Laravel compare dates

Dear,

I ran into a issue with laravel I want to 'compare' dates.
This to creatae a appointment, but how to? I want to make sure the Date + Time is not in use, the values are stored in the database under Start and End date.

But how can I check if the there is already a ongoing or planned appoint on the time the user want to create a appointment?

I want to write this in validator or something close to it.

your dates are stored in the db so you need to check with mysql,

use BETWEEN in mysql

in laravel qloquent it's whereBetween($colName, $start, $end)