WAIT! BEFORE YOU SET YOUR DATE...
When it comes to sourcing, researching, and visiting potential venues its an exhausting and overwhelming experience for clients. I compare it similarly to house hunting, it starts off fun but when you get down to the nitty gritty and understanding lingo and contracts you are slightly dumbfounded and finding an excuse to elope. Then once you find the perfect venue you have to compete like it’s gymnastic performing a floor routine for a preferred date. But what’s in a date? In come cultures the elders of the couple select the date, selecting auspicious (favorable or lucky) dates, some couples pick a date that signifies an anniversary, others pick something that numerically sounds good (this year 10/10/20 will be big), and some are just happy with what is available.
But before you sign on the dotted line and set that date in stone, did you consider what’s happening in the local area? Why is that important you ask? It is super valuable to know beforehand if your wedding date/weekend falls on the same day as an annual marathon with extreme road closures, a major bridge closing for repairs (oh Labor Day Weekend 2013 I’ll never forget when the Bay Bridge was closed Westbound), a large holiday parade (March 2017 I literally ran in front of a marching band at the St. Patrick’s Parade on Market Street to be on time), or the ones most never consider...city wide’s! City Wide Conventions bring tremendous business and revenue to big cities but that also means high occupancy at nearly every hotel which results in very high non negotiable room rates with limited availability. For out of town guests this can make or break their decision.
I recommend that once you have a preferred date or two with the venue of your choice look up everything that is scheduled in your local area on those dates/weekends. Consider the impact it will have on your event professionals, out of town guests, and your sanity. I’m not saying don’t book something on a busy weekend just that if you choose a date that falls on a busy day/weekend it’s best to be well informed beforehand so that you can prepare your team and guests with alternate options.
So to help you along with the process here is my list that I keep and update on my annual calendar of events happening in the Bay Area in 2020 (most of these fall under similar weeks/ends for 2021):
January 13-18, 2020 - JP Morgan City Wide, San Francisco
January 18, 2020 - Women’s March, San Jose & Women’s March, San Francisco
February 2, 2020 - Kaiser Permanente ½ Marathon, San Francisco
February 8, 2020 - Chinese New Year Parade, San Francisco
February 22, 2020 - Chinese New Year Parade, Napa
February 24-28, 2020 - RSA City Wide, San Francisco
March 1, 2020 - Napa Valley Marathon, Napa
March 14, 2020 - St. Patrick’s Day Parade, San Francisco
March 15, 2020 - Livermore ½ Marathon, Livermore
March 22, 2020 - Oakland Running Festival, Oakland
March 20, 2020 - San Jose ½ Marathon, San Jose
April 5, 2020 - Silicon Valley ½ Marathon, San Jose & Rock n Roll ½ Marathon, San Francisco
May 3, 2020 - Bay Bridge ½ Marathon, Oakland
May 20-31, 2020 - Bottlerock, Napa
June 12-14, 2020 - NASCAR Sonoma Raceways, Sonoma
June 28, 2020 - PRIDE Parade, San Francisco
July 18-19, 2020 - Napa to Sonoma Wine Country ½ Marathon, Napa
July 26, 2020 - San Francisco ½ Marathon, San Francisco
August 7-9, 2020 - Outside Lands, San Francisco
October 11, 2020 - San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade, San Francisco
November 9-12, 2020 - Dreamforce City Wide, San Francisco
While the following may not always apply to the Bay Area, Northern California is blessed with several professional teams that have and continue to do well in their respected arenas.
Sporting Events
February 2, 2020 NFL Super Bowl
Late May - early June - Stanley Cup
June 4-21, 2020 NBA Finals
October 20-28, 2020 MLB World Series
This is some serious list! Did I miss anything?
XO,
Chrissy