Tis the Season - Almost!

The holidays are right around the corner - a popular time for popping the question and giving an engagement ring. Many couples will be thankful this week that they have found the person they want to marry.
And then the planning begins!
This may sound at first like an impossible idea, but if you want to stretch your wedding budget, think about having your wedding in the first quarter of 2012. The same wedding - same venue, same vendors - will cost substantially less in January through March than it would if you held it in May through October. Reception sites are less expensive, hotels are less expensive off-season, and many wedding professionals lower their prices in the winter months. And planning a wedding in a short period of time can be a wonderful experience for some brides. Instead of taking on a long, all-consuming project for a year, a shorter planning time keeps you fresh, excited, and enjoying the moment. You can't agonize and second guess yourself over every decision. You can't revisit and try out every single option and interview every single vendor and get thoroughly confused - you have to keep moving forward. Our best advice is to hire a good wedding planner and then let them help you go through the checklist of everything you need and keep you on track.

Yes, snow and cold are factors (we lived through the blizzards, too!) but the winter weather in Baltimore is usually decent and doesn't affect travel. Even in February 2010, all the scheduled weddings took place in good spirits and the photographs were incredible. You can minimize weather hassles by holding the wedding events downtown, close to each other, with a good hotel very close by, and if need be, everyone moves into the hotel and no one has to drive around. Except your vendors - make sure they have SUVs.
So think about it - we talk to a lot of brides who have missed out on their first choices for place, photographer, band and others because their wedding is scheduled for one of the very popular dates in the year. January through March, chances are, you'll get everyone you want and maybe even some great deals.

Photographs by Artful Weddings by Sachs Photography