weekday wedding vs. weekend

curious112 · 08-18-2009, 01:16 PM

My question really is: does it matter? I'm wondering if airfare and hotel stays are less inexpensive during the week as opposed to the weekend. I have to consider my guests; if we do have our wedding during the week, then people will have to take off more time from work but normally, isn't airfare and hotel rates more expensive on weekends? It may just end up equally the same in price, either way you look at it between taking off work mid-week and weekend prices. I guess I'm looking for opinions from brides who already planned their day and know from experience. Thanks in advance!!

Sheree10 · 08-18-2009, 01:52 PM

We are having our wedding on a Friday. This way it would work for those who will just be there for an extended weekend and those who wish to take the whole week off from work. When doing my research I did find out that a Saturday wedding has additional fees for the officiant.

ArubaLovers25 · 08-18-2009, 01:53 PM

I was looking into pricing for our guests about a month ago and our travel agent told us that it wouldn’t make a difference on room rates for weekdays vs. weekends - at least at the Divi resorts. Also, we had a better chance of getting non stop flights during the weekend then on the weekday from NY to Aruba and that nonstop flights, at least from NY from Aruba, would be the same cost if it was a weekend or weekday (if available).

We decided to have ours on a Monday for a few reasons:

- Guests have the option of arriving in on a Saturday (or even Sunday if money is tight) and could attending the wedding Monday and leave Tuesday. This way only two work days are missed. We were actually going to have it on Sunday so people would have the option of only missing one work day but the city hall in Aruba is actually closed on Sunday so that would make our wedding date different from our ceremony date (something you may want to keep in mind).

- The Saturday weddings incur extra fees (for both the civil and the beach ceremony) and since our budget is really tight, we opted to go with a weekday.

Hope this helps!

christene · 08-19-2009, 08:56 AM

Our wedding is on a Saturday but I did do a lot of research on airfare because we are paying for 13 tickets! At least with Delta it didn't seem to make a difference what day you fly in and out. I think it starts to make a difference as the dates get closer and planes start to fill, but if you're far enough out it looked like the fares were the same regardless of day. You just need to realize that the airlines (at least some) don't fly there every day. For example, we found out that Delta doesn't fly to / from Aruba on Tuesdays (at least in October), and Continental doesn't fly in / out on Wednesdays. You will likely find flights on any day but if you find them to be obscenely expensive that is why - they're putting you through other airlines. At 4 months out we were able to fly from Grand Rapids, MI or Indy for less than $500, from Detroit for just over $400 and from Newark for less than $400. Not bad at all.

I did read that you can save a lot of money by selecting a weekday (a general budget saving tip), however that was not our experience. For the hotel, we negotiated a group rate which is the same for any day. We committed to two nights and our guests can stay up to three days before and up to three days after those dates at the contracted rate. In our negotiations we didn't find any particular day or the week to cost more or less - the exception being a civil ceremony on a Saturday does incur come extra cost (is it $150?). All our catering and set-up fees were going to be exactly the same for any day. At least that is the case with the Aruba Marriott. This may be different elsewhere. (One option we had looked at was reserving Passions restaurant for our reception - our planner told us she had a reception there and they were able to reserve the whole restaurant. That was on a Tuesday though and I wouldn't be surprised if something like that was significantly higher on a Friday or Saturday.)

For us we wanted to keep it on Saturday so our guests don't have to take too much time off of work. Most are coming Thursday leaving Sunday or Monday.

Karen Lutzker · 09-16-2009, 11:50 AM

It does not matter whether the wedding is on a weekday or weekend. Airlines are always having specials and one has to keep their eyes open and book right away online for the savings once they view the discounted fare. As far as hotels. there are many ways to save, but keep in mind that rates will always be higher during the winter months. The better deals come after April 15th up until December 15th. Regarding your guests, if they know of the wedding plans very far in advance, they in some cases will be able to make arrangements with their employer to take the days off as vacation time whether the wedding takes place during the week or on a weekend.

Randi · 09-16-2009, 01:36 PM

When we price out our flights (US AIR from Philly) it is always more expensive to fly in or out of Aruba on the weekend. The fare is cheaper to fly on Thursday or Monday.

curious112 · 09-21-2009, 11:43 PM

Thank You all for your advice! Working on setting a date within the next two weeks.

Karen Lutzker · 09-22-2009, 11:08 AM

I heard that the best time to look for a lower airfare is to look on the airlines website around midnight as the airfares are adjusted one way or another during that time period.

08-18-2009, 01:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
curious112 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MooMba Beach and the Alto Vista Chapel Posts: 5	weekday wedding vs. weekend My question really is: does it matter? I'm wondering if airfare and hotel stays are less inexpensive during the week as opposed to the weekend. I have to consider my guests; if we do have our wedding during the week, then people will have to take off more time from work but normally, isn't airfare and hotel rates more expensive on weekends? It may just end up equally the same in price, either way you look at it between taking off work mid-week and weekend prices. I guess I'm looking for opinions from brides who already planned their day and know from experience. Thanks in advance!!

09-16-2009, 11:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
Karen Lutzker Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: The beaches and the sea Posts: 183	Weddings Weekdays vs weekends It does not matter whether the wedding is on a weekday or weekend. Airlines are always having specials and one has to keep their eyes open and book right away online for the savings once they view the discounted fare. As far as hotels. there are many ways to save, but keep in mind that rates will always be higher during the winter months. The better deals come after April 15th up until December 15th. Regarding your guests, if they know of the wedding plans very far in advance, they in some cases will be able to make arrangements with their employer to take the days off as vacation time whether the wedding takes place during the week or on a weekend. __________________ http://www.cayenaweddingsandevents.com Aruba's First Destination Wedding Planner

09-16-2009, 01:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
Randi Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,044 Images: 9	When we price out our flights (US AIR from Philly) it is always more expensive to fly in or out of Aruba on the weekend. The fare is cheaper to fly on Thursday or Monday. __________________ *Randi* *HOPING AVIS IS TRUE TO ITS WORD! SEE POSTINGS!* http://www.aruba.com/forum/f38/avis-deals-read-own-risk-if-sounds-too-good-true-38383/index6.html http://www.aruba.com/forum/f38/who-has-received-avis-rental-car-special-39053/#post141559 Next Aruba trip in

09-22-2009, 11:08 AM	#8 (permalink)
Karen Lutzker Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: The beaches and the sea Posts: 183	Weekend vs Weekday I heard that the best time to look for a lower airfare is to look on the airlines website around midnight as the airfares are adjusted one way or another during that time period. __________________ http://www.cayenaweddingsandevents.com Aruba's First Destination Wedding Planner

08-18-2009, 01:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Sheree10 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 24	We are having our wedding on a Friday. This way it would work for those who will just be there for an extended weekend and those who wish to take the whole week off from work. When doing my research I did find out that a Saturday wedding has additional fees for the officiant.

08-18-2009, 01:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
ArubaLovers25 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12	I was looking into pricing for our guests about a month ago and our travel agent told us that it wouldn’t make a difference on room rates for weekdays vs. weekends - at least at the Divi resorts. Also, we had a better chance of getting non stop flights during the weekend then on the weekday from NY to Aruba and that nonstop flights, at least from NY from Aruba, would be the same cost if it was a weekend or weekday (if available). We decided to have ours on a Monday for a few reasons: - Guests have the option of arriving in on a Saturday (or even Sunday if money is tight) and could attending the wedding Monday and leave Tuesday. This way only two work days are missed. We were actually going to have it on Sunday so people would have the option of only missing one work day but the city hall in Aruba is actually closed on Sunday so that would make our wedding date different from our ceremony date (something you may want to keep in mind). - The Saturday weddings incur extra fees (for both the civil and the beach ceremony) and since our budget is really tight, we opted to go with a weekday. Hope this helps!

08-19-2009, 08:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
christene Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 126 Images: 18	Our wedding is on a Saturday but I did do a lot of research on airfare because we are paying for 13 tickets! At least with Delta it didn't seem to make a difference what day you fly in and out. I think it starts to make a difference as the dates get closer and planes start to fill, but if you're far enough out it looked like the fares were the same regardless of day. You just need to realize that the airlines (at least some) don't fly there every day. For example, we found out that Delta doesn't fly to / from Aruba on Tuesdays (at least in October), and Continental doesn't fly in / out on Wednesdays. You will likely find flights on any day but if you find them to be obscenely expensive that is why - they're putting you through other airlines. At 4 months out we were able to fly from Grand Rapids, MI or Indy for less than $500, from Detroit for just over $400 and from Newark for less than $400. Not bad at all. I did read that you can save a lot of money by selecting a weekday (a general budget saving tip), however that was not our experience. For the hotel, we negotiated a group rate which is the same for any day. We committed to two nights and our guests can stay up to three days before and up to three days after those dates at the contracted rate. In our negotiations we didn't find any particular day or the week to cost more or less - the exception being a civil ceremony on a Saturday does incur come extra cost (is it $150?). All our catering and set-up fees were going to be exactly the same for any day. At least that is the case with the Aruba Marriott. This may be different elsewhere. (One option we had looked at was reserving Passions restaurant for our reception - our planner told us she had a reception there and they were able to reserve the whole restaurant. That was on a Tuesday though and I wouldn't be surprised if something like that was significantly higher on a Friday or Saturday.) For us we wanted to keep it on Saturday so our guests don't have to take too much time off of work. Most are coming Thursday leaving Sunday or Monday.

09-21-2009, 11:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
curious112 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MooMba Beach and the Alto Vista Chapel Posts: 5	Thank You all for your advice! Working on setting a date within the next two weeks.