Wedding Dates to Avoid for 2027 and 2028

There are so many details involved in planning a wedding. The first item on the agenda — and arguably the most important one — is selecting a date. Sometimes a date is chosen for personal significance: the anniversary of your first date, or the same date your parents married. Sometimes it comes down to venue availability. Sometimes it's the season, like a couple set on fall colour, or a bride who insists on peonies in her bouquet (which means May or June).

Whatever drives the decision, there are certain dates that have the potential to be problematic for you, your guests, or your budget. Most are tied to holidays or particular times of year. Here are the ones to keep an eye on as you look at 2027 and 2028.

Long Weekends With A Monday Holiday

Your first instinct might be that a long weekend is perfect for a wedding. After all, guests get an extra day to enjoy the festivities and recuperate. Your out-of-town guests will feel differently once they see hotel and flight prices. It's also worth noting that while many venues discount Sundays, those discounts rarely apply on long weekends — you'll pay the same as a Friday or Saturday.

Family Day (February)

Weekend of February 13th – 15th, 2027
Weekend of February 19th – 21st, 2028

Victoria Day (May)

Weekend of May 22nd – 24th, 2027
Weekend of May 20th – 22nd, 2028

Civic Holiday (August)

Weekend of July 31st – August 2nd, 2027
Weekend of August 5th – 7th, 2028

Labour Day (September)

Weekend of September 4th – 6th, 2027 Weekend of September 2nd – 4th, 2028

Some Holidays Will Cost You More

How can a holiday cost you more? Quite simply — flower wholesalers mark their stock up as much as four times for Mother's Day (the second Sunday in May) and Valentine's Day (February 14th). Not only is it harder to source flowers at those times of year, you'll pay through the nose for them. You may also pay more for delivery and labour, since your floral designer has a shop full of orders and considers their time at a premium if they have to leave to set up your wedding.

Valentine's Day (avoid the weekend before and the weekend after)

Sunday, February 14th, 2027
Monday, February 14th, 2028

Note that in 2027, Valentine's Day falls on the Sunday of the Family Day long weekend — a double reason to steer clear of that entire weekend.

Mother's Day (avoid the Friday and Saturday before)

Sunday, May 9th, 2027
Sunday, May 14th, 2028

Sometimes "cost" refers to product quality as much as labour charges. Most flower wholesalers shut down between Christmas and New Year's, which means any wedding held between December 24th and January 1st has flowers delivered before Christmas (another spike in flower sales). They may not be marked up as steeply as Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, but the flowers available to you will be older and in poorer condition than if they'd been cut and delivered two or three days before your wedding, as they normally are.

Significant Sporting Events

More and more couples are opting for a Sunday wedding, in part because of the discounted rates venues offer. (Fridays and Saturdays are prime dates couples pay a premium for; weekdays and Sundays usually cost less.) Sundays can be a problem for sports fans, though. Major events like the Super Bowl and the Grey Cup are scheduled long in advance. Avoid these dates where you can — unless football is somehow part of your wedding theme and you plan on bringing in a wall of TVs for the die-hards.

Super Bowl LXI – Sunday, February 14th, 2027 (also Valentine's Day)

Super Bowl LXII – Sunday, February 13th, 2028

Grey Cup 2027 – mid-to-late November, host city and date to be confirmed by the CFL

Grey Cup 2028 – mid-to-late November, host city and date to be confirmed by the CFL

Family Holidays

Some holidays are built around family gatherings: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. These are periods when hotel and travel costs jump significantly, which your out-of-town guests will not appreciate. Those same guests may also prefer to spend the time with their own families rather than pay a premium to attend your wedding.

Your vendors may charge more as well, because labour costs more. When you hire vendors for a holiday date, you're asking them to be away from their own celebrations. If they accept the booking, expect to pay for it.

Easter Weekend (March/April)

*** Special note — some companies give Good Friday off, others give the Monday instead, and some recognize neither.

Weekend of March 26th – 29th, 2027 Weekend of April 14th – 17th, 2028

Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend (October)

Weekend of October 9th – 11th, 2027 Weekend of October 7th – 9th, 2028

American Thanksgiving Weekend (November)

Weekend of November 25th – 28th, 2027 Weekend of November 23rd – 26th, 2028

Christmas Day (December)

Saturday, December 25th, 2027 Monday, December 25th, 2028

Christmas Day 2027 lands on a Saturday, which effectively takes the entire last week of December off the table for a wedding in Calgary or the Rockies.

Friday The 13th

Whether you're superstitious or not, plenty of your guests will be. Friday the 13th is still considered unlucky by many — some worry it casts a shadow over the marriage, and the truly superstitious avoid leaving the house altogether. Most people would simply rather you skip it.

Friday, August 13th, 2027

Friday, October 13th, 2028

A Note On Mountain Weddings

If you're marrying in Banff, Canmore or Lake Louise, add a few local considerations to this list. Long weekends and the peak July–August window mean higher accommodation rates, sold-out room blocks and heavy park traffic. Ski season holidays fill Banff and Canmore hotels months in advance. And any Calgary Stampede weekend (the first two weeks of July) will affect flights, hotel pricing and vendor availability across the whole region.

None of these dates are off-limits. Plenty of our couples have married on a long weekend and loved it. The point is to go in with your eyes open — know what a date will cost you and your guests before you sign the venue contract, not after.