When I say “when?”, I mean the time of day or season. This is not a marriage guidance column. Let’s get that straight from the outset.
And we’re not talking about religious weddings that won’t take place on a Sunday, if Christian, or a Saturday, if Jewish. And so on.
Register Office
To marry at a Register Office, you need to make an appointment and go down (with two witnesses) on a working day.
By arrangement, the registrars will come out to certain venues, provided certain criteria are met and extra fees are paid. This will often include weekends.
Such weddings have to take place between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
At the time of writing, however, registrars may not be coming out.
Alternative Ceremonies
You can hold any other ceremony when you want (within reason). Obviously, you have to respect opening times and conditions of any venue you use. You might book a hotel, castle or stone circle.
Avoid High Season
Public holidays are an expensive time to arrange your event. Staff have to be paid extra. You also have to consider that certain times may be difficult for your guests.
Theoretically, you could marry on Christmas Day, but remember that guests might want to spend such a day with their family. Moreover, public transport would be minimal, at best, and costs would escalate, as staff would be paid overtime rates or be difficult to source.
Bear in mind that summers are always popular with people booking holidays, so get your invitations in quick! Summers don’t guarantee good weather, but the chances are reasonable that your big day will be sunny. Summer is therefore a popular time to book weddings, and prices tend to reflect that!
You can sometimes wangle a reduction, if you hold the event in the morning or afternoon.
Another expensive date is Valentine’s Day.
Finally, Fridays and, especially, Saturdays are likely to be most expensive (most popular, again). Remember, though, that if you book another, cheaper day, and it’s a destination wedding, it culd force people to take a long time off work.
Summing up
You may need to do your due diligence, but there is quite a lot of flexibility, when it comes to choosing when you marry.
Take the above remarks into consideration. But, most important, remember that it is your big day, so your wishes are paramount.