Photo by Andrew Kung
Photo by Andrew Kung
I am a wedding planner and I have a surprising amount of couples that ask me “How early in the day is too early for a wedding?”

What is your opinion?

Is there such a thing as “too early”?

Based on the weddings I've featured here on Offbeat Bride, I'm going to go for “dawn” as my answer.

Many readers will remember a sunrise wedding we featured. This wedding was remarkable for a lot of reasons, but it's worth noting that an 8:30am wedding allowed the couple to have essentially an open guestlist, thanks to knowing that only the most dedicated family would make it that early, combined with the fact that they weren't feeding everyone a sit-down dinner.

For micro-budget couples, morning weddings are an excellent option. Even if you have an open mimosa bar and nice brunch, you're just not going to spend as much as you would for an open evening bar and dinner. Not that people won't get buzzed on mimosas or bloody marys, but you're just not going to have as much drinking as you would in the evening — which also makes morning weddings a great option for couples who want an alcohol-free wedding.

I also think having a morning wedding is the quickest way reset your brain when it comes to planning the structure of the reception. Don't want to dance at your wedding? Brunch weddings make it clear you've got other things planned — treasure hunt in the park? Croquet? Good-minton?

We've featured numerous morning weddings, and even more brunch weddings. Go get inspired!

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