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.”
