major rush to go directly from a wedding to a honeymoon,” says Clarke. “They prefer to lounge around with guests during the weekend.”
Even though a Friday wedding may offer smoother scheduling, you’ll still have to take the following into account:
1. Schedule the wedding late, usually after 8 p.m., to avoid rush-hour traffic.
2. Design an appropriate menu for the late hour. You may want to skip dinner and opt for hors d’oeuvres and Champagne instead, or you may feel obligated to feed your guests something in advance.
3. Your guests will need earlier notification so they can take a day off from work if necessary. Send out a “save the date” card about six months before the wedding.
4. If a Friday wedding means your guests will be available through the weekend you’ll want to suggest things for them to do.
Clarke is wowing her guests with tickets to a Chicago Bears/New York Jets football game.
The Newest Wedding Day
As Friday weddings are catching on, they’re not the bargain they once were, according to Sharon Naylor.
You may save more money scheduling a Thursday evening celebration instead.
“More people are having Thursday weddings. It suits people who want three-day weekends,” says Jewel Clarke.
and
