Wedding Dates You Should Likely Avoid

If you read The 10 Most Popular Days to Get Engaged, you know that the Holiday Season is by far the most popular time to get engaged.  With the Holiday Season wrapping up, many newly engaged couples will be looking to book a wedding date.  Before you book that date, read on to learn what dates you should pass on and why to avoid them.

September 11th

For some of us that lived through this tragedy, this is obvious especially if you live on the East Coast.  We, personally, would not want to share my wedding anniversary with a day when thousands lost their lives.  This day is usually filled with memorials and news coverage of this horrible day in history.  If you live in NYC or D.C., you will likely have people attending your wedding that were directly affected by September 11th.  These people are likely to encounter a range of conflicting emotions.

Thanksgiving Week

I know many people will think this would be a great opportunity since family will likely be in one place.  While this may be true, it usually isn’t the best time of year for a wedding.  First, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving the the most traveled day of the year.  Travel delays are common and if you have a lot of people form out of town, they may end up missing your Big Day.  In addition, because of this peak travel day, it is often a costly travel expense for your guests.  And, most families put a lot of preparation into Thanksgiving Day.  This is just another added preparation that is likely to cause unneeded stress.  Lastly, do you really want to have every guest ask you if you are serving turkey at your wedding?

Memorial Day Weekend/Labor Day Weekend

While we understand that these are popular weekends for weddings, we should caution you about these particular weekends.  First, these are the “unofficial start & end” of the summer season respectively.  Most people enjoy a long weekend.  With that being said, most people are eager to get out of town during these holidays.  Also, travel and accommodations are more expensive during these weekends as they are popular getaway weekends.  

Fourth of July Weekend

If this holiday falls on a weekend, most people only get July 4th off of work.  If it falls on a Thursday of Friday it can mean a long weekend.  Once again, it is a very popular time to get away on vacation.  It is likely that several of your guests won’t be able to attend or even worse if they do they may be bitter because they had to cancel vacation plans.  And once more, travel and accommodations during this holiday are often more costly.

Christmas Eve

While we do see many couples making this choice, we just don’t get it.  Unless your entire guest list doesn’t celebrate Christmas, this is not the day for a wedding.  Anyone with kids will want to spend the evening at home prepping for a child’s biggest day of the year.  In addition, family traditions, church services, and even last minute shopping are bound to get in the way.

Easter Weekend

Make sure to check Google for Easter Sunday before you book your Spring Wedding.  We know Spring is popular for weddings and dates book up quick, there are several reasons to stay away form Easter weekend.  This is arguably the most important holiday of the Christian calendar.  The whole weekend is usually consumed with Holy Week festivities for Christians and most especially with Catholics.  Those that do not attend church will be busy with the kids and Easter Egg hunts.

Mother’s Day/Father’s Day

We know it’s tempting to schedule during these weekends as the weather is actually beginning to be predictable.  However, many people choose to travel to their parents during these weekends.  With families living further apart these days, that means that these weekends may be consumed by travel.  On top of that, who really wants to make their guests choose between a wedding and their parents.

Halloween

If Halloween is your style and you’re not inviting a bunch of people with kids, then go for it.  However, if that is not the case just know that parents will be chasing their kids all of the neighborhood collecting candy.  If you can pull it off you could have a really fun costume wedding, otherwise, everybody is going to ask you if they should wear a costume.

August

There are actually two problems with this entire month.  In the vast majority of the US, August is hot, like really hot.  If you choose to have your wedding in August, be prepared with plenty of ice water, sunscreen, fans, umbrellas etc.  Do not hold your entire wedding outside in the direct sun.  If you do choose August, be prepared for lots of complaints and comments.  Second, August is the most popular month for vacations.  People tend to get in their last vacation with the kids before they head back to school in late August or early September.  It is likely you will be asking them to make a choice between your wedding and a vacation.

New Year’s Day

Ok, New Year’s Eve is a wonderful day for a wedding, however New Year’s Day is a terrible idea.  First, most people have the day off and will be recovering from a hangover from New Year’s Eve.  Nobody want’s to set an alarm on their day off to prepare for a wedding, let alone the morning after one of the most popular party nights of the year.  Also, if you are inviting a bunch of college buddies, they are likely to be watching College Football Bowl Games on New Year’s Day.

Of course this entire list is up to different opinions.  We aren’t saying that you can’t have a great wedding on any of these days.  What we are saying is there are plenty of reasons to avoid having a wedding on these days.  If you had a successful wedding on one of these days or have a differing opinion, we would love to hear your comments.  Please leave a comment in the comments section below.