The When

We've talked about the what (We're getting married!), the who (Umm... me of course! And the boy too!), the where (Houmas House!), and the how is a work in progress. But that leaves us with the when.

First knowing I was going to ask people to go halfway across the country for this wedding I wanted it to be on a holiday weekend. Yes, it has some drawbacks (there's more people traveling, which means more expensive flights and less open hotel rooms), but I liked that if it was a 3-day weekend people would have more time to spend. Of course there's a lot of 3-day weekends in the year. We could easily do something around MLK Jr. day or Presidents Day, but I also wanted a wedding in the warmer months. Which left us with Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend.

At first we were of the mindset that 2012 was too soon and started looking at 2013. But Labor Day 2013 would mean we'd be married on the boy's sister anniversary. First I made sure this wouldn't be an issue with her or her husband. It wasn't an issue to them, which meant the day could still be considered. Except I still wanted to have my own special day.

Part of this stems from the fact our dating anniversary is on the boy's mother's birthday. Once I made this discovery I vowed that when we chose our wedding date we would make sure it was unique. But really did it matter if we shared an anniversary? It isn't like we'd be forced to celebrate together because we were celebrating the same day, and years down the line who else would really remember?

What seemed to help make the decision was in fact religion. I don't mean I prayed for the answer, but more that the Jewish religion frowns upon having a wedding on the date of something that's already there to celebrate. The thought is if you have 2 things to celebrate you need to celebrate them both. By having to things share a celebration it's almost lessening the event. Jews in general are about a good celebration, after all drinking wine is almost central to most of our holidays, so this really shouldn't come as a surprise.

So Memorial Day 2013 was out, which brought us to Labor Day 2013. Except then we'd be sharing our wedding date with the boy's best man's birthday. So basically I had to pick another holiday weekend, or look at 2014, or 2012. Except I didn't want another holiday weekend, and 2014 would mean almost a 3 year long engagement, so 2012 it was!

Except Memorial Day 2012, that's less than a year from now! I wasn't sure I was ready to plan a wedding in that amount of time. But adding on 3 extra months was the comfort factor I needed. Which means, gets ready Labor Day 2012, because that's when we're getting married!

How did you decide on your wedding date? Did you have any difficulty choosing?