Americans love getting married in the fall. They love the brisk-but-not-cold weather, the red and gold leaves outside and the seasonal decor.
There’s just one problem (besides securing an in-demand venue): Americans also love college football.
Each fall, football fans take to social media to complain about upcoming weddings. They say it’s cruel to be forced away from their TV or the tailgate at their school.
J. Grant Addison, deputy editor for Washington Examiner magazine, went so far as to write a column this fall about why weddings are a bad idea during college football season.
“College football is a uniquely American institution, something alien to every other sports league on the planet, a beautiful mélange of proficiency and mediocrity, localism and universality, earnestness and insanity. It is a precious, limited resource. Marriage, too, is a supreme institution, and one obviously more important than football, if only slightly. But my point is they shouldn’t have to compete,” Addison argued.
According to a new analysis from The Washington Post, engaged couples aren’t paying much attention to these complaints.
The Post’s study of weddings over the past three years, which drew on data from The Knot, showed that fall weddings are preferred over weddings in the winter, spring or summer — even in college towns.
“Even in the South, the fall is the most popular time to get married,” The Washington Post reported.
But researchers did uncover a few signs that some couples do worry about forcing their wedding guests to miss a big game.
Most notably, the data showed an uptick in the number of weddings on bye week Saturdays in college towns.
“In the markets of the current SEC teams, 83% of (bye week) Saturdays saw a higher frequency of weddings than the nationwide mark for that day. The uptick in weddings on idle weeks is particularly pronounced in the markets that include Auburn, Arkansas and Georgia, the data shows,” The Washington Post reported.
Wedding planners and event specialists told the Post that their experiences with couples back up what the numbers show.
Some people are so focused on having a bye week wedding that they book a venue for multiple Saturdays ahead of the schedule’s release, one event planner said.
“Some couples are more willing to schedule their weddings on a holiday than a date that interferes with a major football game,” The Washington Post reported.
To casual sports fans, that decision might seem silly, but wedding planners said it makes sense even if you take college football fandom out of the equation.
Football Saturdays are crowded in college towns. Venues, hotel rooms and transportation costs are lower during bye weeks.
“On game day, traffic can be a nightmare. Hotel rooms are hard to come by and expensive. And no matter the game’s location, couples don’t want to compete for their guests’ attention,” The Washington Post reported.