Legacy Heroes Weekend: The Fourth of July, Priced the Way It Should Be

Aurora Grace Photography } Summer Wedding at Legacy Hill Farm

In Minnesota, the Fourth of July is a lake weekend. People pack the car, head up north or out to the cabin, and spend a few days on the water. It's a tradition, and a good one. For many couples, the Fourth is the last weekend they'd think about for a wedding.

Holidays usually claim peak pricing at wedding venues as well as with most other hospitality and travel related industries. The high rates come from high demand and people taking vacation time. Higher rate, premium tier. Many venues do it that way, and for years, so did we. But the date sat open because the people who would book it were all at the lake.

If you know about Secret Sundays at Legacy Hill Farm, you know how we think about pricing. We price every date on its own value, not on just a standard pre-determined peak/off-peak rate. A holiday doesn't automatically make a date a premium date. In Minnesota, the Fourth of July runs the other way. Demand is low because half the state is on the water. Pricing it high is pricing it wrong.

So we did the math and got creative. We came to a different answer. We lowered the prices for the Fourth of July weekend. 

Here's the thing about a weekend when everyone leaves: it's still a great weekend to get married. Many people head to the lake, not all of them do. And when many people do one thing, it opens a door for the couple who does something else. It means a lower price, and a summer wedding with the holiday already built into it, which means all the benefits that come with a holiday. 

There's more working in your favor than the rate. Employers expect people to take time around the Fourth, so your guests already have the days off. Travel is easy, and the lake tradition doesn't have to compete with your wedding. It can join it. Red Wing, Lake City, and the Wisconsin river towns are all close, so the people who want the water can have it and still be there when you get married. A wedding and a long holiday weekend on the river, in the same trip. And a long holiday weekend, where they can still get up to their cabin if they want. 

There's one more reason a Fourth of July wedding weekend should be priced differently, and this part is our favorite.

Some couples don't just consider the Fourth of July for their wedding date. They want it. It’s their first choice. We've talked with veterans and patriots who tell us the Fourth of July is the day they'd choose, holiday and all. A wedding on the day the country celebrates. For them, the Fourth is the perfect day.

So, we got to thinking about how a premium holiday rate actually makes it harder for these dreams to come true. The price didn’t need to be the thing that stood in their way.  

Additionally, we just initiated a new Legacy Heroes Discount that runs all year, not just the Fourth of July weekend. If one of you (the couple getting married) serves or has served, whether that's active military or veteran, law enforcement, firefighter, EMT, paramedic, or emergency medical responder, we take $350 off the venue rental. It's a standing thank-you, and it's separate from the listed weekend rate. If one of you qualifies for the discount, it comes off the top of the date you choose.

So instead of listing the Fourth at a sky-high holiday rate and watching it sit empty while everyone's at the lake, we're doing something different. We're calling it Legacy Heroes Weekend. We're pricing the Fourth of July the way it should be priced. Low enough to reflect the lake tradition's soft wedding demand, and low enough to make the date reachable for the heroes and the couples who would choose it if the price made for a smart decision. No eligibility is required for the Legacy Heroes Weekend, anyone can make one of those days their wedding day. 

The lower Fourth of July weekend rate isn't a sale. We don't really run those. It's the same thing we do with every date on our calendar, one public price, posted in real time, the same for everyone who looks. The Fourth of July just happens to be a date where value and a little intention point in the same direction.

So if you've pictured getting married with fireworks in the sky, or you just spotted a great summer weekend hiding behind a holiday nobody books, take a look at the calendar. Legacy Heroes Weekend is right there waiting for you. 

Here's to America. Here's to you.