Is It Okay to Have a Holiday Wedding?

A three-day weekend created by holidays such as Labor Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Veteran’s Day can seem like a great time for a Sunday wedding because people will already have the day before and after off. However, some people have traditions that they like to adhere to, and holidays that are merely an excuse for a barbecue for some can be emotional and meaningful for others. It’s not necessarily a deal breaker, particularly since the nuptials likely wouldn’t be on the holiday itself, but be prepared to have a higher rate of declines.

Secular friends, or those of different faiths, may have no problem with a wedding on high holidays such as Easter or Yom Kippur, but for those who are deeply religious, these are very important and somber religious days, and the idea of shifting the focus to a wedding could even be viewed as sacrilege. An event over the Christmas or Thanksgiving holidays will almost certainly be rejected due to the importance of being with family on those days to those who celebrate. If you’re having a very small ceremony with only close family members, you could likely get away with exchanging vows on the weekend of those two holidays, as your loved ones will already be around and the feeling of togetherness will be in the air. 

The holidays that are generally the most acceptable for weddings are Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July, and New Year’s Eve. While you still may face potential guests with long-standing traditions who want to enjoy their own plans for the holiday, others will enjoy having an event at which to celebrate. 

Find out why some people choose to have a smaller wedding and how to start planning a destination wedding.