Over Thanksgiving weekend I was talking with my friend Sara about how we met our husbands/when we got engaged/etc.  Turns out like many brides, we became engaged during what many people refer to as “engagement season” – roughly the period from Thanksgiving until March.  We both agreed that since wedding planning typically takes a year give or take a few months that this was not ideal for the warm weather wedding we had always envisioned.  That got me to thinking – why not a holiday wedding?  There are many good points about having a holiday wedding, many that can save you $$!  Here are a few that came to mind:

- Most churches are already decorated for Christmas saving you $$ on ceremony decoration.

- Since winter is the slow season, you have more negotiating power.

- Winter is also a slow season for travel so you’ll save $$ on the honeymoon too!

- Take advantage of fact that it gets dark early by having an early wedding with a breakfast or brunch reception – this will save money on food and guarantee you get lots of daytime photos.

- This one won’t save you money, but how cool would it be if it snowed on your wedding day??  Gorgeous!!

- If you need more ideas on how a holiday wedding can be gorgeous, check out this post from Ashley of Ashley’s bride guide.

One note I will add for anyone considering a winter wedding – if you love natural light images and are having an evening ceremony, do a first look!  There are lots of things that can be done as far as artificial lighting, but nothing can replace the sun.

All that said, I’ll leave you tonight with a sneak from the wedding of Anna and Mike from this past weekend.  More to come from their intimate gathering later this week