Winter wedding: seven reasons to get married between November and March

1. You choose the date, not the other way round

In summer the wedding follows the venue’s calendar: you ask for your preferred date and get back a list of the Saturdays still open. In winter it is usually the reverse. The date that means something – the day you met, grandma’s birthday – is far more likely to be available.

The same goes for everyone else you book. In summer you take the photographer who still has time; in winter you can take the one whose pictures you like best.

2. Your guests have time

Between June and August every wedding competes with summer holidays, other weddings among your friends, graduations and town festivals. Anyone with three invitations for the same July turns at least one down.

In January or February the calendar is empty. Replies come back faster, and fewer of the people you really want there are missing.

3. No weather plan B

A summer wedding hangs on the forecast until the day before: ceremony in the garden or inside after all, drinks on the lawn or under the canopy. In winter that question is settled from the start. Everything happens indoors, and you plan it that way – with a running order nobody has to rip up on the day.

Snow then stops being a risk and becomes a gift. Ten minutes outside for the photos is enough, and nobody else has pictures like them.

4. The atmosphere arrives earlier

In late December the sun sets in Ostwestfalen at around four in the afternoon. What happens at half past nine in summer – the room goes dark and candles and lighting take over – is already there by dinner in winter.

For the party this means nobody is still standing on the terrace in daylight when the first dance starts. All the guests are in the room, and the dance floor fills as soon as the music gets louder.

5. The venue at its cosiest

A festival barn strung with fairy lights, a manor house with an open fire, a hall with the darkness pressing against the windows: many venues feel warmer in winter than on any summer evening. That takes less decoration, not more – candles, fir branches and warm light carry the room almost on their own.

6. The budget often goes further

Many suppliers have more flexibility outside the main season, and some venues price winter differently from summer. It is worth asking explicitly about off-season dates when you enquire and putting the quotes side by side.

Whatever that frees up can go where you will see it on the night: the food, the lighting or an extra hour on the dance floor.

7. Food and drink that suit the season

A winter menu with a slow-cooked stew, game or pumpkin is exactly what guests want after coming in from the cold. Add mulled wine or hot apple punch at the reception and a soup as a midnight snack, and people remember it because it belongs to the day.

Which winter month suits you best

Not every winter month is the same. They differ in how easily you get your date and what else is in your guests’ calendars.

• ◆November – still mild, the hall is often free, and the afternoon light is ideal for photos
• ◆Saturdays in Advent – festive, but the most requested dates of the winter: company Christmas parties take up halls, caterers and DJs. Enquire early
• ◆Between Christmas and New Year – many guests are off work but travelling to family. Let them know early
• ◆January and February – the quietest months, the most free Saturdays, and with a bit of luck there is snow
• ◆March – the days are getting longer, and you marry before the season rush

If you marry in Advent, decide whether you want Christmas songs or would rather leave them out. Either is fine – but it belongs in the planning call with your DJ, not in the moment “Last Christmas” starts playing.