Wedding Date Considerations for 2023 – 2025

Wouldn’t you know the most heated social media wedding group discussions stem from a single question? “How do I choose my wedding date?” Every vendor, bride, groom, brooms, former couples and their mothers have an opinion on how to do this. Don’t worry, they’ll make sure you know it too.

“Don’t forget to contact your mother’s uncle’s third wife twice removed to check their schedule”.

We got married on a Wednesday in October, but the exact date was super important to us. We knew our chosen date would cut down on the number of people who were able to attend, but we weren’t concerned. We knew the people who wanted to be there would show up, holiday or otherwise.

First things first: Contact your preferred venues

Here in the PNW a lot of venues book 12-24 months in advance. When we were searching, venue selections were already limited at 13 months out due to various reasons. If you’re dead set on a specific date, that can hinder your results, so checking with venues prior to choosing a date is extremely helpful.

From there, you can narrow down the venue selection and pick your wedding date based on their availability. Sequential dates and similar date patterns (Past examples: 9/10/11, 10/10/20, 12/12/12, 2/2/22, etc.) all tended to be extremely popular, probably because they’re easy to remember. Upcoming dates that will likely fall in this category are: 2/3/23 (friday), 3/3/23 (friday), 7/23/23, 9/23/23, 12/23/23, 2/4/24, 2/24/24, 8/24/24, and so on.

One other thing to keep in mind is where your wedding date falls around holidays. For instance, Labor Day in September can be a time where people use a lot of their saved vacay days, so if they would need to travel for your wedding (and they’re EXTREMELY important to you) you might consider avoiding the following weekends as well, to give them recoup time from traveling. Hospitality and travel those weekends is also likely to be more expensive. Same goes for Memorial Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Best Wedding Date by Month (2023, 2024 + 2025)

January

January weddings can really bring the heat, regardless of the fact it’s usually one of the coldest months in the Pacific Northwest. However, you can run into a few problems when picking a January date. Early January is too close to Christmas, while late January runs into wedding show season*. I like mid-January best to avoid both issues. The best Saturdays would be: January 21st (2023), 20th (2024), and 18th (2025).

*Heads up: The Seattle Wedding Show is January 28th + 29th, 2023.*

February

While February falls dead center of wedding show season, it’s a GREAT month to get married. It’s still cool, which makes choosing an indoor venue (or at least one with an indoor option and outdoor heaters) is a must. There aren’t a ton of wedding shows or open houses happening. You can usually miss these by getting married close to the beginning of the month. You’ll find a few super popular dates (2/3/23, 2/4/24, 2/5/25) in the next couple years and if one of those catches your eye, snag it asap.

March

Much like February, March is a great month for weddings. It tends to be wet and rainy, so plan for rain boots under your dress (and getting it dirty) or booking an indoor option. This is the month I recommend for any couple who wants to elope in the snow, as it’s easier to navigate the roads while still having enough snow to make everyone happy. Pretty much every March Saturday is great, though I’m partial to 3/23/24 for the repetitive numbers.

April

I’m an April birthday so I’m biased and think all the weekends in April are amazing. While we start to get some sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest around this time, it’s still most likely going to rain. Grab those umbrellas (and snag custom ones for your wedding party!) and let’s go play in the rain! The best April dates are 4/22/23, 4/20/24, and 4/5/25.

May

May is the beginning of prime wedding season in the Pacific Northwest. It’s also typically the month of the Kitsap Wedding Tour and the one with the most open houses. In 2022, we attended an open house almost every weekend in various parts of Western Washington. That said, these open houses tend to run on Sundays, leaving Saturdays open for weddings. Best dates? 5/5/23 (a friday!), 5/24/24 and 5/24/25.

June, July + August

These months are prime wedding season and tend to book up the fastest, especially when dates fall in the numerically popular category. The Snohomish Wedding Tour is also typically the beginning of June, so keep that in mind if you’re looking for a specific Snohomish venue. Over the next three years, there are some really fun dates including: 6/3/23, 7/22/23, 7/27/24, 8/24/24, and 7/25/25 (Friday).

September

Another holiday month it’s my personal opinion on September is to choose the later weekends. This is also the time where wedding season mostly winds down for vendors. You may run into a few open houses though they’ll be rare at this time. September weather tends to lean towards perfection, with warm days leading into cooler nights. A few awesome dates in September: 9/23/23, 9/21/24, and 9/20/25.

October, November + December

Late fall into early winter means shorter days and longer nights. When you’re looking at weddings during these months, keep in mind that you’ll most likely want an indoor option and it needs to have good lighting. Overhead florescent bulbs are not flattering for ANYONE. Key dates these months: 11/11/23, 12/23/23, 10/12/24, 12/21/24, 10/25/25, and 11/22/25.

The coming years will bring some popular dates. However, it all boils down to what it means to you. Check out this post for other things to consider when choosing a wedding date!