ADVICE TIME - Setting the date...

How to Choose Your Wedding Date

Picking the perfect date for your wedding is an important decision that the couple should discuss and agree on together. It will be a date that you will celebrate on your wedding anniversary for years to come.

It might not seem important when you first decide to get married but you may run into problems when you finally discuss the matter with your partner as things do crop up and you need to work round a number of factors, including, for example:

Are you and your partner able to take the appropriate time off work? It might be worth looking at future holidays booked by colleagues so your time off doesn't coincide and cause problems.

Sporting widows should remember that the FA Cup Final is an important date to your fiancé and he won't want to miss it, therefore, keep an eye out for the important sporting events.

Are you pregnant? If you are pregnant, do you choose a date before or after the baby is born? If you decide to pick a date which is before baby comes along, take into consideration that your dress may need to be altered a few times more than expected.

If you fancy an outdoor wedding it is important to consider the seasons, no one wants to be wearing a sleeveless dress while it is snowing outside. Goosebumps on photographs are not a good look. Likewise, wearing a fur covered shawl on a hot summers day might not be appropriate either.

Men are renowned for forgetting their wedding anniversary so take this into consideration and maybe pick a date that you know he will remember.

Can the caterers and venue fit you into their schedule?

Do your family and friends already have commitments on that date?

Have you discussed how long you want your engagement to be?

Have you left enough time to organise everything and save some money?

Is the church free?

Is the date you like near or on a special occasion already, i.e. a loved ones birthday? For sentimental reasons, choose a date that means something to the both of you, the day you met for example or the day you moved in together.

Will your honeymoon costs work out more expensive as the date is during school holidays?

Will your wedding date be too close to a family member's or one of your close friends?

Good luck and if you can, dont get too distracted by the above. Its only a date at the end of the day so key an eye on why your doing this.