She said yes! The next question is, “When’s the big day?”

When it comes to picking the date for a wedding, many factors could be considered. Some choices might include:

• The anniversary date of when the couple met
• The parents or grandparents wedding date (a great way to honor their marriage)
• Date when the desired reception site is available
• The least expensive night (anything but Saturday)
• The least expensive month (January, March, and December are usually open.)
• On or near a favorite holiday (A Fourth of July early afternoon celebration allows for a full day of festivities.)
• In a preferred season (Chance of snow? Will the cake melt?)
• When the families will be available to come
• A date pulled from a hat (for the very indecisive)

Sometimes a date is just obvious. July 7, 2007 was the pick of a record number of couples — who can forget that anniversary? Those couples who considered seven to be a lucky number found themselves in Las Vegas, hoping to increase their chances of a long-lasting marriage. Others who regarded seven significant due to religious or cultural beliefs (seven days of creation, Seven Wonders of the ancient world, seven deadly sins, seven last words of Christ, Seven Seas, seven levels of heaven, 007, etc.) found the date to be a good choice for their wedding also — and even more so since it fell on a Saturday.

In selecting a date, couples should consider avoiding Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend since many families use those particular three-day weekends for family holidays. A Super Bowl Sunday date would probably find many men feeling a headache come on, preventing their attendance at a non-family member’s nuptials. September 11, April Fool’s Day, and Halloween, as well as cultural or religious holidays celebrated by family members, could also be risky dates to attempt a gathering.

Of course, if the marriage date is limited to only a few attendees, any date goes. However, if a date is selected for a memorable reason, it might be interesting to include that information in the program to give the guests a glimpse into a bit more personal side of the couple.

A wedding day is obviously more than a date — it’s a whole day of celebration. However, anything to make that day even more memorable will make the anniversary date easy to remember — and both husband and wife will win with that. (Hint: 11/12/13 is a Tuesday — if the day of the week doesn’t matter.)