The 4 Best Months to get Married in Australia

Why it is Important to Know the 4 Best Months to get Married in Australia

Australia is a land of many seasons. If you live here, or have visited before you would surely know that. Not only does it get extremely hot, but it can get bitterly cold as well. As our climate continues to change, weather patterns (if you want to call them that) are becoming less and less predictable.

So what does this mean for your wedding? How does this information help (or hinder) your planning? What exactly are the best months to get married in Australia? Let’s have a look at the best seasons to get married in first, and then break it down to individual months.

The Best Seasons to get Married in Australia

Most people when planning a wedding, don’t jump straight to the month they want to get married, rather the season. This will give them the vibe they want, do they want a winter wedding, or a beach wedding? What kind of theme are you going for? How much are you willing to spend on your venue? All of this will influence what season you wish to get married in. So let’s look at the pros and cons of each season.

Summer

This is going to surprise a lot of people (mainly those who don’t work in the wedding industry), but this is my least favourite season for weddings by a long shot. Weird, right? It’s most peoples favourite season in general, so why are summer weddings so low in the rankings? There are a multitude of reasons, but despite knowing them, people still flock to summer weddings, only to complain endlessly on the day. Don’t make the same mistake.

Benefits of getting married in Summer

  • It’s not cold, so no one will be uncomfortable on that front
  • People in Australia usually love summer, so it has a nice nostalgic Australian feel to it
  • Evenings are nice and warm so outdoor receptions are more comfortable

Downsides of getting married in Summer

  • It can, and often does get far too hot for anyone to be comfortable
  • It is, with no good reason, the most popular time of year to get married, so availability will be low and prices will be higher.
  • If getting married outside, your ceremony will be in blasting sunlight and direct heat. Your portraits atferwards will also suffer from similar consequences, meaning you will probably need to do a second portrait round mid reception when the sun is setting to ensure you get some amazing photos, thus losing time with your guests.
  • Drinking can turn more dangerous. In my experience, summer weddings see wedding party members get drunk much faster, and often to the point of passing out, simply because it is so hot and they are so thirsty. No one wants this. This also applies to guests who often have to sit outside, or in hot venues waiting for your portraits etc to be done.
  • Your Hair and Makeup will likely not last. This isn’t your teams fault, it’s your bodies need to sweat profusely to keep you cool. So I would recommend having your team stay around until after your ceremony to touch you up. Yes it will cost you, but this is just another cost of a summer wedding in Australia.
  • For those wearing suits, ditch the jackets. Summer is not a time to layer up. Also, bring a spare shirt, because you will, without fail get sweat stains all over the one you are wearing during the ceremony (and you do not want that in your portraits).
  • Flowers will wilt and die much faster, they sometimes won’t even make it through the ceremony in hot 40c or above days.
  • In Australia, summer is actually the most volatile season for weather patterns. So your highest chance of getting a rainy wedding or a thunderstorm is in Summer. Most people assume winter rains the most, but that is incorrect.

Autumn

Ahhhh Autumn, thank you for being you. Easily in the top half of the best seasons, Autumn, like Spring, should provide you with the benefits you want from summer (but won’t get by booking in Summer), and help you avoid the downsides of summer (that you didn’t know you would get). So let’s see why Autumn is a great season to get married in Australia.

Benefits of getting married in Autumn

  • Milder weather, it’s not cold, it’s not hot, it’s just right.
  • More predictable weather patterns so planning for good weather should be easier.
  • Not the least popular season, but usually has pretty good availability, meaning you don’t have to plan 2-3 years in advance.
  • No matter what your guests want to wear, they should be comfortable.
  • Hair and Makeup will hold all day.
  • Sunset timing is still pretty damn good, meaning your ceremony should get nice light, and after for your portraits should be similar. This also means you shouldn’t have to step outside during your reception for sunset photos.

Downsides of getting married in Autumn

  • It can fluctuate. You may be unlucky and get a 40c day or a 10c day. It is less likely but still a possibility.
  • More popular than winter, and with load of public holidays scattered, may mean your guests have other plans.

Winter

Easily, hands down the least popular season to get married in. Sure, in other colder countries it is super popular (like Iceland, New Zealand, Europe etc), but in Australia, the country known for summer, people avoid winter weddings like the plague. But is there good reason for this (spoiler alert…no, there is not)? Do winter weddings suck, or are they a hidden goldmine waiting to be tapped? Let’s check out why winter weddings are much better than you thought.

Benefits of getting married in Winter

  • It is the least popular season, so availability will be high, and often places and vendors may offer a lower price in non peak season.
  • Your ceremony (if outdoors) will be much more comfortable in winter, and the sun will be lower in the sky meaning you have more flattering light. Your portraits will also be perfect as sunset should align with the end of your ceremony. Perfect lighting!
  • Those wearing suits, you won’t need to have spare clothes to change into as you will be unlikely to sweat through them. And for those wearing makeup, you shouldn’t have an issue with the makeup and hair holding all day long.
  • You won’t be interrupted during your reception to go outside to get some nice photos at sunset, once you arrive at your reception, the night is yours.
  • Winter, actually has the lowest average rainfall so planning for good weather is much easier.
  • Drinking in winter is less dangerous, as people are not drinking to hydrate unlike summer.

Downsides of getting married in Winter

  • It can get quite cold, some guests and people are not ‘cold people’ so this may not work.
  • Night time will see temps drop, so outdoors receptions or mingling outdoors will be uncomfortably cold for some people.
  • Your floral options will be lessened due to them not being in season.
  • Brides may need to invest in a jacket or a throw to keep them warm during portraits.

Spring

Similar to Autumn, and for real, probably my favourite season for weddings, Spring is almost like the inverse of summer, a really long list of amazing benefits, and a super short list of downsides, so let’s dive in and check out why spring is probably the best season to get married in Australia.

Benefits of getting married in Spring

  • Milder weather, it’s not cold, it’s not hot, it’s just right.
  • More predictable weather patterns so planning for good weather should be easier.
  • Not the least popular season, but usually has pretty good availability, meaning you don’t have to plan 2-3 years in advance.
  • No matter what your guests want to wear, they should be comfortable.
  • Hair and Makeup will hold all day.
  • Sunset timing is still pretty damn good, meaning your ceremony should get nice light, and after for your portraits should be similar. This also means you shouldn’t have to step outside during your reception for sunset photos.
  • Spring is a well known time for the beginning of new things and new life. There is a positive association with this time of year that getting married will be more successful. Again, this has no basis in fact, but it’s one of those superstitious kind of things that I hear from people time and time again.

Downsides of getting married in Spring

  • Incredibly popular time of year to get married, so availability will be low. You won’t find any discounts here, even for midweek weddings.
  • The temperatures can range, and often can get quite hot, so do be prepared for that possibility.

So what are the 4 best months to get married in Australia?

On the basis of the seasons above, it will come as no surprise to find the top 4 months belong to Autumn, Spring and Winter. Scroll further down the list to find the bottom 3 months all belong to Summer. Now remember, this is based off my professional and personal experiences working with couples at weddings, and being a guest myself. So based off the information above the top 4 months to get married are:

April

My absolute favourite month, and the month I chose to get married. It has a pretty consistently nice temperature, low rainfall, and is overall pretty comfortable for guests and party alike. Availability may be a bit more difficult but it is worth the additional planning to get in on what I consider the best month to get married in Australia. |

March

The only reason this rings in a spot lower than April is that it is 1 month closer to summer, and as such 1 month hotter and more volatile. Again, it is usually pretty amazing, however on average it will be warmer than April, so if you are leaning towards a cooler climate, go to April.

September

I like to think of September as the April of Spring. It has almost all the benefits of April, it’s far enough away from summer to not be overly hot, but far enough away from winter to not be cold. Availability in September is almost always bad, so do not wait on this month and get in early or go for a midweek date.

May

So close to Winter! But May has a charm about it. It’s nice to get rugged up at night, sit around a fire, drink a nice glass of red wine. The days will still be nice, they will not be hot, but may be kind of warm in the sun, but the nights will get chilly, and that’s the magic. Dance the night away with a glass of wine to warm yourself up…how much better can it get?

Why is summer such a bad season to get married in Australia

To keep it simple, it is too hot. The weather is too volatile and often result sin huge storms and rain periods. Availability is terrible, because everyone wants to get married in Summer (why, I don’t know). I would recommend against it.

When is the best time to get married in Australia

I would highly recommend Spring or Autumn. These months offer a balance of the best aspects of summer (warmth, passion, excitement) and winter (cooler temps, more romantic and intimate). If you want specific months, go with April or September!

What is the least popular month to get married in Australia?

Hands down it would have to be January of February. Both are often ridiculously hot (I have shot weddings inn excess of 46c) and can have extreme weather events such as bushfires (2019/2020) or torrential storms, neither of which you want on your day. December is better, but again, it’s only the best of the summer months, it still ranks in my bottom 3 months overall.

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