While Saturday has long been the default option for holding a wedding, its tiara is slipping. According to reports by planning app Bridebook, Saturday weddings are decreasing in popularity. In 2023, fewer than half of all weddings took place on a Saturday for the first time ever, and in 2024, this fell even further to just 48%.
A weekday wedding is one that’s held from Monday to Thursday, though some venues classify Friday as a weekday too. Weekday weddings started getting more popular after covid, when there was a real scramble to fit in a backlog of weddings once restrictions had lifted, but it seems like they’re now here to stay: Bridebook reported that in 2024, Thursdays were the third most popular day of the week to get married.
So what are the reasons to choose a weekday wedding? We’ve outlined five of them below, as well as some tips to help you if you decide to opt for this type of celebration.
The first and most obvious reason to choose a weekday wedding is that it’s usually a lot cheaper. The savings can be significant, too – Bridebook found that couples who marry on a Tuesday or a Wednesday can save up to a fifth on average wedding costs.
Many venues charge more for a weekend wedding compared with a weekday one, as there’s a higher demand for a weekend date and naturally limited availability. Opting for Monday to Thursday can therefore really help stretch your budget.
Some suppliers also offer a discount for weekday weddings, which will help your budget stretch even further.
It might be that you’ve found an amazing venue that ticks all your boxes – but there’s a minimum number of guests for a weekend wedding that you either can’t match or that pushes your budget too far. Choosing a weekday instead could let you keep your smaller guest list while allowing you to marry in your dream venue.
This also applies if you’d love to get married during the more expensive wedding season (usually April to October). You may not be able to stretch to a summer weekend wedding, but could afford a weekday instead. Or it may be that your dream wedding venue is completely booked up for weekend weddings, but has availability during the week.
Another great advantage of opting for a weekday wedding is that your favourite suppliers are more likely to be available. This not only applies to vendors such as your photographer, florist and entertainment, but also your registrar or celebrant – they’re much more likely to have availability on a weekday compared with busy Saturdays. As registrars can often perform several ceremonies in one day during the weekend, this means less flexibility on the time of day they’re available. Opting for a less popular weekday wedding, however, automatically gives you more choice.
Another advantage when booking suppliers for a weekday wedding is that they’ll have more energy to devote to your celebration. Having a weekend celebration means your suppliers will likely have had back-to-back bookings for the previous couple of days, and may be feeling quite tired and stretched. A Tuesday or Wednesday wedding, however, means they’ll have much more energy!
We’ve all been there – we’ve accepted an invitation for a wedding or special event, only to then have another one turn up a few weeks later. Clashes for Saturday celebrations are much more likely, whereas opting for a weekday wedding will automatically have less competition.
There’s no denying that a weekday wedding can be slightly trickier for guests. This is both in terms of arranging time off work and sorting out childcare arrangements, whether that’s booking time off school if they’re invited or organising childcare if they’re not.
However, what guests will gain is cheaper travel and accommodation, which should hopefully balance out any inconvenience. You could also consider putting any savings you make for choosing a weekday wedding towards guest accommodation, to make it even easier for your loved ones to join you.
A weekday wedding will likely need more logistics and planning from your guests, so don’t spring it on them as a last-minute invitation. The longer you give them, the more likely they are to accept.
A weekday wedding means guests are less likely to be able to travel down the night before. To facilitate this, consider starting the celebrations later in the day in order to give your guests more time to get to the venue.
If you do have a slightly shorter wedding day timeline, consider moving the traditional order of events. For example, you could have your couples’ photos before the ceremony, so you then have more time to spend with your loved ones after your vows.
This applies to a wedding hosted on any day, but is possibly more relevant for a weekday one. Your decision to marry on a weekday will mean some people can’t make it, for work or childcare reasons. If you anticipate this in advance, you won’t be offended when the inevitable ‘nos’ do come in from some guests. Plus, the people who are closest to you will always make sure they’ll be there, no matter what day of the week you hold your wedding.
We welcome weddings on any day of the week, and would love to meet you and hear about your plans. Please contact us to book a free tour of the venue with our friendly events team.
