Getting married during Easter can be tricky. As the holiest time on the Christian calendar, you may run into some obstacles when trying to lock in your wedding day. So, before you start locking in your vendors, you will need to consider the following obstacles.
For Christian ceremonies, Easter is best to be avoided. This also goes for Good Friday and Holy Saturday, while getting married during Lent is possible but not overly encouraged. As the entire Church are observing the holiday, it may affect the way you can celebrate your wedding (you may need to “tone it down”). In the Greek Orthodox Church, the 40 days of Lent and Easter are off-limits.
If you’ve chosen to have your wedding on Easter Sunday, you may run into unexpected problems if you’re having a Catholic wedding. Due to their busy schedule during the holy season, you may be hard-pressed to find a priest/officiant who will marry you as they are observing the holiday. During arrangements for your wedding date, your priest will most likely advise you against choosing any significant days in the calendar.
If you have no other choice, or you just really want to get married around Easter, you will need to speak to your priest, who will in turn need to seek permission from higher authorities. In the Orthodox Church, you will need to first make an appeal to your priest, who will then need to write a letter to the Bishop on your behalf. In the special case that you are granted permission, congratulations!
If you happen to choose a date during the lead up to Easter, you need to take into account that some of your guests will also be observing the holiday. While a usual wedding will have its share of dietary requirements, a wedding around Easter may mean that many of your guests have stopped eating meat. You’ll need to confirm this with your guests and let your reception venue know well before.
While holidays are a great time to bring everyone together, your guests may use this time to spend the holiday with their families, so you could be looking at a lot of “not attending” RSVPs. If you’re the kind of person who sees this as a blessing in disguise, then great! But if you were really hoping to see everyone on your big day, it may be time to consider another date. Your big wedding dream can still come true, just at a more convenient time.
