Wedding Dates to Avoid in 2016 and 2017

Arranging a wedding is one of the most stressful activities for anyone regardless of whether they are the bride or the groom. The stress extends to friends and families who are closely involved in the event. This article discusses some of the wedding dated schedules that you must avoid for this year and next year. The good thing is that we have a fairly good idea of the major events that are going to happen in 2016 and 2017 so it makes your planning a lot easier.

The Dates that are Personally Important to You

It is a good idea to clear the diary so that your big day happens when you have no distractions. Selecting a day that is personally significant to you is a bad decision because it could potentially cause a clash, mixed loyalties and anxiety. Look at your calendar to rule out certain standard days that are potentially occupied with your personal issues. For example you should avoid clashes with the weddings of friends and family. Likewise if you intend to attend a colleague reunion or anyone of your guests is likely to attend then you should rule them out. Check for anniversaries of people within your circle and call to confirm if you are not sure. If your city or locality has a convention which you or any of the guests are expected to attend then it is probably a good idea to rule them out. Your local chamber of commerce will be able to give you a run-down of the main events that are taking place in your area.

Nationally Recognized Bank Holiday Weekends

There are advantages and disadvantages for selecting a holiday weekend. On one hand it is the time when everyone is going to be off work so that they are available to attend your big day. On the other hand there is a risk that you will be disrupting the plans of others that are supposed to attend your event. The people who work very hard throughout the year take their days off as something that is precious which must be protected at all costs. Moreover these bank holiday weekends give you an extra Friday or Monday so that your guests do not feel that they have to mute their enjoyment in order to prepare for the following working day. Research has shown that Sunday is an excellent day because it is cheaper than Saturday as long as the Monday is going to be free. Otherwise you may be faced with guests that will not touch alcohol or dance. The problem with bank holidays is that when hotels and guest houses hike their fees so you are left paying a premium for your event.

Valentine’s Day and Other Romantic Weekends

It seems rather strange to include this when advising you about how to avoid wedding dates. This is because Valentine’s Day has such a romantic association that it seems the perfect finish to your nuptials. Unfortunately it has spawned an industry in indulgent flowers which are hiked beyond any reasonable measure. Therefore you could end up with a ridiculously high bill for flowers when you could have spent the money elsewhere on essential items. In particular you will find that red roses are out of the question for such a day. Reception venues will also charge a lot more based on the fact that everyone will want to go out and have fun on Valentine’s Day. Of course it could turn out that your friends are very tolerant and are happy to indulge you for your quirky choices. Nevertheless you can expect that turn out will be smaller than usual if you opt for such “popular” dates.

Religious Festivals

It is never a good idea to select religious festivals for your big event. This is because the people that are going to attend come from all walks of life with different faiths. If you ignore their cultural traditions and the importance that they have for them; then you are being a horrendous host. Indeed you may find that you are getting many rejections for no other reason than the fact that you have failed to properly account for the occurrence of these religious festivals. Therefore you need to stay away from Christmas, Easter, Hanukah, Passover, Ascension Day, the Chinese New Year, Lent, Eid, Fasting Months and even Kwanza. This is not about being politically correct but recognizing the fact that you have a diverse group of friends and family who deserve respect when you are scheduling your wedding. Of course there comes a time when you have to go with the convenience of the majority. Do not over-compromise on your preferences just because you want to please everybody.

Major Public Events

Each country will have designated days that are for specific national events. In the USA it includes the Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Women’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween and the Day of Remembrance. There are very clear reasons why you need to avoid these. First of all the security detail is going to be horrendous. Everyone will want to be with their own family or out enjoying the national activities. The last thing they need is to be huddled in your reception hall trying to avoid listening to the major events that are taking place outside. These are clearly bad wedding dates. Likewise you should not try to compete with the major sporting events like Super bowl, NFL, Grand Slam finals and the FIFA World Cup. The chances are that if you do this, the sports aficionados will avoid you like the plague. 

Conclusion

Selecting a wedding date must seem like a nightmare. You potentially have 354 days to choose from which can be traditionally narrowed down to 52 Saturdays. In reality when you consider all the bad choices that we have just detailed above, the free wedding dates are actually few and far between. Therefore the decision-making process should be relatively straightforward. At the very least, reading this article has given you a hint about the factors that you need to take into consideration.