Your Guide to Picking the Perfect Day to Say “I do!”

When planning your wedding there are so many important questions you have to answer. Where will your wedding be held? Who will be invited to your wedding? What will your wedding colors be? And of course one of the most important questions you have to answer is “when is your wedding?” With 365 days of the year to choose from, we know it can be extremely difficult to narrow it down. This is especially for our Texas brides and grooms when we just never know what the Texas weather will bring! To help you narrow it down, we have written this blog to serve as a guide to help you select the perfect wedding date for you and your partner by first narrowing in on what season you will choose to say “I do!” We will walk you through upsides and things to be aware of for each season, ideal ceremony times, and we have included lots of picture examples of what you can expect each season to look like here at Davis and Grey Farms!

A Winter Wedding at Davis and Grey Farms (12/21-3/19)

The winter months are often known as “off-peak season” in the wedding industry. With low temperatures, rain, and even snow here in Texas, these months often get overlooked for weddings because the weather seems less than ideal. However, with proper planning and the right venue, a winter wedding can be absolutely beautiful and go off without a hitch. The most important thing to note when booking a winter wedding is to opt for a wedding venue with an indoor option that you love for both your ceremony and reception and to go into planning with this being your plan A. At Davis and Grey we have a fully enclosed and temperature controlled indoor chapel that is modern and timeless. One of our absolute favorite parts of the indoor chapel are the large windows that line the perimeter of the chapel to give you beautiful views of the property and give that feeling of being outdoors even on the coldest and hottest of days. We also have a fully enclosed reception hall and a covered cocktail patio with the option to hold your cocktail hour indoors if necessary. 

Another tip for selecting a winter weather date is to view photos of what your venue looks like during the winter months. If you aren’t touring your venues in the same season you are choosing to get married in then there is a good chance the venue will look quite a bit different on your wedding day. Since winter is often associated with brown grass and bare trees, at Davis and Grey we pride ourselves in keeping our property as beautiful as possible for our couples year round, which is why we have invested in astro turfing many of our spaces and planting a winter rye grass which helps keep our property much greener for much longer! 

If you are leaning towards a winter wedding, here are some tips regarding your ceremony time to help decide if a winter wedding is right for you! During a Texas winter, the average sunset time is 5:30pm. We recommend selecting a ceremony time that is approximately two hours prior to sunset! This would mean your ceremony would be best suited for around 3:30pm!

A Spring Wedding at Davis and Grey Farms (3/20-6/19)

We all know the saying “April showers bring May flowers” and that perfectly encapsulates the “pros and cons” of a spring wedding. The months of March, April, and May see the most rainfall in Texas but this is also when the beautiful Texas wildflowers are in bloom! The spring months fall into “peak season in the wedding industry for good reasons! The scenery is absolutely stunning BUT it can’t get that way from the help of a little rain.

For spring weddings, the majority of our couples opt to hold their ceremony in our beautiful outdoor ceremony space. Our outdoor ceremony space faces outwards to a view of an expansive Texas prairie that is scattered with wildflowers during the Spring months, giving it the most stunning pops of color. It is simple and timeless making it the perfect setting for any ceremony style. There is just not much that beats marrying your person on a sunny and 75, breezy, spring day. In the spring months our  landscaping is a vibrant shade of green and our gardens are full of freshly planted flowers.

So what if it rains? Over the years we have perfected a seamless plan for days when the Texas weather decides to be less than favorable. We track the weather meticulously for all our weddings because as we mentioned, planning and preparation is key for the most seamless wedding day! In the event that poor weather doesn’t hold off and an outdoor ceremony is no longer ideal, our team can relocate the ceremony to the indoor chapel with as little as 24 hours notice. When you book at Davis and Grey, you are reserving the entire property for your day and have full access to both ceremony sites so that weather never has to be a stressor on your big day. On rainy days we ensure that the bride is tucked away safely in the bridal room in the indoor chapel so that her hair and makeup stays intact and she is safe and dry. Our team happily welcomes guests with umbrellas and guides them to the chapel to ensure they have a comfortable experience as well. Whether the indoor chapel was your first choice or second choice for your ceremony location, the floor to ceiling windows will still give you and your guests the most perfect view of the Texas wildflowers and a beautiful and full tree line. 

When opting for a springtime wedding, here is how to select your perfect ceremony time. The average sunset time in the spring months is approximately 7:30pm. As we previously mentioned, the ideal ceremony time is two hours prior to sunset. For a spring wedding we would recommend a ceremony start time around 5:30pm.

A Summer Wedding at Davis and Grey Farms (6/20-9/21)

Like Spring, many of the Summer months fall under peak season in the wedding industry. While your wedding day may fall on a fairly hot day, you are almost guaranteed a sunny day and the summer months tend to have the lowest chances of rain here in Texas.  

In the early summer months, the colorful wild flowers have started to turn to the perfect shade of yellow and the landscape around the property remains green throughout our summer months. The tree line on our property that serves as the backdrop to both the indoor and outdoor ceremony spaces is as full and vibrant as it is in the spring months. 

While the property as a whole still remains scenic during the summer months, there are a few things to note when planning a summer wedding! With a Texas summer comes some high temperature days and while that won’t stop you from having a beautiful summer wedding, there are ways to prepare to make sure you and your guests have the best experience possible! For extreme temperatures we recommend utilizing the indoor chapel to ensure the comfortability and safety of you and your guests! As previously mentioned, the indoor chapel is fully temperature controlled and still allows for a beautiful view of the Texas prairie and tree line. For photos, there are several indoor spaces that can be used for beautiful photos if you and your partner want to avoid photos in the summer heat. With a blank black wall, chic leather couch, and stunning lighting, the groom’s suite is one of our favorite spots for photos, especially couple’s portraits. The indoor chapel is also a beautiful blank slate for portraits from the foyer, to the antique pews, to the aerial balcony, this is a great location for indoor shots! For cocktail hour, the covered patio will shade your guests to help keep them cool and we have indoor bar options as well if your cocktail hour needs to be relocated indoors. Lastly, one of our favorite features of the venue are the retractable garage doors lining both sides of the indoor reception space. Our couples love to keep these closed in the heat of the day and open them in the evening when temperatures have dropped down for an amazing indoor-outdoor feel for a reception on a warm summer night!

For our summer brides and grooms, it is important to note that the average sunset time is around 8:30pm. Your ideal ceremony times would be around 6:30pm! And don’t forget to add sunset photos during golden hour into your wedding day timeline! You won’t regret it!

A Fall Wedding at Davis and Grey Farms (9/22-12/20)

If you have started to plan your wedding then you probably have already discovered that fall dates are definitely popular for weddings and they tend to book quickly! Fall is a popular wedding season for a number of reasons and one of them being the more mild temperatures and beautiful scenery. For couples leaning towards a fall date, we do recommend booking your venue and primary vendors 12-18 months in advance!

By fall, the wildflowers of the spring and summer no longer cover the fields of the property but the changes that come with the fall season make it just as scenic. Beautiful shades of yellow and orange appear in the treeline and while maybe not as vibrant as early months, the landscaping still maintains its green well into the winter months. The plains begin to change to a softwheat coloring and it all makes for the perfect backdrop for a fall wedding. 

In the fall we see both outdoor and indoor ceremonies in similar frequency. Whether you have been dreaming of an outdoor ceremony or indoor ceremony, the fall is typically ideal for either! And as always, if inclement weather arises we are prepared to adjust as needed to ensure you have the most perfect day. 

For our fall couples, the average sunset time in fall is approximately 6:30pm. You can expect a later sunset in September at around 7:30pm, October around 6:30pm, and November around 5:30. That would mean for a September wedding your ideal ceremony time would be around 5:30pm, 4:30pm for October, and 3:30pm for November. Of course these are estimates and we always recommend looking up the estimated sunset for your specific date as well as consulting your photographer!

If you are newly engaged we hope this guide helped you narrow down your wedding date and if you are one of our wonderful booked couples, we hope this gave you more insight into what you can expect Davis + Grey to look like on your wedding day! And as always, here is your friendly reminder that no matter what the season and no matter what the weather, what matters at the end of the day is getting married to your person and we will be there every step along the way to make sure you have the best day ever.