Best Month To Get Married In California: Weather Data By City • Vowness

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There is no single best month to get married in California, because the weather changes so much from coast to desert to mountains. Across the 15 places we checked, the months that most often come out best are April, May, and October. But a good month in Palm Springs can be a poor one in South Lake Tahoe, so pick your area first.

Below are the best months for each place, built from NOAA's 30-year weather normals, plus a month-by-month grid of our outdoor ceremony score. Click any place for rain odds, heat days, sunset and golden hour times, and a date picker.

Best Months To Get Married In California By City

City	Region	Best months	Top score
Los Angeles	Coast	May through September	99
San Francisco	Bay Area	June through September	99
San Diego	Coast	May through September	99
Sacramento	Central Valley	October	89
Santa Barbara	Coast	June through September	100
Palm Springs	Desert	November through January	95
Fresno	Central Valley	October and November	90
Monterey	Coast	June through September	100
Santa Rosa	Wine Country	May through August	88
South Lake Tahoe	Mountains	June through September	97
San Jose	Bay Area	May through August and October	95
Long Beach	Coast	May and June	98
San Luis Obispo	Central Coast	June through August	98
Eureka	North Coast	July and August	99
Burbank	Los Angeles Area	April through June and November	92

California Outdoor Ceremony Score By Month

Each number is our 0 to 100 outdoor ceremony score for that city and month. Higher is better. The score weighs rain, heat and cool afternoons, and it is explained at the bottom of this page.

City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Los Angeles	83	80	88	94	96	99	99	99	97	93	91	86
San Francisco	66	65	76	86	93	97	99	98	96	93	84	66
San Diego	85	83	88	93	97	99	99	99	97	94	92	88
Sacramento	65	69	79	84	82	59	34	39	59	89	83	62
Santa Barbara	82	78	84	93	96	98	99	100	98	93	92	85
Palm Springs	93	91	87	71	35	0	0	0	4	47	92	95
Fresno	70	77	84	86	78	42	12	17	45	88	90	71
Monterey	79	74	75	86	95	98	100	100	97	93	85	78
Santa Rosa	62	66	73	82	88	86	87	86	82	84	77	58
South Lake Tahoe	46	42	52	69	86	96	95	97	97	89	62	43
San Jose	77	76	79	86	95	93	95	94	90	93	88	75
Long Beach	83	80	87	93	96	98	94	89	87	88	91	87
San Luis Obispo	82	74	81	88	94	97	98	97	92	86	88	83
Eureka	43	45	46	59	78	93	99	98	94	82	56	39
Burbank	86	83	88	90	92	92	71	62	71	84	92	88

Across all 15 places the average score peaks in May (87) and is lowest in February (72). The most places have June in their top three months, with 11 of 15.

Pick Your Area Of California

Coast

Los Angeles: best in May through September, with an average May high of 70°F.
San Diego: best in May through September, with an average May high of 70°F.
Santa Barbara: best in June through September, with an average June high of 70°F.
Monterey: best in June through September, with an average June high of 68°F.
Long Beach: best in May and June, with an average May high of 73°F.

Bay Area

San Francisco: best in June through September, with an average June high of 72°F.
San Jose: best in May through August and October, with an average May high of 74°F.

Central Valley

Sacramento: best in October, with an average October high of 79°F.
Fresno: best in October and November, with an average October high of 79°F.

Desert

Palm Springs: best in November through January, with an average January high of 71°F.

Wine Country

Santa Rosa: best in May through August, with an average May high of 75°F.

Mountains

South Lake Tahoe: best in June through September, with an average June high of 72°F.

Central Coast

San Luis Obispo: best in June through August, with an average June high of 75°F.

North Coast

Eureka: best in July and August, with an average July high of 63°F.

Los Angeles Area

Burbank: best in April through June and November, with an average April high of 73°F.

What Stands Out In The Data

Summer rain is rare. In 12 of 15 places, July averages less than a third of a day with 0.10 inch of rain.
The hottest place is Palm Springs. At its peak it has 31 days a month at or above 90°F.
Winter rain is the main risk. Several places pass a day of 0.10 inch rain in the cooler months.
Sunset moves a lot. Evening light shifts by hours between winter and summer, so the same start time works in one month and fails in another.

See the method page for how the numbers are worked out, and our special wedding dates page if you are picking a day.

California Wedding Weather Questions

What is the best month to get married in California?

It depends on the area. Across the 15 places we checked, April, May, and October come out best most often. Check the table above for your city.

Is it dry in California in summer?

Mostly, yes. In 12 of 15 places, July averages under a third of a day with 0.10 inch of rain. Heat and morning cloud are the bigger summer issues.

Where is it hottest for a California wedding?

Palm Springs is the hottest of the places we checked, with up to 31 days a month at or above 90°F at its peak.

Is the best weather also the busiest time?

Often, yes. The months that score best are the ones many couples want, so venues in those months can fill earlier. Ask what is available on a Friday, Sunday or weekday in those months.