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Jan 20, 1998 - 10:27 -

I have a question:
What are the times of the year (between which holidays or observences) is it NOT allowed to have a wedding?

About me:
My e-mail address:   harold.moffet@roche.com
How I found this site:


Most dates are fine, but some are banned because the joy of the wedding would conflict with the prescribed spirit of mourning on that date, or compete with the prescribed spirit of joy on that date.

The times when no marriages may take place:

  • Public joyous days, such as Sabbaths, Festivals (including intermediate days), Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.
  • Private joyous days. For example, two brothers could not marry on the same day.  
  • Public mourning days, such as (under any circumstances) Tisha B'Av; and (under ordinary circumstances) the Tenth of Tevet, the Fast of Gedaliah, the Fast of Esther, the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the three weeks between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av; and (with some exceptions that differ between Sephardim and Ashkenazim) the thirty-three days from Passover to Lag B'Omer.
  • Private mourning days, such as (under any circumstances) during shiva, and (under ordinary circumstances) during shloshim.

Two excellent compendiums of Wedding Customs are:

Made in Heaven, by Aryeh Kaplan, is an excellent compendium of inspirational wedding customs, which can be ordered on-line at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0940118114/thelearnersminyaA/

The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, by Maurice Lamm, is a thorough compendium of wedding-related Jewish laws, which can be ordered on-line at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0824603532/thelearnersminyaA/