Wedding dates to avoid in 2018, 2019, and beyond

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I'm compiling this list of wedding dates to avoid in 2018, 2019, and 2020 in case you want to avoid holidays where family and friends might have conflicting events, holidays where vendors might be especially busy and/or expensive (think Valentine's Day for florists), or religious holidays where places might be closed or guests might have other plans. There are holidays where guests might not be able to eat your food, too. Think Ramadan fasting.

Does this mean you CAN'T book your wedding for one of these days? Hell no! Your New Year's Eve wedding? Do it! Your Valentine's Day wedding? Yes. A holiday weekend wedding? Sure, more time off for some of your guests (look out for higher vendor rates, though). But this list will give you some context for when you maaaay run into some issues so you can be prepared. You may also want to take your nearest and dearest guests' birthdays and anniversaries into consideration, though don't go wild trying to look at your whole list.

Lastly, this list is pretty U.S.-centric, so there will be international dates not included. Let me know what dates to add!

On to the dates…

New Year’s Day:
Monday, January 1, 2018
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
Monday, January 15, 2018
Monday, January 21, 2019
Monday, January 20, 2020

Super Bowl Sunday:
(Also look for locally-popular sporting events in your area — football can be especially distracting in certain parts of the U.S. and soccer/football can have the same effect elsewhere)
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Sunday, February 2, 2020

Valentine’s Day:
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Friday, February 14, 2020

Chinese New Year
Friday, February 16, 2018
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Saturday, January 25, 2020

Presidents’ Day:
Monday, February 19, 2018
Monday, February 18, 2019
Monday, February 17, 2020

The Oscars/Academy Awards:
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Sunday, February 23, 2020

April Fool’s Day:
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Monday, April 1, 2019
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Final Four:
Saturday, March 31, 2018 and Monday, April 2, 2018
Saturday, April 6, 2019 and Monday, April 8, 2019
Saturday, April 4, 2020 and Monday, April 6, 2020

Palm Sunday:
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Sunday April 14, 2019
Sunday, April 5, 2020

Ram Navami
Monday, March 26, 2018
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Thursday, April 2, 2020

Passover:
Friday, March 30, 2018 through Saturday, April 7, 2018
Friday, April 19, 2019 through Saturday, April 27, 2019
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 though Thursday, April 16, 2020

Easter:
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Sunday, April 12, 2020

Mother’s Day:
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Sunday, May 10, 2020

Ramadan (fasting during daylight hours, varies based on the lunar calendar):
May 15, 2018 through June 14, 2018
May 5, 2019 through June 4, 2019
April 23, 2020 through May 23, 2020

Memorial Day:
Monday, May 28, 2018
Monday, May 27, 2019
Monday, May 25, 2020

Eid al-Fitr (varies based on the lunar calendar)
Thursday, June 14 through Friday, June 15, 2018
Monday, June 3, 2019 through Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Saturday, May 23, 2020 through Sunday, May 24, 2020

Father’s Day:
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Sunday, June 21, 2020

Fourth of July:
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Saturday, July 4, 2020

Tisha B'Av (sunset)
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Eid al-Adha (varies based on each family's observation)
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Thursday, July 30, 2020

Labor Day:
Monday, September 3, 2018
Monday, September 2, 2019
Monday, September 7, 2020

Krishna Janmashtami
Monday, September 3, 2018
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Rosh Hashanah:
Sunday, September 9, 2018 through Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Sunday, September 29, 2019 through Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Friday, September 18, 2020 through Sunday, September 20, 2020

Yom Kippur:
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 through Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 through Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Sunday, September 27, 2020 through Monday, September 28, 2020

Halloween:
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Saturday, October 31, 2020

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018 through Friday, November 2, 2018
Thursday, October 31, 2019 through Saturday, November 2, 2019
Saturday, October 31, 2020 through Monday, November 2, 2020

Veterans Day:
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Monday, November 11, 2019
Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Thanksgiving:
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Thursday, November 26, 2020

Hanukkah
Sunday, December 2, 2018 until nightfall on Monday, December 10, 2018
Sunday, December 22, 2019 until nightfall on Monday, December 30, 2019
Thursday, December 10, 2020 until nightfall on Friday, December 18, 2020

Christmas:
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Friday, December 25, 2020

Kwanzaa:
Wednesday, December 26, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1, 2018
Thursday, December 26, 2019 through Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Saturday, December 26, 2020 through Friday, January 1, 2021

New Year’s Eve:
Monday, December 31, 2018
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Thursday, December 31, 2020

About the Author: Catherine Clark

@enidjcoleslaw @bijouxandbits @bijouxandbits

Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.