When Betsy and Gabriel Martinez planned their wedding for April 23, 2023, at the Cordelle, an event space in Nashville, they envisioned an enchanted outdoor garden — with plenty of daylight.
“We really wanted to be able to enjoy being outdoors in the spring,” said Ms. Martinez, 31, a nonprofit community outreach manager. “And then to have the rest of the night to decompress,” added Mr. Martinez, 30, who works in youth ministry.
The couple wed on a Sunday afternoon and hosted a rehearsal brunch the day before in lieu of a rehearsal dinner, which gave them more time with their guests, they said. “It doesn’t feel exhausting,” Mr. Martinez said. “Everyone can get well rested.”
Daytime weddings and wedding-related events tend to be more casual and intimate and, in some cases, less expensive and easier to book than those held at night. Evening celebrations still remain popular, but some wedding industry experts are noticing a steady shift to daytime affairs.
“It’s going to impact how we do weddings, event planning and how vendors are booked,” said Meghan Ely, the owner of OFD Consulting, a public relations agency based in Richmond, Va., that focuses on the wedding industry. She also runs a global collective of more than 150 wedding professionals.
Ms. Ely sees this early timeline preference more often for weddings that are part of weekend-long events. “Couples don’t necessarily want to go until midnight or 1 a.m. and still have to show up to say goodbye at brunch the next morning,” she said. “They’re going to want to pace themselves.”
The event planner for the Martinezes, Penny Haas, said she recently put together a handful of weddings that all started in the afternoon and wrapped up by sundown with no after-parties.
“The daytime events seem to be a little more relaxed,” Ms. Haas said. “And then a lot of them have been more dry weddings.”
Having to deal with intoxicated guests is more likely to be a stressor at weddings that end late, said Ms. Ely, who has also worked in wedding venues as a catering sales manager. “Weddings that don’t continue on and on are going to have less consumption of alcohol — that leads to fewer problems,” she said.
Some guests may be disappointed, but they can always choose to keep things going at local bars, Ms. Ely added.
Evin Wald, a lead planner and operations manager at Laki Events and Design in Scottsdale, Ariz., believes that guests tend to have a better experience when the festivities are not dragged out. A condensed timeline, in which everything is in constant flow, seems to work well, she said.
“You’ll have a dance floor full when you end at 10 p.m. versus midnight,” she added.
Guests are also more likely to stay the whole time, Ms. Wald said, instead of leaving in a typical exodus after cake-cutting, when older guests and parents who need to relieve babysitters often depart. “They stay around conversing and having a good time,” she said.
Also, parents of young children and out-of-town guests can hit the road earlier instead of driving late at night or paying for hotel rooms.
After their 2 p.m. wedding ceremony, the Martinezes had a cafecito, or afternoon coffee hour in Puerto Rican cultures, a nod to the groom’s heritage. Their 140 guests, who mingled in the courtyard, also enjoyed lawn games, dominoes and a live band. “Kind of like a Dave-Matthews-jam-band-type vibe,” Mr. Martinez said.
The couple also offered guests macaroni and cheese and mofongo bars, each with many toppings. Since the party took place in the spring during daytime hours, the couple was grateful they didn’t have to spend money on a tent, outdoor lighting and heaters, not to mention a formal sit-down dinner.
Their official exit was at 6:30 p.m., before sunset. Guests were given streamer balls to throw at them, releasing what looked like silly string. Besides being a memorable experience, the photos turned out well because there was still daylight, Ms. Martinez said.
Ten minutes after their send-off, the newlyweds checked into their hotel room. “We got to eat our own mofongo” and reflect on the day by ourselves, Ms. Martinez said.
Jamie Faye Killin, a publicist, and her fiancé, Benji Phillis, 32, an e-commerce manager, of Scottsdale, want their wedding on Oct. 5 to conclude no later than 10 p.m.
“I feel like I will be toast by 9 p.m.,” Ms. Killin, 31, said. “By 10 p.m., I will be more than ready for the party to be over.” (That is also the time when many municipal outdoor noise ordinances go into effect.)
Ms. Killin said that her bachelorette party in San Diego during Labor Day weekend would have early curfews as well. She and her friends are looking forward to activities like a Japanese teppanyaki dinner on the beach, game night, a boat cruise and a picnic. The itinerary wraps up nightly by around 9 p.m.
“We’ve had the late nights, we’ve been to the clubs, the strip clubs,” she said, referring to previous bachelorette parties that she has attended with her friends. “There is a sentiment of ‘please don’t make me go through that again.’”
Since hosting an all-outdoor wedding was a priority, the couple booked Adero Scottsdale Resort, where the grassy events terrace overlooks the Sonoran Desert and McDowell Mountains. To save money, they have also decided to forgo an after-party, and will make sure their reception ends on time.
“Most hotel contracts allow you a four-hour bar; it comes in your package,” said Ms. Wald, who is the planner for Ms. Killin and Mr. Phillis. “Any hour after that, you’re going to be paying per person per hour additional.”
Ms. Killin and Mr. Phillis, who are typically in bed before 10 p.m. every night, said their wedding timeline felt authentic to their personalities. “We want it to feel like a big dinner party outside with all the people we love,” Ms. Killin said.
The early schedule for their wedding weekend means “both of us can be our best selves during it and not feel like we’re run ragged,” she said, “or trying to be night people when we’re not.”
