Ready to set your wedding date? Then here are some useful tips, and first a couple of facts for you!
Christmas is the most popular time to get engaged and that’s official! The Marriage Proposal Survey by Chillisauce spoke to over 10,000 people and found “Between the 24th December and 1st January, there are more proposals and engagements than at any other time of year”.
They also found that Valentine’s day is the other most popular day to get engaged! With a total of 36% of votes, Valentine’s day outshone any other day of the year for receiving the most amount of proposals – which proves romance is alive and kicking!
Well, we can report that our wedding enquiries at least double in January! We haven’t done any research on the reason behind the long-standing trend but we think it’s down to Christmas being over and the New Year resolutions kicking in as all those newly engaged couples start their research and get ready to set the date!
11 things to consider when setting the date:
1. Venue choice and availability
The first decision is the biggest one! Where to hold the wedding. This involves researching wedding directories, websites and visiting venues, so chicken and egg!
Deciding on the type of venue you want is certainly the start of the wedding planning process. A castle, Manor house, or something modern like a trendy restaurant- you’ve got a number of options to choose from.
You can ring around venues to see who has your chosen date or pick your venue and choose an available date while juggling points 2-10!
We recommend you come and view our beautiful Barn Wedding Venue in Berkshire, Lillibrooke Manor and Barns. Come & see for yourself and then find a few available dates that suit. We can hold the date for you for a couple of days while you check with the Church/Registrars, nearest and dearest and calendar. The earlier you visit the better the choice of dates and couples do book two years in advance!
2. Church or civil ceremony
So you have found your venue and you want to get married in a local church? You will have to check with the vicar or priest about their availability and fingers crossed their diaries will be free on your big day!
65% of couples get married onsite at Lillibrooke Manor and Barns. You are required to book the Registrar and if this is at short notice then their availability needs to be checked too. Registrars in the Maidenhead area cannot be booked more than a year in advance so we recommend setting a diary reminder to book the Registrar exactly a year in advance so that you get your chosen time of ceremony!
Lillibrooke is an exclusive hire wedding venue with indoor & outdoor options and a total of 4 licensed areas, so you’re spoilt for choice and covered whatever the weather decides to do on your day!
3. Weekday or weekend
You can marry on any day of the week and weekdays are now very popular. If Fridays and Saturdays are all booked at your favourite venue in your chosen month then be open to Sunday to Thursday dates. There may be considerable budget savings on venue hire for weekdays so well worth thinking about!
4. Season / Month
The month to marry will be partly based on when you are booking and how long you want to wait. Couples typically book a full year or two in advance. Sometimes the season is a deciding factor as wedding styles tend to change as you go through the seasons. Lillibrooke Manor is an all-season venue and our experienced events team will help you plan your day to make the most of each one!
Lillibrooke is beautiful all year round, but the grounds do tend to explode with colour during the summer months and with the gardens available to use during your wedding, it opens up options for outdoor ceremonies and quintessentially English garden drink receptions.
Winter weddings are truly magical if you’ve decided that they’re for you. Here’s some inspiration of how Lillibrooke Manor can be the perfect backdrop for as a winter wedding venue in Berkshire.
5. Work commitments of nearest and dearest
For those closest to you we’d recommend you check their availability before booking a date!
6. Special dates and anniversaries
You may have in mind a very special date that you’d love to get married on. The anniversary of your first date? Your parents wedding anniversary?
7. Memorable dates
Why not look for a date that is easy to remember! How about 20/11/20 or 20/12/20 both are available!
8. Major sporting event clashes
Don’t fancy the world cup final on your wedding day?! Check out major events. The rugby world cup 2019 was very popular during setting up of weddings! It is possible to present major events on the big screen in the Great Barn or Small Barn at Lillibrooke Manor so if you are huge sporting fans feel free to factor this in!
9. Bank Holidays
Consider booking your wedding on a bank holiday weekend and make more of your wedding weekend with family able to take time off to relax and travel.
10. Budget
All decisions will probably come back to the budget! Weekday weddings are generally cheaper than weekends, savings can be made by the month you choose, and venue hire discounts are offered by venues for remaining dates in the same year.
11. Location
Lillibrooke Manor is a stunning wedding venue in Berkshire nestled in the countryside, conveniently located just off the M40 and M4 motorways, on the mainline out of London Paddington and close to Heathrow airport, so an easy hub for all of your guests to access!
We are so excited about meeting all you newly engaged couples and not so newly engaged who are planning their weddings! We’d love to walk you around our rustic barn wedding venue, Lillibrooke Manor, and show you where you can eat, drink and be married and discuss dates and options with you! Click here to schedule your viewing with a member of the Heritage Venues Team.
